Widder Lectric

[Darth Vader]

Anyone else here use Widder heated gear? I got the vest and gloves (XS...what's up with their sizes?!?!?!) The vest keeps me plenty warm but the gloves don't seem to heat my hands like the vest heats my torso. If I use the gloves by themselves then they almost seem too hot.

Thought about a thermostat to help in this. Any advice? $90 is pretty steep for the therm, but is it worth it? It gets cold here but I just...can't...get....away......from....riding!!

BTW, got my stuff from Cyclegear and their customer service is outstanding! (at least in Raleigh)

[sttourer]

I ran into the same issue with the gloves. They don't seem to do a very good job in the heat department. Not to mention the size of those things. Forget about any dexterity to operate a GPS!

The vest always worked great. I do have the adjustable thermostat but it made no difference for me on the performance of the gloves.

With all that said, I moved to the Gerbing heated liner, heated socks and G2 gloves with the dual controller. I've been very pleased with all. Especially the gloves.

Pat

[Louie Louie]

I also moved to the Gerbing liner from the widder vest. Personally I am happy w/ my choice..

[Blue STreak]

Do you have the separate glove wiring harness in addition to the vest? If so, try wiring the gloves separately, rather than through the vest connections. I used a thermostat, and found I need the gloves turned up higher than the vest, so I ended up using the separate harness so I could control each of them individually.

I think the thermostat is very helpful for the gloves. Otherwise, you're constantly shuttling between too hot and too cold. For some reason, I could deal with just using the on-off switch for the vest.

I used to use Widder gloves, and had no real issues with them, except for the bulk and the old style connectors. I now use Gerbings gloves, and a warm-n-safe jacket liner, which I like better than the Gerbings liner.

[nm6r]

We use the Widder vests and arm chaps, plug the gloves into the the connectors at the end of the arm chaps. The gloves do not get as warm as the vest, however, that works out well. Our hands are kept warm without getting too hot. My wifes hands are probably a bit warmer as they are out of the air flow. That's probably why the vests seem to be so much warmer.

Ray
http://www.frontiernet.net/~st1300rider/smile04Bikerwheelie.gif

[Darth Vader]

Do you find that the addition of the arm chaps rob you of any heat? I mean, is there "less" heat since it has to spread it out to the arms as well as chest and hands? Or do they all create their own heat independently from one another?

Another nice, yet costly, item to use is UnderArmor. I bought it before I got heated gear but it is sooooo thin yet warm.

[nm6r]

We notice no loss of heat in the vest, just more heat on the arms.

Ray
http://www.frontiernet.net/~st1300rider/smile04Bikerwheelie.gif

[Mike]

Got a Widder syst.II vest and I have the gloves. The gloves ...hmmm, kinda suck! Sizing is off and I get a lot of wind through the seams, they are good with heated grips into the low teens and the only time they ever got to hot was when I had a short in the wiring from the vest to the glove connector and man did one glove get unbearably hot!

I only use my vest when the temp is in the low 40's and have never felt I needed a regulator, just cheap I guess.

I'll stay with Widder as they are stand up and have replaced my defective gear no questions asked.

That Gerbing heated liner is very nice and I do like it better than the arm chaps but here in NM I would not really need it.

[NormanPCN]

I have used the Gloves with their vest and all was fine. Once I was going 85pmh and climbed up to some colder temps and turned the heat up all the way and my hands were fine but my body would have liked more heat at that speed. My vest is probably not as snug as it should be for max heat transfer. When I bought the vest I went to Widder and tried them on. I could wear a 44 but I went with a 46 for a looser fit, knowing I would never likely need heavy heat.

Also remember that as stated on Widders site the gloves are not really meant for you to "feel the heat", but rather to keep your hands from getting cold. Gloves do not breath very well and they can get sweaty and eventually clammy. Not so with the body.

You cant use the gloves alone without their stand alone harness for the gloves. The resistance will be too low and thus too hot for the gloves.

[Blue STreak]

You cant use the gloves alone without their stand alone harness for the gloves. The resistance will be too low and thus too hot for the gloves.

That's a good point. The Widder gloves are wired for 6 volts, and the harness wires them in series to prevent overheating. Hooking them up in parallel (full 12 volts) would fry the gloves (and your hands if the gloves didn't burn out fast enough).

[Darth Vader]

Also remember that as stated on Widders site the gloves are not really meant for you to "feel the heat", but rather to keep your hands from getting cold.


Right you are. I just rode up to MD over the weekend and kept my gloves and vest turned on (no thermostat) the entire time. This was a 5 hour ride and when I got there my knuckles were all red and I had a blister on my left pinky. My hands never really felt hot, but then again they never felt cold either. It's almost like being at room temp.