Re: Heated vest - sleeve or less

[90RedRider]

Am considering heated vest, initially thought with sleeves for warm arms. Then I consider the comfort of trying to slip extra material into jacket sleeve. I ride an RT so have some protection. Live in Indiana , so do have some cool riding. What is your experience and thoughts. Thanks for any insight. Thoughts between BMW and gerbing brands or the stuff from aerostich also appreciated.

[marcopolo]

I've got a Widder vest, with collar, but no sleeves. I didn't want anything with sleeves because I did not want to add any more bulk (I've got a Rallye 2 Pro jacket with Gortex liner which keeps me pretty warm).

[Foot]

Gerbing Jacket is the way to go! Heated body, sleeves, cuff and neck area. The only place on my RT I get wind on me is around mid arm area, the heat there is noticable from the Gerbings. If you want to add heated gloves down the road, the Gerbings already have the connectors in place in the jacket.

 

Alan

[johnlt]

If I can do with only heated grips and not need heated gloves, I go with my heated vest. It is the most comfortable and least bulk. If I need heated gloves, then I go with the Gerbing jacket because it has the glove connection built in. My arms and legs really don't get too cold on the RT.

[Mike O]

I have owned all three (Widder Vest, w/sleeves, and Gerbings).

 

Both Widder and Gerbings make quality heated gear. They both provide comparable torso heat (both rely on a snug fit to gain the maximum benefit). What you have to take into account (IMHO) are the following:

 

1. Wind protection from your cycle (an RT will provide far more than a naked bike)

2. Quality of the additional gear you wear. If your gear provides good forearm protection, then the value of heated sleeves (Widder or Gerbing) doesn't really matter.

3. Convenience; that is, a complete Gerbings liner is more like a jacket that is easy to put on or take off. (But if you don't need sleeve heating, it's no better than a vest)

 

BTW, I tried the Gerbings vest (competes with Widder) and found no material benefit/difference over the Widder. I also tried the Widder Sleeves (they refer to them as chaps. The work quite well as they provide warmth where you need them; on the leading, outside part of your arm. You can use them when you need them, and remove them otherwise. What I didn't like was the cumbersome assembly and positioning (and repositioning) in my jacket. BUT, they were thin. For me, I take many short trips and the chaps were just not to my liking. I ultimately returned them to the dealer.

 

I have since bought a full Gerbings liner. While it doesn't have as uniform heat distribution it is more convenient for ME. I don't particularly care for its bulk compared to the Widder, but it's a tradeoff I made. The advantages of the Widder (less the sleeve/chaps) is that it packs extremely small (I carried mine 10 mos out of the year).

 

As for heat trollers (you'll need one no matter which you choose), both Widder and Gerbings are comparable.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Mike O

[g_nuse]

I have an '04 RT and my arms do get colder than my protected chest. I just bought a Gerbings jacket and I KNOW I am going to love it. My chest area is well protected on the RT from wind and seldom do I feel cold. I wear a Savanna II jacket to give you an idea of the outerlayer I use.

[Aluminum_Butt]

I've only used a full jacket liner (with sleeves), but for me there was no question. My GT has a little less arm protection than your RT, plus I wanted to be able to use heated glove liners. I've not really had any issue with bulkiness in the sleeves. The liners are not very thick - and they're intentionally fitted close to your body to help with heat transfer.

 

FWIW, I went with Warm Gear from Cozy Winters (www.cozywinters.com), mostly because they offered glove liners and Gerbing doesn't. I already have a pair of winter gloves I really like.

 

In hindsight, I would *not* recommend their stuff. It's OK, but after looking at some Gerbing stuff up close, I think Gerbing is probably better.

[RonB]

I have a Warm & Safe jacket which generates a lot of heat, has a lot of features and uses a lot of watts like the Gerbing. I also use a Widder vest with collar and arm chaps. It looks a little funny with the chaps but the vest fits better than the jacket so it keeps me almost as warm with half the watts. The vest can be used alone and the chaps packed away if needed.

[Lineareagle]

I am sitting here with my Freedom vest on that I wore to work this am on my RT.

