Warm & Safe vs. Gerbing

Hello,

Hopefully this will be a quick question and won't generate a long discussion. I’ve got my heated gear choices narrowed down to two brands as the title suggests, W&S and Gerbing. What I cannot figure out from their respective websites and talking/emailing their sales reps is which product line from W&S compares to Gerbing’s?
W&S has the 3rd and 4th Gen lines. The 3rd Gen is priced close to Gerbing’s pricing. Does this mean they both use the same heating elements, perform equally, and 4th Gen is the latest and greatest technology that only S&W offers?

Thanks and stay warm!

 

Been wearing Gerbings for a few years now. I am quite satisfied with their products. I have the full jacket liner, the pant liner and the insoles. And I ride in some pretty cold weather. Have ridden in -10 Celsius (14 F). Now that is too cold, but my core stayed warm. Gerbings after sale service is second to none. The wire on the insoles stretched and they became non functional. Gerbings replaced them no questions asked. I suspect the failure was more in how I had them installed in the boot rather than the product itself.

I suggest the full jacket liner vs the vest though. I don't think there is a great difference in price. Something to keep in mind though, if the wind blows through your outer garment, you will get cold. But because it is like an underwater garden here on the wet coast, I typically wear a rubber backed rain suit as well. That traps all the warmth provided by the Gerbings inside.

BTW. One sown side to the Gerbings though is that you need to buy the ON-OFDF switch separately. For the life of me, I don't know why they don't include that and reflect this addition in their price. I have both the ON-OFF switch and the dual controls for upper and lower garments. Use the controls all the time and the switch seldom

 

Randy,

Thank you for the advice. I agree with you and I am considering the full liner, not the vest. You have heated gloves or grips? I’ve seen several threads where you and other members praised Gerbing’s products and service. I like that they offer insoles. Not that I’m buying them anytime soon (I live in flat part of NC), but W&S offers only the heated socks. I like to wear a fresh pair of socks, but there’s no way I’m washing those every night!
Given equal feel, flexibility, heating rate, and quality, W&S 3rd Gen only selling point of Gerbing the wireless remote controller and the nice gloves, but neither is a deal breaker. It’d be nice to do a back to back comparison, but that’s not an option for me. Hopefully someone will share their W&S experience.

 

I can't offer anything on the W & S. Prior to this I had another jacket liner but don't remember the name off hand. It did not hold up like the Gerbings. I have considered the glove liner. And still might get them. But it gets wicked wet here and even my gortex gloves sometimes don't keep me dry so I am cautious about that. I don't have the heated grips. If have considered them but haven't taken the plunge. My Gortex gloves are really quite warm. In the sub freezing, my fingertips get a bit cool....actually cold. But I am originally from Winnipeg and most my young life, did not wear gloves or mitts. Just hands in the pockets type of thing. Brass door handles were a bitch.

You say Gerbings now has a wireless heat control? Mine is a bit of a nuisance. Where do you put it where it is handy. I tried epoxying a magnet to it but that just scratches the tank. (Paint is worn anyways so I am not too upset) I suppose to epoxy a big suction cup would be the answer to that.

 

I apologize, I completely messed that one up. W&S has the wireless remote. Gebring doesn't even have the dual portable controller in stock, and they may develop a wireless one, but if it happens, it won't be before spring. Isn't that just an awesome time to release a new line of heated gear?! I guess If someone wanted a wireless remote for the Gebring gear that badly, I don't see why the W&S receiver and remote couldn't be spliced into a Gerbing jacket liner.

 

Gerbings will stand behind their product so long as it is not altered. I think their plugs at the ends of the wires are fairly un common, so another's controles may not fit. If you cut the wires, you cut the warranty. And fair enough on that. The other option is just the on-off switch which itself is easy enough to use. I used that for a year before I got the dual controls.

 

Mods void warranty, no disagreement there. I’ve done some more research last night and it seems I can’t go wrong either way. I think I’ll go with Gerbing, but first I have to figure out why my 04 was running hot last night, or maybe that’s just my perception since the weather cooled down for a couple of weeks then warmed back up.
Thank you for the help Randy. See you in the 6th Gen forum!

 

So do the wireless units read ambient like the wired versions?

