Heated Vest vs. Jacket Liner

Gerbings Jacket liner !
Warm arms make a big difference, and the Jacket Liner makes it much easer to plug in the Gerbings Gloves ! Grip heaters do a wonderful job of warming my palms, but the back of my hands still freeze. Gerbings Gloves All warm and toasty !

I agree with those that suggest a heated jacket liner. I wear a BMW Rallye Pro2.

1) Jacket
2) Jacket liner
3) Gerbings heated long sleeve liner

Fits perfect. Remember to order the heated long sleeved liner a bit snug so that it fits reasonably snuggly on your body. Don't buy a too loose heated liner.

Wear the heated jacket as close to your body as is reasonable, so that it heats you, rather than several layers of clothes... Generally, I wear my gerbing's jacket with an insulating layer over it, and both layers go under my roadcrafter (of course). That way it keeps all the heat in better. With this setup, I'm good for long distances in the cold, right down to about freezing temps (which is when I throw in the towel anyway).

I used to have a vest. I used it for about three years. It worked well enough most of the time here in Seattle. Last year my commute tripled in length (30 miles each way), and the vest just wouldn't cut it anymore during that pre-dawn cold in January....

Basically, it all depends on what you're doing. I got the vest for travelling, and I liked the way it took up a little less room. Using it for the commute, it was okay most of the time. Occasionally in the dead of winter, going 50 - 60 miles, I wished I had sleeves. But 95% of the time, the vest was sufficient.

So it depends on how cold you want to go, how far, how often, and what your comfort level is. I got a friend who bought the electric jacket and gloves... and then from October - March he drives his GMC to work anyway. My two cents is that if you're a die-hard rider stretching the limits of old man winter, get the jacket. If you want something for a x-c trip in the summer, the vest might be a better choice. Either way, go for the heat-troller, and use your electrons wisely.

mtfrench said:

I have a Gerbings jacket liner and love it as well. However, my fingers still get numb in the cold temps. Has anyone combined the Gerbings liner with the heated gloves? If so, what are the observations?

Click to expand...

you can get gloves or glove liners. both work well...

I use the jacket liner under my Olympia, and all is fine. VERY glad I did the jacket, the heat on the arms is great, as is the heated collar. You do need the controller or you'll fry, though..
Might take a look at this one:
http://www.gm-cycles.com/Shop/Control/Product/fp/vpid/6058347/vpcsid/0/SFV/32653

I am riding the day the ice goes away...

OK, you guys sold me on Gerbings jacket as the one to get.

Talk to me about battery draw; am I going to lose ground (battery speaking) on short 45 mile trips? (my daily commute)

So this jacket has a temp control, or does it have one included with the jacket?

Do the sizes run small or large?

And finally, what other choices are out there? All I hear is Gerbings Gerbings Gerbings ..

Warm-n-Safe is equivalent to Gerbings...same connectors and all

Read his take on his controller vs the Gerbings unit.The original Gerbings was good, seems some folks have had some bad China models...read some threads about that somewhere. I have Gerbings pants, but Warm-n-Safe liner. The controller works a little diff than G's brand.it is solid state pulsing vs. a voltage rheostat. I have the portable/dual controller so I can run pants and jacket seperate and move it from bike to bike with either the BMW plug adapter or the Gerbings/Warm-n-safe direct to battery stereo jack looking plug connection(teknikal term). Have never had an issue with battery drain,even on short runs. After we started using the liners vs the BMW vest...never used the vests again. My BMW outlet on rear of my GS tripped out when Helen plugged into it recently...That one needs to be wired into my Centech in the future... That day she was trying her gloves and jacket at same time.

http://www.warmnsafe.com/index.htm?PHPSESSID=5162e961bea4b4beebfb4047e27d1170

and...the sizes are talked about on that site...mine ran the same as my jacket size I recall. The thermostat is seperate...of cour$e

I had a vest before I brought the jacket liner. The liner was alot warmer. There be days when you need both the jacket liner and the gerbing liner.


Roc

redclfco said:

OK, you guys sold me on Gerbings jacket as the one to get.

Do the sizes run small or large?

Click to expand...

Red-

IF you're going to the Cycle World show in Mpls this weekend, and IF Gerbing's has a booth there, they'll measure you up to make sure you get into the right size. Very helpful.

There are some "fit critical" issues with electric gear that I wasn't fully aware of.

I did this last year, and took the "factory" measurement sheet with me in case I decided to order one later.

