Keeping warm in the winter

Well daylight savings has kicked in which means no more after work kiting now that it gets dark just after 6pm :( 
The past few nights have started to get cold, and so this is where the thought of wearing a long sleeved wetsuit starts.
I am a wussy girl - I feel the cold really easily and I would much rather be toasty warm than freezing cold.  Last winter season in Auckland, I wore two wetsuits on top of each other, both 3/2mm suits which kept me pretty warm but was quite bulky and restricting.  On the really cold days I would throw one of those pocket handwarmers into my wetsuit to keep my core warm, which worked great if it stayed in place, but sometimes I would lose it and end up keeping one of my butt cheeks warm ;)
So this season I have decided to invest some serious money into my kiting obsession and buy this:

NO, I didn't buy a man who points at his tummy, I bought the new Quicksilver heated vest.
I ordered it from the US, as I couldn't find a supplier here in New Zealand, and when it arrived I immediately took it out of its beautiful packaging (it is very nicely boxed) and put it on.  Its really comfortable, stretchy like a rashguard should be and has two large heating patches on the back which cover your kidneys and back.
The battery pack is on the side, as is the photo, but this is useless for kiteboarders as we have harnesses over this section.  So I took the battery pack and controls and placed it through the sleve so it rested on my chest, with the control buttons facing out.  Hopefully Quicksilver will place a pocket on the front of the rashgaurd too so that kiters can use it as well. 
I turned it on to full heat and it blasted warmth instantly, it was really nice and very pleasant.  There are two settings high (55C) and low (45C) and the high was quite hot - great if you have a sudden chill, but I only needed it on low to keep me very toasty throughout my kite session.
The control system has a vibration response, 1 buzz for high, 2 for low so you know what setting you have it on when you press it. 
I kited for over 3 hours and the battery lasted all of that time, and I was happy and warm.
I didn't feel restricted by the rash and didn't notice the controls at all, even when doing tricks, and I know in the depths of winter I will get a lot more time out on the water because I will be warm.
This is probably the best investment you can make other than a good warm wetsuit, I have had lots of people ask me about it and look at it and all of them have been very excited - now if we can only get them to sell in New Zealand.
I highly recommend the heated vest and if you see me out in the water and want to know more, just ask me - I'm probably wearing it :)