This coming up weekend, Nov. 6th, 7th & 8th, we will be taking a 2 night road trip down to Tumwater, Washington to see the Gerbing headquarters and to trade in our old technology for their new micro-wire heated liners. I ran a poll a few weeks back and asked if you guys ride in the winter. I am amazed that the majority answered yes with NO HEATED gear.
Maybe we are getting soft in our aging process because to be honest I can not ride without heat when the temps drop below double digits Celsius.
Perfect example was today, 1 degree Celsius when I left my house for work at 0520 and got down to 6 on my way home. Just a turn of the dial and even a little heat makes for such an enjoyable ride home. We love our heated liner and gloves but that is just us. This is the best time of year for me to ride. Especially when the rains stay away.
So….since I still have my tracking subscription on my SPOT Connect I will be turning it on for this trip. We are going to finish off the Olympic Peninsula. There is a section that we still need to ride and will do it this time around since we did not over the weekend of October 3rd.
Oh, and there are other companies out there that make heated gear like:
Powerlet
Mobile Warming Gear
Tourmaster
First Gear
Warm & Safe
Tips about using heated gear:
Heated gear is worn as close to your body as you can without actually touching your skin. You can wear a vest or full liner. We prefer the full liner and heated gloves. Most companies sell glove liners too. All heated gear is meant to be worn under you riding suit. We presently own the KLIM Traverse suit that is made for the rider to come up with their own lining system. The suit does not come with an internal rain or thermal liner. The Traverse is waterproof on the outside, Gore Tex and Cheryl and I always use our Gerbing as both a liner with no heat and of course with the heat on. Also, one thing to point out is that we keep our lining slim, no bulk and real easy to do shoulder checks.
Keeping our core body temperature consistent allows us to focus more on riding rather than being cold and shivering. Being too cold can be very dangerous and so far with the set up we have we are able to comfortably ride in weather well below 0 Celsius. The coldest we both have been out has been -8 C but I think that will be the coldest we would ride. I like -5.
We also use a temperature control rather than an on/off switch. Our controller is permanent and built into our bikes. Here are a few pics of our set. Both our Beemers are set up the same exact way and Yep, Cheryl did the install. 🙂
We know people who use just an on/off switch and they find themselves having to keep turning the heat on and off all the time as their gear only has 2 temps. HIGH and off. By using a controller you can adjust the heat as you ride. Much easier to stay comfortable we feel. If we were to do it all over again we would add a dual temp controller, one for our gloves and liner.
Some companies sell heated pants, socks, insoles for boots, neck warmers, some use rechargeable batteries, wireless temperature controllers or like us, we are hard wired to our battery and plug in.
Most gear uses anywhere from 15 watts to over 100 watts depending how many items you are using at one time. Important to know what your bikes battery can handle.
It’s important that you research what cables you need and adapters. Not all gear comes ready to plug and ride. For example since we have a liner and gloves we need to make sure we bought a Y connector cable that runs from our jacket and attached to the two connectors on the liner and then plugs into the bike. Our gloves plug into sleeves. You need to find a set up that works for you.
So, that’s it. I actually started this post just be to an announcement about going to the Gerbing Headquarters and look what happened. This is typical as I am Italian and from New York….we talk a lot. Hope some of this info is helpful or useful and I will be taking some pics this weekend. Going to be trying out my new Panasonic T3 camera. Supposed to be waterproof. We shall see. 😉
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Advgrrl Motorcycle Adventures & More 
That’s a really clean-looking installation. Now I’m thinking I need to install a permanent dual controller set-up on my T800XC to replace my current portable set-up. It works well, but it’s hard to see, clipped to the adjustment strap on my jacket, so I kind of fumble around a bit when trying to adjust the temp in my jacket liner.
If and when we buy the Tigers we will install a dual permanent controllers…very neat and tidy and works great.
why don’t you email me about trying our heated gear. given we are the only ones in this business that actually ride all over the world for months at a time, and the fact that controllers and liners are mostly copies of what we put out and the fact that we were the first to design heated gear for women different from men, you might find our stuff worth the time to check out.