Still haven't done it, but I probably will do it someday...

I've never heard of anyone who had a jacket liner that wished they had a vest instead...

I got the Warm&Safe jacket liner and could not be happier with it.

Well;

Now you have. My arms are probably larger than most out here riding! I like them free of layers under the jacket and it works with the vest only for me. The heated body CORE keeps most folks warm, especially with the heated grips on the hands. Blood flows and its warm coming from the heated body core through the arms! Science. Liners are very good and I agree many love them things. I am a big guy with weightlifting arms. A good reason, yes, for my vest....Ever see those bare mega football player "arms" in cold snowy conditions on the fields and wonder why they don't freeze??? Many do wear coverage over their arms but many many do not! Blood flow is exceptional in atheletes of this size and the warmth from their core bodies does the job for short periods in the cold with no protection. Vests work equally good for some of us. I'm a minority, I know. Thought you needed to hear it though....Happy Trails, Randy

HFD190 said:

Also, has anyone who purchased a vest wished they had gone with the jacket liner instead?

Click to expand...

When I bought my Widder vest, all there was were other vests. My arms also felt cool to cold on frosty rides.

When it finally failed 13 years later, I went for a Gerbings jacket liner.

No regrets!

What FatChance said, Warm & Safe liner. Ride happy and warm.

Polarbear said:

Now you have. My arms are probably larger than most out here riding! I like them free of layers under the jacket and it works with the vest only for me. The heated body CORE keeps most folks warm, especially with the heated grips on the hands. Blood flows and its warm coming from the heated body core through the arms! Science. Liners are very good and I agree many love them things. I am a big guy with weightlifting arms. A good reason, yes, for my vest....Ever see those bare mega football player "arms" in cold snowy conditions on the fields and wonder why they don't freeze??? Many do wear coverage over their arms but many many do not! Blood flow is exceptional in atheletes of this size and the warmth from their core bodies does the job for short periods in the cold with no protection. Vests work equally good for some of us. I'm a minority, I know. Thought you needed to hear it though....Happy Trails, Randy

Click to expand...

Hope your around if I ever drop my bike.

Hehehe

Hope you don't, but I used to pick up my KLT1200 up for FUN, Really! Now, my new GSA1200 seems a lightweight and I am loving it. I did run the KLT1200 out of GAS one early morning in AZ., along Interstate 40, Kingman area and "DID" lay my KLT over "flat", to see if I could transfer the gas in the tank from one side to the other. It did NOT work. I thumbed a ride for gas...This technique did work on older GS1100's,etc...One thing I can do well, pick'em up. I'd much rather ride Randy

Polarbear said:

Now you have. (Someone who likes a vest instead of jacket liner)

Click to expand...

Ya, but who would take advice about staying warm from someone with the screen name of Polarbear.

I have both a Widder vest (bought it about 8 years ago) and a Gerbings jacket.
Both are terrific, but if I had only one choice I'd buy the jacket.

mtfrench said:

I have a Gerbings jacket liner and love it as well. However, my fingers still get numb in the cold temps. Has anyone combined the Gerbings liner with the heated gloves? If so, what are the observations?

Click to expand...

I bought a Gerbing jacket liner plus the heated gloves many moons ago at Mid-Ohio during one of the first Vintage Days weekends. I'm still using them today and recommend them highly. At the time, the Gerbing gloves were Olympia winter gloves that had been wired. I like the way they hook into the jacket sleeve connections and they keep my hands much warmer than my heated grips could ever hope to. A good friend and riding buddy put me onto heated vests over 20 years ago and I bought an Eclipse. I couldn't believe I had ridden that long without one. However, the vest was retired when I discovered the Gerbing liner. The vest had mysteriously "shrunk" any way

mtfrench said:

I have a Gerbings jacket liner and love it as well. However, my fingers still get numb in the cold temps. Has anyone combined the Gerbings liner with the heated gloves? If so, what are the observations?

Click to expand...

I generally dont like bulk on my hands. The handguards on my GS help with the cold down into the 40's, maybe hi 30's, but yes, my finger tips get cold too. When that happens, I break out the hippo hands. They on and off in less than a minute and they let me wear my regular gloves, Held Steve, and by keeping the air off of the hands, I can usually run the heated grips on low. When it's really cold I run them on high, but not for long as they will get too hot.

The hippo hands look funny, but oh well, the entire bike looks different and with them, I dont have to plug in my hands, one less thing to mess with.