Capit Performance WarmMe, the addictive heated vest [REVIEW]

Capit Performance WarmMe – A dynamic company, which has been producing professional tyrewarmers since 1996, whose success is based on its ability to innovate and make Made in Italy a quality brand. Such a success that it became the official supplier of Valentino Rossi's team, just to give a concrete example. The company from Pero, in the province of Milan, has many other important customers and boasts the victory of 8 MotoGP titles as a technical partner. Over the years it has been able to broaden its offering, with accessories such as tire trolleys and more, as well as tire warmers for four-wheeled vehicles. However, what we are preparing to test is something which, despite exploiting an important part of the experience of the "core business" of the Italian company, completely leaves its sector, because in fact it is proposed to a very large audience, even far from that of motor enthusiasts.

In fact, although our test took place mainly on the back of a motorbike, the WarmMe vest is useful for all those who have to face the cold, for sport, for work or simply in their free time. Let's start with a premise, WarmMe is a family of products, for now limited to gloves and this vest, which we motorcyclists naturally think of wearing to protect ourselves from the harsh winter temperatures when we are on the motorbike, but which come with a casual look, not at all technical and therefore freed from the single context. The vest is constructed with a Soft-Shell laminar fabric, you can wear it under a jacket, where it essentially disappears, given that its thickness is very small, while the two side zips and an elastic structure allow it to fit perfectly to the body, a fundamental detail to make its action effective. In addition to being elastic, it is also resistant, retains heat, as well as being breathable and equipped with a double waterproof external layer with wind-block effect.

It looks nice when worn over a shirt or sweater, but is designed to be worn under a jacket or coat, becoming an accessory to your clothing, to be used actively or passively. As mentioned, its being thin, but adherent to the body, already produces a pleasant protective effect, even when the heating circuit is not turned on. Obviously Capit Performance's many years of experience in the production of professional tyrewarmers for the best track racing teams comes into play when you press the button located at chest height, on the right side. In fact, the lining contains an invisible circuit of flexible and ultra-flat heating plates, strategically positioned in specific areas of the torso, so as to help maintain and perceive a comfortable temperature. An internal pocket contains the battery, with a jack connector. It is a lithium ion battery, light and thin, capable of guaranteeing an autonomy ranging from 2 to 5 hours, depending on the intensity level selected.

Taking a step back, in the package we find, in addition to the vest, the battery, a battery charger and an instruction sheet, where the indicated autonomy is even longer, given that it is estimated at 3.5 to 7 hours. Once the battery has been charged, which is disconnected from the connector and removed from the dedicated pocket, the WarmMe is ready for use. A positive note goes to the fact that, once the battery is removed, the presence of the circuit does not prevent the possibility of washing the vest like any item of clothing.

A button manages the heat developed by the circuit, which must be pressed for about three seconds to turn the WarmMe vest on and off, while when it is turned on with a shorter press it allows you to switch between modes. They are indeed three heat levels foreseen, depending on which the temperature and battery life vary, obviously in an inversely proportional manner. In fact in “Low” mode, the guaranteed heating (quantified between 28 and 40°) is barely perceptible, but allows you to maintain a constant sensation of heat, even when traveling as in our case, with non-winter clothing, but external temperatures below 5 degrees. Going up to intermediate level (33-45°) the heat produced by the internal circuit becomes more perceptibleor, that comes at most with the “High” level (38-50°). In practice, at least this is our personal feedback after a few days of testing, if turned on before departure, the minimum level allows the longest duration, but also to stay warm, keeping the temperature stable, almost without perceiving the presence of the WarmMe vest and yet enjoying its pleasant effect. While if you are already cold, perhaps because you have been exposed to low temperatures for a long time, with the maximum level you can warm up quickly, and then bring the level back to a less high temperature. A product which, if tried, certainly gives a certain addiction, also because when switched off it can be slipped under the jacket even when it is not particularly cold, while still being safe from a rapid drop in temperature, just like when you go on a motorbike ride and we go towards the mountain.

We are curious to put the gloves from the same family to the test, which have always been the garment most affected by the cold, given that the hands are the most exposed and "painful" part of the body when the temperatures get cold.

4 jackets for 8 sizes. Thanks to the zips that allow you to widen and tighten the width of the vest, all sizes are covered from XXS to XXXL, if you prefer from the 44 to the 58, with 4 "dimensions", each of which effectively doubles into two measures. Among the accessories we find any additional batteries, or the car charger, to never stay in the cold. Everything has a price, of course, that of the Capit Performance WarmMe vest is around 200 euros including VAT.