Heated Gear?

Discussion in 'Gear & Accessories' started by Forester, Oct 21, 2014.

  1. Forester

    Forester New Member

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    it is that time of year...and I have a few dollars saved up at Revzilla from past purchases. So any opinions on who makes the best heated gear? I think my #1 priority is that the gear be thin and wearable under my Dianese every day gear. Thin glove liners are the most critical part, even if it sacrifices some heat, I have heated grips too.

    Also, can you mix brands on this stuff? Or should I pick one brand and go with it?
     
  2. V4toTour

    V4toTour New Member

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    Best is probably gerbing. I picked up some sedici hotwired gear at cycle gear. Works well. Decently priced. Dont quote me but from what I've seen most brands use the same style connectors
     
  3. tinkerinWstuff

    tinkerinWstuff Administrator Staff Member

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    Can't answer your specific questions but I'm real happy with my heated vest. Compact and the best versatility.

    Happy shopping
     
  4. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Gerbings began with heated gloves as their first product.

    Heated gear is 12 volts. The connectors can vary.

    Check oot the various websites for the several manufacturers bypassing their claims that their stuff is the best. What else would they say?
     
  5. Mohawk

    Mohawk New Member

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    You are better off with heated grips so you can use your normal gloves. If you wear heated inner gloves, you won't find a good fit, unless you have very loose fitting gloves. If you buy heated gloves, then you have to connect your body to the bike electrically.

    Wrap around heated grips are a good compromise, as for most people if its cold enough to need heated grips, you won't be running hard or using max throttle, so the wider grip they give won't interfere with your normal riding & when it warms up you just peel them off & away you go.

    A little used but very practicle solution is the bar heaters made for snow mobiles, fits inside the bar & they put out some serious heat ! bit cooler on the twist grip side, but still warm enough.
     
  6. Forester

    Forester New Member

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    I actually already have the Honda heated grips, so the glove part is lower priority. I wasn't very clear in my OP, glove liners being thin was the critical thing. I was thinking a liner might work as a little extra, but I can put that off. Sounds like I need to shop Gerbing's gear, any other favorite brands?
     
  7. Pliskin

    Pliskin New Member

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    I don't know much about heated gear. Just food for thought here, but places like Cabelas sell heated gear (often made by gerbings) that is battery operated. I suppose if you wanted to "lessen the load" you could look at something like that.
     
  8. OOTV

    OOTV Insider

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    OCLandspeeder rides with heated gear and swears by it. He talked me into buying his other jacket (Tour Master Synergy2) that was a tad too loose for him, though I have yet to try it as I bought it just after winter passed. It's not like we get a lot of cold here in So Cal but we went on a few rides last winter that had temps as low as 27F, and that was for at least a half hour or more. Normally I ride with thermals or the CG Freeze Out gear under my non perforated leathers in the winter and do Ok but once in a while I do need to stop and warm up, mostly my hands and sometimes feet.

    My understanding of the heated gear is that most makers will tell you that their gear will only work with their controllers and their other accessories. i.e. Gloves, jacket, pants, shoe inserts, rheostats, etc. probably to keep the money in their pocket. However, unless the gear that's inter-connecting has different wattage loads and/or the connector polarity is different I'm not sure why it wouldn't work, it all works with 12v. I would double check to see if mixing brands is a void of warranty just to be sure.

    I did do a non riding test with the jacket after I wired the bike up just to make sure everything worked and I can say that the jacket warms you really nicely! As odd as this may sound, I can't wait for some cold weather so I can try out the gear in a real world environment.
     
  9. OCLandspeeder

    OCLandspeeder New Member

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    Full sleeve heated jacket liner. NEVER leave home without it! One ride in temperatures below 60 and you will swear by it.

    I went another step and went with heated gloves too. Oh my! Heaven! The only thing worse than freezing hands is cold rain and painfully cold hands! Last April I got to test cold rain too. I tell you all, heated full sleeve liner AND gloves (or glove liner) is mankind's gift to motorcyclists. Talk about being able to ride in complete comfort, full alertness, high energy, in very cold (and wet) weather is wonderful. When you're warm your body doesn't spend energy keeping you warm. So you're more alert and able to ride well for long periods.

    Do it. You will never go back to not having heated gear.
     
  10. Hotbrakes

    Hotbrakes New Member

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    I've been using Tourmaster Synergy for several years with zero issue. I ride year round and it keeps me nice and toasty into the teens. Initially started with a vest, then got a full sleeve jacket and the vest rarely sees the light of day anymore. Need to get gloves though, heated grips are good, but not quite good enough once it gets below 40 for long rides.
     
  11. Badbilly

    Badbilly Official VFRWorld Troll Of The Year!

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    Mixing brands may call for connector matching. Maybe some one with a lot of electrical savvy can address the differences in the resistance of the various wiring sizes.

    Then we got windchill to factor in.
     
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