heated gloves,vests

[eagle]

went for ride this am. temp was 25 befor sunrise. do not mind cool temps, but will get much cooler as this is the great state of minesota. my question is what brands of heated gloves,vests are most highly recomended? also can these be plugged into a 12volt acc. port? any advise will be big help. THANKS in advance.

[dancogan]

went for ride this am. temp was 25 befor sunrise. do not mind cool temps, but will get much cooler as this is the great state of minesota. my question is what brands of heated gloves,vests are most highly recomended? also can these be plugged into a 12volt acc. port? any advise will be big help. THANKS in advance.

Do a search using "heated" or "heated clothing" and you'll find prior discussions of this topic. Personally I use Gerbings, but they're not the only game in town.

[Texmac1011]

My wife likes the warm and safe gear. Ajustable thermostat and connects to the battery.

[NancysToy]

Gerbing is probably the industry standard, but other brands are good, too. The Tourmaster garments come with a controller, which is a nice savings. Physically trying on heated gear is important, because the gear must fit snugly, over a minimum of inner layers. The number of sizes for the Gerbings is incredible. For heated gear you will also need appropriate electrical feed(s). One garment can be operated on a harness straight from the battery (if nothing else is connected), but addition garments that are not run through one single or dual controller, will require electrical modifications, namely additional outlets and an auxilliary fuse block.

I use a Tourmaster vest and Powerlet gloves. Nancy has Gerbing in both brands. I recommend the micro-wire or carbon mat types of gear. The older large wire stuff can be uncomfortable and can have cold spots.

[rnet]

Gerbing is probably the industry standard, but other brands are good, too. The Tourmaster garments come with a controller, which is a nice savings. Physically trying on heated gear is important, because the gear must fit snugly, over a minimum of inner layers. The number of sizes for the Gerbings is incredible. For heated gear you will also need appropriate electrical feed(s). One garment can be operated on a harness straight from the battery (if nothing else is connected), but addition garments that are not run through one single or dual controller, will require electrical modifications, namely additional outlets and an auxilliary fuse block.

I use a Tourmaster vest and Powerlet gloves. Nancy has Gerbing in both brands. I recommend the micro-wire or carbon mat types of gear. The older large wire stuff can be uncomfortable and can have cold spots.Just got a pair of Powerlet glove liners and I let my wife use then on the No Gawking Tour and she loved them. Now I have to put a powerlet in for the passenger. I will get her a pair so I can have mine back.:roflblack:

[coz]

N o gawking tour,,,,, thats good stuff,,,,:roflblack:

[bluestratos]

I have first gear gloves, coat liner (full sleeves) and socks. I also have the remote control heat control that runs on a battery. I have it velcro'd just under the dash on my RT. The reciever is in my liner pocket and plugs into the the battery harness they supply with the setup. They get plenty hot enough, you will have to turn them down after a bit. They default to 1/3 power if the battery dies in the controller so you have to remember to reset them every time you start the bike (you will know if you foget, lol). The socks are so hot I wear a thin pair of dress socks first, this keep them clean and prevents burning my skin, lol.

The bike runs them all fine but keep an eye not to leave on for extended periods of time below 4000 rpm, our charging system sucks at low speeds. I just turn it down to low when I am in traffic, you will want to anyways, it will get way to hot even at low if you not moving a bit. If it is really cold just keep it the RPM by shifting at a higher speed.

First gear is actually made by one of the mainbrand suppliers.. can't recall who but it is the same price and even a bit cheaper if bought at your dealer (mine was) I had a problem with one glove after the first season and my dealer exchanged them in the store (this was my old Yamaha dealership.

Regards,

Randy

[Wattsmyname]

Best thing since sliced bread, it's not heavy/bulky, packs away easily, a lot more days to ride in comfort, TourMaster was best value I found...Don't forget to add your Oxford Heated Grips. In Texas I have only ridden in as cold as 36 degrees, good luck

[ARtraveler]

For heated gear--Gerbings seems to be the brand of choice here.

For heavy duty cold weather (non-heated) I prefer Firstgear.

[murphybrown]

Gerbing also has a "outlet" discount on their website....where I got mine 50% off....but since I got the bajaron suit haven't worn my gerbings yet this season...

