hopgo
OK ....I'm getting ready to make the plunge on heated gear....Hands down which is BETTER gear, price aside?? Gerbing or Warm'N'Safe?????????????
MNwing
Gerbring gets my vote, great customer service and compared to other brands the cost isn't all that bad either
hobo57
Just curious, as I know nothing about heated gear, but what pieces are you planning to buy? Vest? Jacket? Gloves? Socks?
Just curious for my future purchases, once I get all my current purchases paid for. (this farkling gets expensive.)
Just curious for my future purchases, once I get all my current purchases paid for. (this farkling gets expensive.)
My vote is also Gerbing. I've been business with them over 20 years and the customer service is top-notch. Plus their so close to you that it would be a major convenience for sizing and service. Mike
Gerbings are great but go with a full jacket liner instead of a vest to get heated arms and wiring for heated gloves.
OP
OP
hopgo
I am planning on getting a heated jacket liner, gloves and heat-troller. Thanks for the info and opinions.
ccryder
Gerbing gets my vote for quality, warmth, reliability and customer service. Nuff said.
Neil S.
Neil S.
Highrider
Part time mechanic
hopgo
That's the route I took with the Gerbings gear I bought last year, planning to add socks and pants to the list as I needed. I found that keeping my core warm with only a jacket under my Aerostitch and gloves, keeps me comfortable riding for hours down to the mid teens temperatures. What you need to watch beyond that is protection under the helmet to keep your chin, lips and nose from freezing. A custom fleece mask made by my SO took care of that problem.
That's the route I took with the Gerbings gear I bought last year, planning to add socks and pants to the list as I needed. I found that keeping my core warm with only a jacket under my Aerostitch and gloves, keeps me comfortable riding for hours down to the mid teens temperatures. What you need to watch beyond that is protection under the helmet to keep your chin, lips and nose from freezing. A custom fleece mask made by my SO took care of that problem.
Blue STreak
Bob Meyer
What gear? If you're talking about a jacket liner, the warm'n'safe is far superior in design. With heated gear, the closer the heating elements are to your body the warmer you'll be for any expenditure of watts. The elastic side panels in the warm'n'safe let the liner fit much closer to the body than is possible with the Gerbing liner.
The warm'n'safe also has a clever design feature. Both the Gerbing and warm'n'safe let you attach heated gloves at the end of the sleeves. But the warm'n'safe is designed so that you can switch the vest to power both gloves and vest from one power source (e.g., one heat-troller), or separately. I'm pretty sure Gerbing's requires you to decide how you want it at the time of order, and once you've bought it you can't switch back and forth.
As for quality, both products are well made out of high quality materials.
Mike Coan at warm'n'safe can be a bit crochety, but both he and Gerbing's have come through for me when I've had problems. Coan replaced a dead heat-troller out of warranty, even though it was probably my fault it died. Gerbing's has repaird 2 dead gloves without question or problem.
Buy from either with confidence, but the warn'n'safe liner is of superior design.
The warm'n'safe also has a clever design feature. Both the Gerbing and warm'n'safe let you attach heated gloves at the end of the sleeves. But the warm'n'safe is designed so that you can switch the vest to power both gloves and vest from one power source (e.g., one heat-troller), or separately. I'm pretty sure Gerbing's requires you to decide how you want it at the time of order, and once you've bought it you can't switch back and forth.
As for quality, both products are well made out of high quality materials.
Mike Coan at warm'n'safe can be a bit crochety, but both he and Gerbing's have come through for me when I've had problems. Coan replaced a dead heat-troller out of warranty, even though it was probably my fault it died. Gerbing's has repaird 2 dead gloves without question or problem.
Buy from either with confidence, but the warn'n'safe liner is of superior design.
I have a Gerbing liner, coat, gloves, and dual controller. No problems, no issues, just warm riding.
+1 on the Gerbing customer service; ever time I have has a question they have been prompt and helpful.
FWIW, mileage may vary, batteries not included, yada, yada, yada.
Joseph
+1 on the Gerbing customer service; ever time I have has a question they have been prompt and helpful.
FWIW, mileage may vary, batteries not included, yada, yada, yada.
