I had always heard Gerbings had great customer service but never had the need to contact them however, in preparation for an upcoming trip I wanted to buy a Gerbings vest to take along. I already have a full liner that i love for the real cold stuff but wanted the vest for use in trips when I just need to take the chill off and knowing the vest would pack up smaller. So after ordering from 2 well know on-line sources only to be told by both he vests are out of stock and back ordered I decided to order from Gerbings directly. Well a day after my order I get an e-mail from Gerbings telling me the vests are currently out of stock and may not be there in time for my trip. So I respond asking when they can have it to me. They respond they can "have one sewn for me but will need to overnight it to ensure it was here in time. Hmmm ... wow that sounds interesting so I call the woman who responded and confirm they are going to make one up special for me and she said yes. So I ask if they can make me a "custom" size in between XL and XXL and she explains she'd be happy to and it would be about a size 50. WOW ... that works. So she confirms it will be done next Monday and ship Tuesday so will need to be overnighted to me. I agree and am happy to know my vest will be here. WOW ... what great service and nice to speak to someone ON SITE in the USA! Also .... get this ... I ask why are vests to hard to come by and she explains they are converting to having all sewing in the USA and while the liners are being made in North Carolina the facility making the vests (forget where she said) was just now coming on line and filling orders. I confirmed ... .so ALL GERBINGS are made in the USA ... she said Yep! How cool is that. God Bless America ... and Gerbings!
In addition to being made in the USA, gerbings gear really works well, lasts a long time and has a lifetime warrantee. Plus i like that it is a local Pacific Northwest Company. Paul
That's great to hear. I live not too far from the outlet/factory and they have always gone out of their way to help with anything I needed including repairing a pair of gloves that I bought secondhand. Hope they keep it up.
Great group. When I lived in Olympia,WA They were a good 6 minute ride away. The staff was very friendly and helpful and they stand behind their product. I have a set of boot liners and one of the liners went out on a cold ride, so I rode in and they swapped them out on the spot with no questions asked. And just a little FYI, my wife bought me First Gear heated gear, I added Gerbings gear to my firstgear and they all work together. All plugs and devices work flawlessly. Ive read a few debates on that before. Just thought i'd share.
The left glove of my old G-3s decided to quit working. Just got a new pair of the microwire G-3s. 34 degrees on my commute this morning and actually had to turn them down. Never had to do that with the old ones.
That's strange, my micro wire Gerbings says MADE IN CHINA . god bless gerbings? give me a freakin' break. Here's my take on Gerbings: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=649013
thanks for threads like yours warning shortcomings of new microwire jackets. instead found a used old style Gerbing insulated jackets/pants/socks with old style wiring giving full coverage. very happy with performance, no cold or hot spots. went with new G3 microwire gloves. been real happy with those. wires are kinda big in socks, so may get microwire socks. but don't use them enough to justify getting another pair.