I know your line..but do not own any of it except we have some gloves. Not really in the market to buy new heated gear but why not email us and let me know what you are thinking? lsofarelli@gmail.com
We have a tester program that gives you between 60 to 80% discount.
Thanks
Mike Coan http://www.warmnsafe.com Warm & Safe Heated Gear LLC Skype Name: gtsmike
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micro wire? are you serious? so now they copied our trade in program? i have rolls of micro wire in our warehouse and it has been there for 10 years. we decided it just does not work compared to 2.2mm resistance or carbon. drop by our place in Milwaukie, outside Portland, first and check out our heated gear. talk to our people, all bikers. and checkout our trade up prices. or not. up to you.
You seem very angry. I initially was introduced to Gerbing when I first rode. I know your company, I have a pair of gloves that I bought years ago from you. I document other companies as you see but can only document what I use. Doesn’t mean your company isn’t a great company…I just don’t know your stuff that well.
we spend our money on R&D and not on advertising bad ideas. you like the coax connector on their stuff? we developed that of our products. you like the solid state of the controller? yes we were the ones that designed it. you like the new sleeves? the women’s cut? the zipper pockets for the sleeve plugs? yes we had those in our products first. i suppose if we did not put our money in to making new stuff and riding, oh yes we are the only real riders in this industry, we could have some bad idea but make it sound like the latest thing since sliced bread. how long before the remote control heat-troller is copied?
the reason you don’t know about our product is that we don’t run ads. if you read MCN i am surprised you never heard of us since they have done a number of stories. so has BMWON. none of which we pay for. we have grown by word of mouth. that alone should tell you something. and unlike others, we have a return policy so that if you don’t like it, you can return it.
yes i get angry because people need to trust the folks that design the products and use the products, not the advertisements. if you review products, then contact us. ask Krysti, she has a Harley. she can set something up for you. we are all bikers in this company.
Mike I know your stuff just never bought anything except gloves. I hear you but I can’t buy everyone’s gear and no I am not an official reviewer. This is a personal blog that I do for fun and speak about the gear and accessories I buy. That’s it….
i was replying to the comments that someone made about going to Gerbing to do a trade in.
Ah sorry missed that
you really need to update the information. gerbing is not making heated gear in NC. we are riders, most of the advancements in this field we have made while others have copied us, and we still make most of our electronics in Oregon. we don’t make our liners in Pakistan or China like the others do. and by the way, Widder has been out of business for years.
Because we private label and co-brand our products for others, the chances are what is not a copy, is made by us. When we say we are taking a trip it is something like US to El Salvador or Albania or Tunisia or Europe. We keep a bike in the US and in Milan so we can go off for months to test our products in the real world. No one else in this business does this.
I added a hyper link to your web site…so, I am not sure why you are so pissed? I wear your competitor…because that is what I wear. Just have never tried your liners because well? I only need to wear one and don’t have the cash to buy a ton of extra gear I don’t need as of present. I am certain your company makes quality heated gear. I just can’t say but others could easily post here with testimonials like you but perhaps in a less accusatory way. I am just a rider who has a blog to explore and review what I know. So, sorry if this post upset you. I updated and got ride of Widder.
i am pissed because i get tired of making either new products or new way to help people and then see them ripped off by everyone else in this business. and then the joke of micro wire. i suppose if we spend money on advertising instead of R&D we could make anyone believe anything. why do we not make things for golfers? because we don’t golf. we are bikers.
thanks for the link.
Like I replied on your other comment….I am just a hobby blogger that talks about what I buy. When I got my heated gear for the first time I was not really aware of too many other companies as I was not aware of how to even kit my bike or me out. I am more knowledgeable now of companies out there but can only wear so much…;-)
what a jerk – I will never buy his stuff or support his business. Good for you Advgrrl for holding your own.
lol this was so long ago but I agree…just can’t please everyone