February8
For Christmas this year, my Mom & Dad sent both Kenny and myself a pair of Gerbing Microwire T5 heated gloves. It was not until this weekend that I got a change to plug them in and give them a try.
Gerbing’s products are made to all connect together in one big circuit. Each garment has a plug or a jack to connect to one another. You can use an individual thermostat to variably control the heat flowing through each garment directly or you can use a single thermostat to control all.
Hero of the Stupid
If you are a dummy like me you might make the incorrect assumption that with an interconnected system all of the wires and jacks in the jacket liner would be powered once you are plugged in to the battery. This is not the case.
One Thermostat, Multiple Garments
If you only want to use a single thermostat controller for both your jacket liner and your gloves, you will need a splitter. Power from the motorcycle battery must be flowing into both male jacks on the jacket liner in order to power an accessory from the liner.
Plug the 2 female splitter ends into the jacket liner and the 1 male splitter end into the thermostat controller. Now, plug the gloves in to the liner’s forearm jacks. Your body and your hands will be toasty; controlled by a single thermostat.
So how are they?
In a word… Scrumtrilescent.
By the time that I arrived home from my ride yesterday, it was about 25 degrees out. At no time during the ride were my hands ever cold, even at highway speeds. I do still have the handlebar muffs on my bike as well.
The T5 gloves are not as bulky and vague feeling as my Alpinestars winter gloves though not as natural feeling as my regular non-winter leather gloves. I did not feel impaired by the T5s in any way.
All in all I think they are fantastic. Though the $170 price tag may not be an easy one to swallow, I would go so far as to say that they are worth it if you are inclined to ride in the cold weather. Much like the heated liner, I found myself wondering why I didn’t just buy them for myself prior to getting them as a gift. I guess mom really does know best!