If you read my post it appears that Gerbings must have heard you and are moving production BACK to the USA. At least that is the impression I got from them. And their new magazine ads tout the made in the USA. As far as old style versus new ... I had both and moved to micro-wire for the fit of the collar. The new version seems to fit me better and works just as well as the old. My only complaint is the new version collar does not seem as warm. The REST of the Story RECENT NEWS 9/13/2012 Gerbing's Invests In America Gerbing's Heated Clothing, the industry's leading manufacturer of heated clothing, gloves, socks and accessories, announces that it has opened a new factory in the U.S. "We're bringing Jobs back to America and employing our fellow Americans," said President and CEO, Jeff Gerbing. "It's about time we started thinking of our country first, instead of just who's got the cheapest prices. And the response from our customers has been over the top. They love it, and our high loyalty rankings have shot up even more." Mr. Gerbing spoke highly of the work force he's encountered at his factory's location in Stoneville, NC. "This area has a great textile history. And the skills and productivity of the people is second to none. Our U.S.-made products are every bit as good as what China used to make for us, and in several areas they're better. We're working on making them better in all areas." Part of that commitment has been to go beyond just manufacturing in the U.S. It's a commitment to source all raw materials in the U.S. as well. "When I say we're going to make a product in America, that means top to bottom. Every piece of cloth, every zipper, every plug, every wire, every thread is going to be sourced from American companies." The Gerbing's owner went on to say, "That means we're helping to employ Americans at those supplier companies as well. It's win/win for us and for our country." The process of bringing all products back to U.S. sourcing and manufacture is on a timetable. Mr. Gerbing explained, "As you can imagine, this takes a tremendous investment. Right now we're making our Heated Jacket Liners, Pant Liners and Vest Liners in North Carolina. Over the next 3-to-5 years, we're going to be investing even more and bringing our Heated Outerwear production here as well. Our gloves will also transition to the U.S. as will socks and all our accessories." The North Carolina facility is massive, as plans for growth continue. "We're using 25,000 of an available 80,000 square feet. And there are more adjacent buildings to grow into. So our future is secure here. This is a vision I've had for years. It's just time that someone took the lead and decided that Americans should come first."
Fair enough, that's news to me. I did read your post, your comment "ALL Gerbings are made in USA" is what got my attention. Maybe true now seeing this news release, but not all Gerbings have been made here. Good on them for bringing the work back to the USA. Klim and Giant Loop should take notice…. Now if they would just make a product with the new micro wires and better coverage like they made the old versions, that would be perfect, my new style jacket has lasted longer without failing than my old versions, so I believe they made it more reliable. They could offer an Extreme Version jacket with full heating coverage for those that want it. Until then I stand by my comments in my thread about the "new" versions with micro wire being not as good for real cold weather riding, like I did riding year round in Chicago or in my travels. Then again how warm something like this is pretty subjective too.
Overall I am pretty happy with the micro-wire but not sure about the plug in block thing?? It just seems more bulky than the old version with just a wire. Much like BMW does at times it seems like that solved a problem that did not exist. I do like that they are sewing back in the US.
I hated my Gerbings Microwire jacket (made in China, btw)... As was posted before: "I've never been so cold and warm at the same time. The tops of my arms were warm, the bottoms freezing. My back was warm, my kidney area was freezing. Shoulders, cold. Chest Hot. The jacket is so thin, missing the Thinsulate insulation that the old style had, there's no even distribution of heat. Now, without any insulation the jacket is worthless to wear around the campsite to stay warm, on top of not keeping you warm all around on the bike. " I replaced it with a warm-n-safe gen 4. I'm happy now. Their wireless controller is GREAT! Warm-n-Safe is the innovator, and it appears that Gerbings rips off their work. See: http://www.warmnsafe.com/we-invent-they-copy-why/ Warm-n-safe give a great ADVrider discount of 20% (or 25%). See the vendors section. I do like my Gerbings T5 gloves though.
I have one of the old fat-wire Gerbings with quilted thinsulate. I didn't know any of this stuff about heating pads, 60% coverage, no insulation, etc. on the newer products. I was actually thinking about upgrading! I'll keep using my older one and hope it lasts another dozen years or so until somebody gets wise and makes another good insulated liner. I use my liner with no power when it's cool and then turn up the heat gradually as I need it. I use it as a general purpose jacket when camping because the insulation is good. It's simply a one piece solution with a broad range of coverage, from the 60s down to the teens. It heats up extremely well and turning up the troller to full borders on insanity. Not that I'd do this anymore, but I once used it on a ride at 18˚ for several hours and it kept me toasty warm. I think the older Gerbings were something like 90 watts. I want to learn to make my own heated gear. If they're not manufacturing anything better then it's time to get resourceful. I'm sure I could find something else to do with that $200-300 anyway. Edit: I found a bunch of articles on DIY heated clothing. Finding the right garment to wire and making it look professional will be the challenge. Here's a thread on advrider - DIY Heated Liner Thread