 

No they don't. I wonder if Gerbing's does that.

 

Hey folks,

I'm new to this forum, but I've been using a combination of Gerbings, W&S and Powerlet heated gear for a few years so maybe I can add my 2 Sesterce into the mix.

As long as the controller you purchase has the proper connector you should be able to use it on another brand's clothing. Gerbings and W&S typically come with coax connectors (unless ordered with SAE). I initially used a W&S dual controller on my Concours which was hard wired into my dash/fairing. I was using a Gerbings vest and gloves and had no problems. On my FJ I didn't want to cut into the dash so I went with a dual wireless controller from Powerlet. It looks just like the dual wireless controller from W&S and Firstgear. I'm 99% certain that W&S makes them for everybody, and just slaps a different sticker on them. Whatever the case may be mine works with my Gerbings Vest, my jacket liner, and my gloves and socks. It also works with my wife's first gear vest. I also have a powerlet digital controller (comes with their glove liners but is available separately) which I use with my heated socks.

About those socks.

Seriously, all of these heated liners are recommended to be used with a baselayer garment between you and the liner. Surface temps can reach 130* on high on some of this gear, which can prove more than just too hot to the touch. I always wear a long sleeved baselayer (typically either patagonia capilene or merino wool depending on the temps outside), glove liners and wool liner socks between me and the jacket liner, gloves and socks respectively, with good reason. One time, on an especially cold day (14* when I left the house, and before I had a separate controller for my socks-you see where this is going?) I hooked up the socks to the accessory outlet the gerbings jacket liners have (which allows you to add a second garment to be controlled on the same zone) Apparently I needed more heat on my upper body than my feet, because when I got home I ended up with blistering burns on my feet that looked just like the outline of the heating element in the socks. I purchased the additional controller that afternoon.

As for the differences in the heating elements, I think gerbings and powerlet are the best out there in this regard, at least with my limited experience with W&S kit (only have their socks). Gerbings now uses a technology called microwire, which uses a much thinner filament than their older copper wired stuff. Honestly you can't feel the wires in the new stuff, and they heat up/cool off almost instantaneously; My vest has the previous larger wire filaments, and when turned on takes a minute or two to both heat up and cool off. Plus you can feel the elements, but you get used to them honestly. My W&S socks have larger wire elements, so you can feel them, especially when initially warming up. Think of the socks as over socks. You shouldn't be wearing them on bare skin anyway, so your need to wash them (they can be washed, by the way, just follow the instructions on the label) is basically eliminated. The new Powerlet gear uses Far-Infrared technology (FIR) which is best described with this sentence and change courtesy of Wikipedia; "An [FIR] infrared heater is a body with a higher temperature which transfers energy to a body with a lower temperature through electromagnetic radiation"... and "No contact or medium between the two bodies is needed for the energy transfer." It works a treat, honestly better than the microwire, needing lower controller settings to get the same end result. But my gerbings is good enough that I'm not in a hurry to switch everything over.

Oh, as for the wireless controller? I love it. I have mine set up on a modified Ram Mount, using industrial velcro to secure it. I did this because now my bike is parked in an uninsulated enclosure, and while the battery for the controller will last a season in a heated garage, it'll be roached in a matter of days hanging outside in the cold. So I bring it in the house. Problem solved.

My apologies for my long winded post. I hope it helps you sort out what gear to get, when you get it.

Cheers,

Dennis

 

Very Cool!

 

used Gerbrings for a long time now, previously used Eclipse and BMW labled. Don't know about W&S, but you can't go wrong with Gerbring. Long history of providing an excellent product with notable customer service.

 

Thank you for the great info guys! The bike is OK, but my memory isn't. I just forgot the normal operating temp in 70F weather. Anyway, I wanted to make sure I had the bike running right to avoid a situation where both the fan and the heated gear are on, but I'm good. So Gerbing's it is! Thanks again.

 

they switched from the SAE to the coax several years ago, for their connectors, which seems pretty much like the standard these days. If not adaptors are out there, no need to cut the cord. About a year or two ago MCN did a heated vest comparo, the Gerbring and another were tops if I remember correctly, but the controller they liked the best was another brand, something like AXO or something. They recommended the Gerbring vest with that controller overall.