I suit up with undershirt, long sleeved shirt, Freedom vest and a windstopper jacket under my Aerostich. I am comfortable on the RT to 0 C riding all day and can make short 1 hour trips colder than that. You are right tho that the arms are what eventually call a halt to the ride.

I like this vest as I can wear it around and it looks good during the day.

http://freedomheatedclothing.ca/vest.htm

[bross]

I just bought my first heated vest this fall and thought I would go with the sleeves as well. Until I tried them on. Every one with sleeves I tried on, 3 different brands, gerbings included, the wires rubbed my elbows and were very uncomfortable. I went with just the vest.

[JoeV]

I've had both a BMW heated vest and Gerbings jacket liner.

 

This is a personal thing.

 

In my experience the BMW vest is great, top notch quality.

 

Gerbings is a great company with wonderful support. I've purchased 3 Gerbings jacket liners over the years.

 

My first I sold with a bike to seal the deal.

My second was the replacement for my first

The third was a gift to a friend.

 

I know a lot of folks that use Gerbings and have

no trouble with them.

 

So guess I was the odd case when I had trouble with

one sleeve getting too hot, which made the rest of

the jacket seem too cold. Gerbings fixed it up fast

for no charge!

 

I'm a Gerbings fan.

 

If you decide to go with a Gerbings jacket liner I could

suggest:

 

Get a snug fit with sleeves that may seem a little short.

The sleeve cuff should stop short of your hand.

 

Where an outer layer that is perhaps a bit big so the

Gerbings liner will fit under it.

 

The Gerbings liner will also squash down into a very small

ball that can be squshed into a saddle bag. The BMW vest

can not be squashed down as small.

 

The jacket liner makes adding heated gloves easier than

if you had a vest as there are plugs and the end of the

jacket liner sleeves for the gloves.

 

Like I sad this is a personal thing.

 

but... I get a lot of extra comfortable riding days because of my Gerbings liner and gloves.

[tomk99r11]

Get something with sleeves. You will regret not having them when you vest lets frigid wind blast take the heat out of your arms. Makes no difference if you are on an RT or sometehing else. And, those arm chaps available for Widder are butt ugly. But, its your $.

[pbharvey]

I have a Gerbing jacket liner and like it a lot. I intially thought I wanted to buy a vest but my dealer only carried the jacket liners. My argument for the vest was less bulk and thinking that if my torso and hands (heated grips) were warm, my arms would be fine. Maybe so but I really like the jacket liner. It keeps everything the same temperature so my arms don't "feel" colder than my torso and hands. After wearing it a couple years, I don't even notice the bulk. Lastly, if you ride when it's really cold, you'll appreciate the heated sleeves.

[Yankee_Dog]

I had the Widder vest. My body was warm, but my arms were still cold. I returned it and bought the Gerbing liner. Now I am happy. I have not tried the Widder arm chaps, but I have seen someone else putting them on. It looked like a PIA to me.

 

The Gerbing (vest or jacket) has another advantage. If you are not careful how you connect the Widder you can reverse the polarity and your controller will not work properly. With the Gerbing it is just plug and play. You cant mess up.

 

yankee Dog

[JustKrusen]

I have and use both Gerbings vest and jacket liner. The jacket liners wins every time. The heat distribution is so even that you will forget that you are wearing electrics at all. I have been using these since '97 for a total of 175,000 miles. I moved to FL last year. Before that I lived in Clevland, OH and road year round when the roads were clean. Temps down to 25 were very comfortable while using the jacket liner. The vest works OK down to about 40. After that the arms start to feel the cold and I have to turn the vest to high just to keep my core warm enough.

 

Get the jacket liner and you won't look back.

[UberXY]

I had the Widder vest. My body was warm, but my arms were still cold. I returned it and bought the Gerbing liner. Now I am happy.

 

My story exactly.