[BajaRon]

If you're interesed in any of the Firstgear electric gear or the Heat Troller control units I have some good pricing on them. You can see the Firstgear offerings here. Just email or PM me if you're interested.

http://www.firstgear-usa.com/Heated/CSSHeatedGear.html

[chickridin]

went for ride this am. temp was 25 befor sunrise. do not mind cool temps, but will get much cooler as this is the great state of minesota. my question is what brands of heated gloves,vests are most highly recomended? also can these be plugged into a 12volt acc. port? any advise will be big help. THANKS in advance.

I can't help you on that issue other than to say........ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!!!??? I would need 10 layers to make 25 degrees work for me!! :yikes:

[BajaRon]

I can't help you on that issue other than to say........ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!!!??? I would need 10 layers to make 25 degrees work for me!! :yikes:

Not at all, there are several easy and not too expensive ways to beat 25 degree (and colder) weather. The Firstgear Thermo is the best bang for the buck in this arena.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31mV1seAc2L._SL500_AA300_.jpg (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B0018EPQCE/ref=dp_image_z_0?ie=UTF8&n=15684181&s=automotive)

[POPS 57]

If you're interesed in any of the Firstgear electric gear or the Heat Troller control units I have some good pricing on them. You can see the Firstgear offerings here. Just email or PM me if you're interested.

http://www.firstgear-usa.com/Heated/CSSHeatedGear.html BajaRon sorry i did not know that you sold heated gear and you are a sponser. I will see if i can get rid of my post.

[Sarge707]

Best thing since sliced bread, it's not heavy/bulky, packs away easily, a lot more days to ride in comfort, TourMaster was best value I found...Don't forget to add your Oxford Heated Grips. In Texas I have only ridden in as cold as 36 degrees, good luck

I added the Oxford "Hot Hands" and they are quite warm so far. I just take off my grip puppies for the winter and the Heated Hands accomplish the same thing with nice heat.

[daveinva]

I invested in Gerbing for this winter; here was my logical assault on my need for heated gear:

1. Installed Powerlet outlets on the my RS dash-- I didn't want to mess with pigtails under the seat, and I wanted the flexibility afforded by the dash mounts for future use (GPS, battery tender, etc.)

2. Went to a local Gerbing dealer (Bob's BMW in MD) and tried on the gear (they've got plenty). With Gerbing, I *highly recommend* this, as I was surprised by the variance in sizes. I'm a 54 chest, 48 waist, 30 inseam i.e. a big stocky guy. Surprisingly, despite the figures they give online, I got by with a 2XL jacket liner (as Scotty noted, you want these a little snug), but *none* of the stock pants liner sizes fit, even the largest (forget if it's 3XL or 4XL) was too tight for me. However, if you're a 46 or less, you should be just fine with their stock pants. (Gerbing does, however, offer custom sizes via their website). Anyway, I skipped the pants liner (I'll talk more about the consequences of that in a sec).

3. Gerbing has two main gloves, the standard leather G3 and the "armored" T5; I bought the T5 gloves. Don't expect anything super-strong here, there's no carbon fiber armor or anything. But, the gloves are bulky (not overly so) so I'm sure they afford a lot more protection than the G3 gloves do, and they're VERY comfortable, with a wide gauntlet that slips nicely over even the bulkiest jacket arms (I wear a Firstgear Kilimanjaro-- thanks BajaRon!-- and the T5 gloves fit like, well, a glove with that jacket).

I've never seen anything that definitively states the *palms* of these gloves are heated; the salesman at the BMW dealer said they were, but I find there's less heat going to the palms of the gloves. That said, even down into the low 40s at 80 mph I don't have any trouble with the gloves at all, no matter how long I ride, the palms stay plenty warm wrapped around the grips. Thus, unlike other gloves that are designed to complement heated grips, I think that with at least the T5 gloves, you won't need heated grips nor turn them on.

4. For hookup, I purchased the Gerbing dual-zone heat troller and a Powerlet adapter. You can set the gloves and the jacket liner independently. If you just want to use the gloves alone, no liner, you need to use the Y-harness that comes with gloves, but I've always used them together.

