| Author | Message | ||
     Superdavetfft |
I'm looking to invest in some decent heated gear and I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations or warnings about some of the various brands out there. I've got heated grips and decent gauntlets, will heated gloves make much of a difference? I'm looking to ride in weather down to about 25 degrees for 3-4 hours. thanks dave | ||
| Froggy |
Go with Gerbings brand. It is who HD gets their heated gear from. Gloves will make a difference, as grips only heat the palms of your hands. If you got full heat, you can go all day without issue. I live in upstate NY, and haven't driven a car to work in months.  | ||
| Rkc00 |
I also have the gerbings. You will be asking yourself why didn't I do this sooner. Mike Long Island, NY 09 XB12X Red/Black 09 1125CR Black/White 06 VRSCR Blue/Silver | ||
| Jaimec |
You forgot the most important piece of heated gear: THE VEST!! | ||
| Metalstorm |
The Warm'N'Safe 90 watt heated liner or the Firstgear 90 watt heated liner (which is made by Warn'N'Safe) work wonderfully. The catch is you have to pony up the extra $$ for the heat troller so that you don't over cook yourself. | ||
| Froggy |
Screw the vest, get the jacket. Why have your chest and hands warm, but not your arms? | ||
| Nik |
I have the tourmaster jacket. I like the jacket, and it gets hot enough to burn, but the integrated controller sucks. I've had them replaced under warrantee every 6 months since initial purchase (I'm on number 3.) It's always been very easy to exchange at my dealer of purchase though; but next time I'm going to rewire to use a standard heat troller. | ||
| Hughlysses |
I have a Widder vest and gloves. Their gloves run IMMENSE for some reason- I wear L or XL in most gloves and their S gloves fit very loose on me. I totally agree with what Froggy says- I have just the vest. I've only done one really long ride (~300 miles) in very cold weather. It's a really strange sensation to have a toasty warm torso and hands and cold arms. Widder sells separate sleeve attachments to go with their vest. I'm either going to invest in those at some point or switch to a Gerbing heated jacket and gloves. | ||
| Hammer71 |
Gerbings Heated Jacket liner,gloves,pants liner and socks. -6 degrees was coldest I've riden with this setup and had to turn it off halfway through trip. The company stands behind their product as well. I have sent them my gloves which shorted out on the Headless Horseman Tsunami. No charge for them to fix and refurbish and they paid shipping both ways. | ||
| Fast1075 |
I recently bought the Gerbings jacket liner...excellent piece. | ||
| Roycet4 |
Get the Gerbing... I use jacket liner and gloves and could not be happier, warm is good!! In addition I use a Gerbing nicad battery pack and run the jacket liner while I am coaching High School Ice Hockey games, with the controller set to about 50% power I stay warm the entire game. Royce in NH | ||
| Slaughter |
Another vote for Gerbing. Guarantee is AWESOME! Sunny had to be custom-fitted (she was measured at the IMS Gerbings booth) and when she got the pants and jacket, the pants were too loose to fit under her riding pants. She called and they asked that she send up her riding pants that she rode with so when they altered the pants, they could be sure they fit UNDER her riding pants. Worked like a charm. I'd also recommend the jacket, not just the vest. | ||
| Jaimec |
Regardless, starting with JUST heated gloves or heated grips is simply treating the symptom, not the CAUSE of cold hands. I never get tired of saying this: Your hands get cold because your body core has dropped too low, and your body is responding by cutting the bloodflow to the less critical parts of your body to preserve your brain and internal organs. Heat the core, and your hands and feet will stay warmer that much longer. If, after you've attended to your core and your hands are still cold, THEN consider the gloves or grips... but don't heat them first. | ||
| Dancing_dogs |
Another happy Gerbings cusomer...jacket and gloves. Can't believe how much difference they make. SHould have done it sooner! | ||
| Superdavetfft |
Good point Jaimec... Well it definitely appears that Gerbing has a loyal following. Any recommendations on where to pick up a set for a good price? I'll probably just get the whole outfit, jacket/pants/gloves/socks as I'll make plenty of use out of it... | ||
| Xb12xmike |
Don't forget about the Tourmaster stuff. no extra troller to buy. | ||
| Nik |
Don't forget about the Tourmaster stuff. no extra troller to buy. Which is why I got one, but like I said their controllers fail quite frequently. There's a huge thread about it over at ADV rider. The warrantee is good though.} | ||
| Myzen |
I prefer the Warm n Safe products to the Gerbing ones for a few reasons. 1. Gerbing has a 3" X 3" hard plastic piece in which you plug the wires into on the inside of the jacket. For heated gear to be effective it is supposed to be snug. That hard plastic piece digs right into my ribs. In the event of a get off, there is a good chance that that piece will cause some pain. All of Warm n Safe's connections are in the left pocket and have a pass through for the connection for the pants and socks. 2. The Warm n safe's fabric is "temperature neutral" so if the temperature goes up, you are not going to be uncomfortable if you do not take it off. 3. Warm and Safe has stretch panels on the sides for a snug fit, Gerbings does not. 4. The collar on the Warm and Safe is a tad shorter so it doesn't interfere with the helmet when I turn my head like the Gerbing does. It is also little more snug, but not uncomfortable. 5. The body of the jacket is longer in the back, shorter in the front so when you are in a riding position it doesn't ride up your back. 6. You can get a remote dual heat troller which gives you the ability to put the controller anywhere you want, and can be used on multiple bikes with minimal hassle. Warm n Safe's customer service is also top notch. I called there once with a question and ended up on the phone with the owner for an hour for a customer "Q and A" session. | ||
| Froggy |
Mine which I bought in the fall of 07 at my HD dealer does not have any hard plastic piece.
I have never had any discomfort in mine
Mine has stretch panels on the bottom and wrists. I don't need them anywhere else, as my suit keeps it pressed against me keeping me warm.
I have never had an issue with the collar, in fact I think its too short, but the neck gator makes up for it.
I never had an issue with mine riding up my back, but then again the stretchy stuff on the bottom holds it in place.
I got one for mine, I have never used it though.
I have never needed to call up, so I can't comment on that. | ||
| Myzen |
Froggy, Gerbing came out with a new version last year called the "Microwire" jacket. I bought it in October 09. If you look at their site, you can see their improvements.  | ||
| Buellerxt |
I don't know about Warm n Safe(newby's?) but Gerbing is TOP NOTCH! I bought mine in 2004 and it has always performed perfectly. They were great to work with when trying to decide on the purchase, sizes, etc., but like Froggy I've never had a problem so I've not had a need to call them. I have a number of friends who swear by Gerbing also. Very good gear. ps: I vote for the jacket over the vest, no matter what gear you buy. (Message edited by buellerxt on January 23, 2010) |