Joseph
Ranger
I've owned both. I'm currently using the Warm'N'Safe. They'll both do the job, but I like the Warm'N'Safe better. I find that the expandable panels really do make a difference in heat transfer. The previous comment about wiring in gloves is also true. (I'm using Gerbings gloves, btw)
Customer service was a wash. They were both decent.
If you'd like to see the two side by side sometime we can arrange that. I'm at most an hour out of Olympia.
Terry
Customer service was a wash. They were both decent.
If you'd like to see the two side by side sometime we can arrange that. I'm at most an hour out of Olympia.
Terry
SteveST1300
Vendor
I have the jacket liner, gloves, Pants and socks. I ride polarbear all winter. But I think I could get by without the heated pants. The liners that come with most riding pants are pretty good. I have a dual thermostat so I can control upper and lower gear tems individually.
Blue STreak
Bob Meyer
Tom:
I use gloves and jacket liner. The Gebing's gloves are moderately bulky, and not that warm without power. So you probably won't use them for much off the bike.
Both jacket liners are fine to wear off the bike. Not terribly stylish, but not uncomfortable, either. They are light, and not very bulky. The Gerbing liner, being looser, is probably more comfortable to just walk around in zipped up, and it has a bit more insulation in it. But, at Westoc, I wore the warm'n'safe liner off the bike, for example, while eating breakfast at an outdoor table.
The warm'n'safe has zippered pockets to store all the cords in, so you don't have to walk around with wires hanging out all over the place. I think the Gerbing does, too, but I don't remember for sure. Usually, I just let the wires dangle: if people look at me funny, who cares.
I use gloves and jacket liner. The Gebing's gloves are moderately bulky, and not that warm without power. So you probably won't use them for much off the bike.
Both jacket liners are fine to wear off the bike. Not terribly stylish, but not uncomfortable, either. They are light, and not very bulky. The Gerbing liner, being looser, is probably more comfortable to just walk around in zipped up, and it has a bit more insulation in it. But, at Westoc, I wore the warm'n'safe liner off the bike, for example, while eating breakfast at an outdoor table.
The warm'n'safe has zippered pockets to store all the cords in, so you don't have to walk around with wires hanging out all over the place. I think the Gerbing does, too, but I don't remember for sure. Usually, I just let the wires dangle: if people look at me funny, who cares.
Bones
Your Humble Scribe
.... said the man from Canada, where it gets cold.newbornst1300 said:
The man from New England (where it gets nearly as cold) agrees.
ccryder
At 43 degrees this AM my Gerbing kept me toasty! I think mine is 6 years old. When I bought the Gerbing gloves 3 years ago they asked me about my jacket and how it was wired/ how I wanted it wired. I intended to use a dual controller. Gerbing told me to send in my jacket and they would modify the wiring and plugs for free. They told me if I would pay shipping to them, they would pay for the return. All in all, I shipped on Friday and the next Friday it was back.
Time2Ride
Neil S.
Time2Ride
Neil S.
Wolvie
I never used or even handled a Warm'N'Safe product.
However, I can say nothing bad about Gerbings. The jacket liner works great and I can't even imagine what it was like before heated gear.
I didn't bother with the heated gloves because they feel just too bulky for me. For around the same cash, I suggest you go with heated grips.
However, I can say nothing bad about Gerbings. The jacket liner works great and I can't even imagine what it was like before heated gear.
I didn't bother with the heated gloves because they feel just too bulky for me. For around the same cash, I suggest you go with heated grips.
Bill L
I have a nit to pick with Gerbing. Couple of years ago I was enroute to AK, plugged in the Gerbing jacket and gloves in the Yukon and blew a fuse. Trouble shot it to the point that if I did NOT plug in the gloves, the jacket worked OK. Gerbing gloves are not very warm without heat. Called Gerbing from Anchorage, got a good description of how to open the gloves and check the wiring and return them to Gerbing for inspection when possible. What I found was that the wire from the plug was attached to the heating element wire without any insulation. The two wires shorted and blew the fuse. Production / Quality problem quickley fixed in the field.
I can accept that but what got me upset was when I returned the gloves to get inspected, I got them back along with a bill for $10 return shipping! I'd be a happy camper except for that.
Bill Lindner
I can accept that but what got me upset was when I returned the gloves to get inspected, I got them back along with a bill for $10 return shipping! I'd be a happy camper except for that.
Bill Lindner