[mmmoore]

I have the Aerostich Kennetsu (sp?) windproof liner for my Darian jacket. I rode from SF CA to Houston TX in end of Dec in 17 degree weather in the desert and swear by it. I wore a long sleeve turtle neck shirt over long underwear and a Woolrich chamois shirt and always stayed toasty. Lowers were long underwear, levis, and my Darien pants. Oh yeah thick socks and BMW boots

[jimswms]

I have a Gerbings liner that I wish I bought smaller. I'm one of those people that likes clothes to fit a little loose. My liner seems very tight on me, but, that's based on how I would normally wear clothes. Don't make the same mistake I did. Buy it snug. I've been trying to sell mine to get something that fits better, but, have had no takers (size 50/34).

 

I guess you can look at it a different way. Mine is VERY warm when I have my fleece zipped into my darien. The insulation keeps the heat in and helps push the liner to my body. without it, 45 or so, and, I'm getting cold. My fault, thanks to the sizing, but, I'm not happy with it, because, it forces me to layer more than I'd like/ For this reason, I'm hunting for a second hand vest. I figure I'll be happy with alot less bulk for the most part. When it's really cold, I'll go with the gerbing.

 

I agree with the poster about the elbow wires. Bugs me too. the other thing I don't like about the Gerbings, is that I feel like I've been wrapped with an extension cord. It works, but, not ideal to me.

 

Either way, I think the best thing going these days is the Aerostich Airvantage with the removeable sleeves.http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HARLEY-VEST-HEATED-TOURING-CUTOFF-MOTORCLOTHES-5266_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6755QQihZ010QQitemZ200046356414QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

 

Also, Folks have said that you can wear the Gerbings as a light jacket off the bike. That's true, but, it's pretty goofy looking. Another plus for the Aerostich fleece. That thing just rocks!

[90RedRider]

Thank you all for the input. Not sure which way I will go, but the varying opinions are helpful in making me consider things before I do buy. Thanks - Sid

[ADulay]

Am considering heated vest, initially thought with sleeves for warm arms. Then I consider the comfort of trying to slip extra material into jacket sleeve. I ride an RT so have some protection. Live in Indiana , so do have some cool riding. What is your experience and thoughts. Thanks for any insight. Thoughts between BMW and gerbing brands or the stuff from aerostich also appreciated.

Just got my first set of heated clothing about two years ago. Should have done it 20 years earlier!!

 

At the time, I got the HD branded Gerbing jacket liner which covers the chest and sleeves. I don't find that there is any noticible bulk with the heated sleeves either under a leather jacket or lighter golf type jacket.

 

I do wear a long sleeved shirt UNDER the jacket liner to keep the heat on the sleeves to a comfortable level and avoid any hot spots.

 

Heated clothing. The only way to ride below 55 degrees!!

AD

[NoHeat]

I'd suggest buying whichever brand is stocked by a local dealer.

 

After I bought my Gerbing jacket liner, which I love , I somehow lost the short adapter cord from the jacket to the BMW accessory outlet. So, I just stopped by the dealer again to get another off the shelf for about $13, and I was warm that same day. If I had bought a brand available to me online only, I would have been cold while I waited for the part.

 

As for jacket vs. vest, I like the jacket a lot. In a riding position, your arms are nowhere near your warm body, and they take some wind, so they could get cold. I have no problems with bulkiness from the Gerbing jacket liner under my outer JoeRocket jacket - it's not much different from the zip-out JoeRocket lining that I took out in order to use the Gerbing.

[harpoon47]

Go with the jacket. With the RT you don't need the electrics until it gets really cold and when it does, you'll want the heat in the sleeve area as well as the body to keep your core warm. I've been riding in NH every day since March and have used my Gerbing jacket twice, once in the Spring on a 24 hr ride in cold and rain and once in December in the AM @ 20 degrees. Otherwise an unlined leather jacket and polypropolene shirt is enough on the RT. With the wind protection of the RT your arms are really all that's hanging out there so heated sleeves make sense.

[Mike05]

I'm also in the market for heated, upper-body clothing and haven't a clue; never had any so the posts here are really very helpful. With that in mind, anyone ever come across the

Powerlet ProForm Heated Liner

 

Powerlet products have always been first-rate so it's a little like "quality by association"; I'd feel better if someone has actually used this product.

