Macna heated jacket and gloves

Dutch clothing brand Macna has an extensive heated clothing range, which includes mid-layer jackets, a gilet, undertrousers and, of course, gloves. The good folks at UK distributor Covec sent us a pair of Macna’s Azra RTX gloves and a Centre jacket to try out in some typically damp and chilly British conditions.

The Centre jacket can be powered by either a portable 7.4V or 12V rechargeable battery, or direct from the bike’s battery. I opted for the latter, plugging the jacket in using the cable conveniently located in an inside pocket. There are also cables stashed in a pair of tidy cuff pockets to take power direct to the gloves. The 12V system provides quicker warm-up and higher final temperatures for more extreme conditions.

The heating elements of the Centre are placed around the back and chest areas to help warm the core and organs, plus in the arms and collar to keep the extremities cosy. Silver heat reflection panels are claimed to improve efficiency.

Operation is simple: a push-button panel on the chest cycles through four heating levels, with colour LEDs indicating the chosen level. Alternatively, built-in Bluetooth capability allows the jacket to connect to Macna’s phone app, which lets you turn each garment on or off, select heat levels and even set a timer that automatically turns power off from 1 to 59 minutes later. This saves a lot of faffing about with zips and Velcro trying to access the controls when they’re buried under a heavy armoured jacket. A future development will add Android Auto capability to the app, making it even more convenient.

The Centre works really well as a replacement liner under a textile jacket, as its stretchy construction makes it very comfortable and non-restrictive. It’s even usable as a destination jacket thanks to its subtle looks.

The Azra RTX gloves are also dual powered, and I tried them with 7.4V batteries which fit into a neat zipped compartment on the wrist. These were 2200mAh batteries, which gave full power for around 1hr45 before going flat, but obviously lasted longer if set at a lower temperature. As with the jacket, push-button controls are available on each glove, or you can connect to the app.

The Azra are slim fitting for a heated glove, looking more like a regular winter glove, and they flex in all the right places to give good dexterity and feel for a thick glove. The waterproof liner kept my hands dry throughout my daily commute, and the plush liner adds a touch of luxury. Visor wipes and touchscreen tips to the index fingers add practicality.

Even without the heating they are a solid-performing winter glove, but the heating really improves riding comfort in cold conditions. The heating wires are routed around the sides and end of the fingers, rather than across the backs. The claim is that this reduces heat lost to windchill, and it seems to work because you get a nice even warmth all the way to the fingertips.

Overall, both the £199.99 Centre jacket and £199.99 Azra RTX gloves (£289.99 with batteries and charger) kept me warm and comfortable, offering great control to fine tune the temperature. They’re good enough to be added to my regular winter biking wardrobe.

Covec; 01489 582707; www.covec.co.uk