There are two common varieties of grip heaters: "Slip-unders", sold by Kimpex and Dual-Star, and complete heated grips sold by HotGrips.

The slip-under's are relatively inexpensive, around $30 at this writing, the complete molded grips are considerably more, roughly $100. Both draw close to 40 watts on high, for enough to heat to singe all but the toughest fingers. Both types work, with different bugs and features.

Having used both, here are my observations for whatever they're worth.

First off, heated grips are worthwhile. They're simple, convenient and allow use of thin gloves with good feel. You don't have to remember anything, just turn them on.

The design philosophy is rather different between HotGrips and "slip-unders". HotGrips are complete molded assemblies, thermally rather well-isolated from the heat-sinking effect of handlebars. The "slip-unders" are flexible printed circuit boards with adhesive backing and resistive traces that heat the bar or throttle sleeve, with the heat diffusing into the grip. How well each works will depend somewhat on handlebar construction. Thick bars, or solid clipons, will favor Hotgrips, but the difference really matters only on the clutch side. The "slip-unders" certainly work on the tubular bars of a drz400s. By the same token HotGrips work just fine and balance well on the tubular bars of a tlr200 along with the solid clipons of an sv650s.

Another major difference is control design: Hotgrips use a single filament and control using either a series resistor or a pulse width modulator. The "slip-unders" use a switched dual filament giving high and low. A pulse width modulator or external resistor can be used with "slip-unders" but isn't part of the normal scheme.

The major advantage of "slip-unders" is the choice and size of grips. HotGrips tend to be slightly large. They come in two textures, soft and hard, but the difference is inconspicuous and the size is the same. With "slip-unders" you have freedom to choose any grip that fits the handlebars. Including the OEM grips, which are apt to be much more slender than HotGrips.

HotGrips feel big to my hands, but they're efficient and the customer service has been excellent. The wiring is neat and simple using a variable heat controller. Setting the required power is easy and the balance from side to side is good. Fundamentally they just plain work well.

Now that HotGrips is no longer selling their own variable heat controller the finished cost of an optimal HotGrips installation has gone up considerably and given some advantage to the switched "slip-unders". The wiring complexity and inefficency of a resistor circuit made that option unattractive from the start.

A set of Dual-Star "slip-under" heated grips on my drz400s seem to work well, with good balance between clutch and throttle side. The wiring is comparable to HotGrips, with an SPDT center off switch hanging off the bars, but gives only high/low.

The ability to use the slender stock grips is a substantial advantage. Having only high/low is a limitation but not a major handicap. Both systems work and either one is a worthwhile investment. If you've got big hands and don't mind spending a little extra money HotGrips will reward the investment.

For those with smaller hands and budgets the "slip-under" heaters allow a choice of grip sizes and lower cost, but the temperature control is not quite so precise.

HotGrips were originally developed for much colder climates than prevail in my area. For "comfort enhancement" applications, as opposed to "survival promoting" situations, the "slip-under" heaters appear to work decently at less than half the cost of molded grip heaters. When things get truly frigid I suspect HotGrips will have advantages not apparent at 45 F.

At this point I have three sets of HotGrips: On a vfr800, sv650s and tlr200. All use the old-style variable heat controller, and all cost a little over $100 each. My one warranty issue was corrected promptly (pulled insulation on the vfr800) and there are absolutely no complaints regarding function.

The set of Dual-Star grip heaters are mounted on a drz400s. It's a very new installation, how it ages is the real measure of value. But the price was much lower than the HotGrips and the function (so far) is not vastly inferior.

I didn't use any adhesives beyond the pressure-sensitive stuff on the dual-star elements. The bars and original grips were cleaned with Wizard barbecue-starter fluid. The bars were dried, the heater elements stuck on and the grips lubricated with more barbecue starter. The grips slipped over the heaters easily and very quickly developed some "tack" to the bars.

Power was found at the horn, ground at the upper triple clamp. The setup seems to work well at temps in the mid-40's.