[bakerzdosen]

I'm also in the market for heated, upper-body clothing and haven't a clue; never had any so the posts here are really very helpful. With that in mind, anyone ever come across the

Powerlet ProForm Heated Liner

 

Powerlet products have always been first-rate so it's a little like "quality by association"; I'd feel better if someone has actually used this product.

In the past, most people have answered that with "why would you buy one of these when you can get a Gerbing jacket for the same price?

 

I own a Gerbing and really like it. Would I consider something else? Yes - if I were buying another one, I'd seriously consider a warm-n-safe jacket because they're $50 less if you register for having completed MSF. However, I can honestly say that so far, my Gerbing has been everything everyone said it would be.

[John Bentall]

I'm also in the market for heated, upper-body clothing and haven't a clue; never had any so the posts here are really very helpful. With that in mind, anyone ever come across the

Powerlet ProForm Heated Liner

 

Powerlet products have always been first-rate so it's a little like "quality by association"; I'd feel better if someone has actually used this product.

 

The controller is different, but otherwise it looks very, very similar to the Gerbings.

I'd buy the Gerbings.

[Calvin (no socks)]

I purchased a Kinetsu Jacket when I bought my Darien jacket, 5 years ago. I have little use for heated gear as I have a high tolerance for cold, and live in Florida. I have used it for several trips and it didn't seem to work.....

 

Until recently....

 

I found out I was wearing it inside out....

Fuzzy side out...Now it works much better than it used to...

what an idiot....

[Survived-til-now]

Hi

 

I have used a BMW vest for years and think its the best thing invented since sliced bread. Then I made a fatal mistake and washed it. After that it only worked at 25% and even then only on the back.....

 

So I bought a new one (£200 - that's sterling pounds), wore it once and halfway home it stopped working. The dealer swopped it no problem but I do have some points having compared my (knackered) old jacket with the new model....

 

The old one has a good firm connection when the lead is plugged into the jacket (a real loud click)

 

The cable to the plug interface (the end that goes to the jacket) is much better on the old than the new. The old cnnector has a screw-up tight grip on the cable - the new does not - and it was twisted or loose wires on my "new" model jacket's lead that was the cause of it failing.

 

Having learnt from all this I have some suggestions for those who buy the new model BMW jacket:

 

1. Use electrical tape to re-inforce the "lead to jacket connector" in order to stop the cable twisting in the connector

 

2. Plug the connector in and use some very thin/small ty-wraps to re-inforce the female connector on the jacket. If you look real close you will see that the female part of the connector has two splits in it. The ty-wraps strengthen the connection making it firmer. It works! but remember that the connector has to come out in an accident so do not make it too tight (I don't think you could but the point has to be made).

 

otherwise it is a great jacket......

 

Stay warm

 

Andy

[jimswms]

I'm also in the market for heated, upper-body clothing and haven't a clue; never had any so the posts here are really very helpful. With that in mind, anyone ever come across the

Powerlet ProForm Heated Liner

 

Powerlet products have always been first-rate so it's a little like "quality by association"; I'd feel better if someone has actually used this product.

It's a rebadged Warm n Safe, which many believe is much better than Gerbings. The WnS is $150 from their site after you register that you are a member of a club or site (advrider works).

 

 

http://www.warmnsafe.com/index.htm

[Nevets]

This is a different perspective, but I wish when I made my cheapo homemade heated vest, I’d made something with sleeves. I’ve been thinking about electrifying an old long sleeve sweater I have (of which the wife says is made of wool, which is self extinguishing… )

[tallman]

I purchased a Kinetsu Jacket when I bought my Darien jacket, 5 years ago. I have little use for heated gear as I have a high tolerance for cold, and live in Florida. I have used it for several trips and it didn't seem to work.....

 

Until recently....

 

I found out I was wearing it inside out....

Fuzzy side out...Now it works much better than it used to...

what an idiot....

 

No, this is an idiot.

[keithb]

You want the full liner so your arms are not hanging in the wind getting cold.