heated gear

[kelvinator66]

who makes best heated riding gear

[vulcans2]

Hard to say which is the best heated gear, but Gerbing has been at the forefront of heated riding gear technology for years. They have been very good at improving their line of products. Currently they offer a heated jacket with a sort of wire mesh system for heating which eliminates the heavier wires previously used. I understand it works well, although I couldn't complain about the Gerbing jacket I've had since 1995! One thing about Gerbing is that they warranty the wiring in their garments for life, so if anything ever goes wrong, you simply send it in and they will fix it for free. They will also modify it to your specifications for s modest fee.

I currently wear a First Gear heated jacket made by Warm-n-safe which is very warm at 90 watts. The only thing I don't like about it is that it does have the heavier, individual wires which irritate my spine when I lean against the back rest. They also make a jacket with the mesh (or whatever it is) heating system, and I may get one of those, purely for the comfort factor.

There are a couple other manufacturers of heated gear, but I think Gerbing and Warm-n-Safe are probably the at the top of the heap.

Hope this helps.

[snarleybill08]

i highly recommend the gerbings heated jacket. i also recommend the thermostat control over the on and off only set up. mine will cook you if you turn it all the way up. it's very warm and comfortable at 20 degrees turned up about half way. you can also add pants, socks and gloves by just plugging into the outlets on the jacket. the down side of heated gear is the getting dressed and plugged in. it's a pain in the butt. i only have the jacket. if you keep the ass warm the rest will stay warm. lol

[cocheese72]

I would say Gerbing. The biggest reason I bought Gerbing and paid a little more is the lifetime warranty. It does not take much to break a wire in some of the heated jackets and if a wire breaks, you won't have heat after the break. You can usually get a tour master or firstgear with all you need for cheaper though. Gerbing will nickel and dime you with plugs, thermostat, switches. That's the only bad thing. The temp controller alone is $70, most others come with that, although you can just switch the power on and off if you don't have one. It is usually so damn cold when I break mine out, the on-off is usually not that big of a deal.


http://www.gerbing.com/

[Netnorske]

I have the Gerbing jacket liner and just this weekend splurged for the gloves. I love the thing and I'm sure will love the gloves every bit as much. It is very comfortable and I only wear a long sleeve t-shirt under it....even in 30+ degree weather. The single thermo-stat controller is what I have and is very useful around these parts. Turned up on high the thing could BBQ you if you're not careful. It makes riding in cold temps a much more pleasureable endeavour and is worth every penny they charge for the stuff. As mentioned, the lifetime warranty is a real plus! As the salesmen who sold me mine said at the time...."nobody ever comes back in here and expresses regret over buying this stuff".... ;)!

[bobhamlin]

After researching last year, I bought Gerbing glove liners, the jacket liner and a dual thermostat control. There is absolutely no doubt that this is among the finest. The microwire technology is amazing--imediate heat-up.

I bought the liners for flexibility in what I want to use for outerwear. I've only used my leather jacket and mitten shells so far, however.

The connect-up is the only bother. I'm wondering if I should have gone to battery-powered gloves. When I put my leather jacket over the jacket liner, I have to make sure I have a good hold on the plugs at the wrists or they disappear up my sleeve.

Also, since my morning commute is in the dark, I had to learn which dial controlled the gloves and which controlled the jacket liner by touch. Once I learned the best place to attach the thermostat--to the outside left pocket of my leather jacket, that problem went away.

To the mid-teens for an hour's highway drive, my hands and torso were perfect. The jacket liner actually provides neck protection from wind draft, so I don't even need a neck gator.

The Gerbing DID let me realize that my Arai full-face helmet had some drafty leaks, however. Small spots on the top of my head were the only irritants, solved by a baklava (sp?) pullover.

I'm not the type who usually goes top of the line, but this is an American company, their cutting-edge stuff is used in military applications, and other than price--which I think is justified--I have heard no complaints.

Geez, it sounds like I work for them. (I don't).