Another thing to note: my Kilimanjaro jacket comes with a fleece liner that is nice and warm, but is thicker than the Gerbing liner (both liners can be worn as "arrival jackets"). Which means that if you use your Gerbing liner under your jacket, the odds are you will want to plug it in and use it, by itself and not on it's quite thin.

5. Even with the dual zone controls, I find that I get a heat "gap" along my lower arms while wearing the gloves & jacket liner combo. Perhaps this is just because of the air hitting that particular spot while riding, but I find it helps to wear a long-sleeve undershirt versus a normal t-shirt. Ditto a bit of a heat gap on the back part of the jacket. I just find that if I get cold, I shift my body within the jacket to press my body more against the jacket, it warms up in a jiffy.

6. RE: electrical load, since BRP won't see fit to include a voltmeter standard, I'm not entirely sure of my draw with the gear on. Others here have run the numbers, but my rule of thumb is to run the gloves and jacket liner only above 4,000 rpm, and never in combo with the fog lights (stinks for night riding, oh well). Both heat up very fast; however, they get VERY warm the higher the RPM the Spyder runs. I find that going 80 mph at close to 6000 RPM in 5th the gear is quite toasty.

7. It really sucks not having heated pants liner. The only winter pants I've got is a Firstgear HT overpants, no liner, so when riding in the cold I wear those over a pair of Draggin' Jeans (warmer than regular jeans thanks to the Kevlar liner), and if necessary, a pair of thermal underwear. It's worked fine for me over 300 mile trips, but I won't lie, my quads freeze *in a hurry* on the Spyder. Part of that might be my seating position (risers, floorboards), but the cold air runs right over my legs. I can handle that far better than cold hands/torso, but it's something I'm going to have to remedy with better gear at some point.

8. Lastly, my brother (a HD rider) swears by his Gerbing vest versus a jacket liner, he says a vest alone to heat the trunk is enough to take care of things. Of course, he also lives in California, where it don't get as cold as it does out east, so I think he's full of :cus:.

Good luck with the heated gear hunt, and safe riding! :doorag:

[Raptor]

Not at all, there are several easy and not too expensive ways to beat 25 degree (and colder) weather. The Firstgear Thermo is the best bang for the buck in this arena.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31mV1seAc2L._SL500_AA300_.jpg (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B0018EPQCE/ref=dp_image_z_0?ie=UTF8&n=15684181&s=automotive)

True that, Ron. These suits are the BOMB! I tried one on and I couldn't believe how well it worked. But I'm not a very small person, and the suit made me look like the StayPuff Marshmellow Man! :roflblack: Definitely NOT the suit's fault. So I didn't get one. But then I'm pretty spoiled in that I don't have to deal with the blistering cold that so many of you do. If I did, I would have one for sure.

[Mr. White]

I have Gerbings gloves and battery operated heated vest...IF below 30, Bajaron's Thermo suit.... I don't need the heated gloves on the Spyder, but I do on the Wing.

:spyder2:

[BajaRon]

BajaRon sorry i did not know that you sold heated gear and you are a sponser. I will see if i can get rid of my post.

Don't worry about it. You're not stepping on my toes. I don't do a very good job of marketing and many people don't know all the gear I carry.

[Spyderjockey]

N o gawking tour,,,,, thats good stuff,,,,:roflblack:

:ohyea::popcorn::agree::cheers:

[pro10is]

I went with Warm & Safe due to the superb quality of their products (they are also the manufacturer of vests and gloves for First Gear) and their incredible customer service and lifetime wiring warranty. Also if you are a member of ADVrider you will get an excellent discount. Combine that with the purchase of a Gen3 vest from their factory outlet section and you will get an awesome deal.

Whatever vest you choose I highly recommend the Remote Control Heat-troller to control the vest (also sold by First Gear/Bajaron). The remote control unit works flawlessly and mounts with ease with no wires attached to it.
35816

I also highly recommend the Firstgear Thermo suit from Bajaron. The combination of this suit and the vest gets me through the coldest and wettest weather here in Northern New England. In fact the suit is so good you might not even need the vest. With the suit on I only use the vest if the temperature is below 40 F.
35817

[Lamonster]

I've used Gerbing for years but with the heated grips on the RT and the wind protection of the RT I don't find myself needed them. I did buy a thermo suit from Ron too and that's great in the cold.