For me, the wires from the liner hang outside my suit. I plug the gloves in before putting them on my hands, like kids mittens attached to their jacket.
Hi Randy,,you missunderstand (probaly my failer to get the issue across) everything heats up as it should,,its just connectting the wires with my gloves on( I usally forget something and have to take it off again),,but I will perceiver,and I will try your way of doing it ...Whatever, I have a tour of the west coast of wales just before christmass..So I need to get it right ,,regards and Happy Christmass
lipsee, I guess it was me that didn't get my point across... Make your wire connections BEFORE putting the gloves on. Easy-peasy when done that way. But yeah, when I first got my setup I tried putting the gloves on first and quickly discovered that it was a PITA to deal with the wires. And Merry Christmas to you too!
ok let me explain a few things about Gore-tex. first not only does the factory have to be license but the company selling it has to be licensed. the duty rate for garments that use the gore-tex like waterproofing is 7% and for any other way to waterproof is 27%. tell me they were not invoved in that. Gore-tex is a huge company, not some little outdoor company but a huge chemical company. We use Toyota made Gelanots. this is just as good as gore-tex but without all the licensing crap. and as for quality of manufacturing and taping the seams, that is the responsiblity of the company you are buying from and has nothing to do with them using gore-tex. yes, we tape all seams in our WP liner! yes we use waterproof YKK zippers! but that is on us! we would do it if we used any waterproof material because that is what we do. as for waterproofing in gloves and boots. i have had 4 pairs of gore-tex lined boots including 2 pairs of Alpinestar, and one pair of another type and they all leaked. as for gloves. they will be good until the membrane gets filled with crap and wince it is inside the glove, how do you wash it? and if you look at gore-tex instructions, dirt will effect the waterproofing. using a lining as in gloves and socks, they are all basically the same. like "kevlar" and aramide, they are the same but one is a brand. Alpinestar is making heated gloves now? is the velcro on the cuff facing out or is it on the tab facing in? i would love to find the factory if they are any good but we talked to one making gloves for alpinstar and they had the velcro facing the wrong way.
you are riding the wales coast now? you do need waterproof stuff! i road down from the north one time, past the slage heaps in the rain and dark. i thought orcs were going to attack me! i stopped for gas and ask when did the rain stop and the guy said June. i was meaning how far south until it stopped! lovely people there and when it is not raining i loved it. i told people i crossed the Severine bridge, i understood why motorcycles cross for free, and they were all impressed. i was freaked out. if you have not crossed it, it is an adventure. the winds are something else. get in the center lane and tuck next to a truck. oh sorry, as for the dexterity with the gloves, i never have an issue but it might be the way our gloves are made or the plugs are designed.
since no one bought them, i did not plan on getting more in. it took forever because everyone wants "waterproofing". i would try the XXL and see if they are a good fit. we can see if there is a smaller size in them. full refund on return.
Mike, You make some great points about the nature of waterproof gear, and again, I'm really glad you are taking the time to comment. I'm quite sure I'm going to give a set of your gloves a try now. My comments on the nature of Goretex account for the fact that they are indeed a large company and they are quite serious about brand reputation. You are absolutely correct that it's on the manufacturer to seam seal correctly, and yet another place that Gore would wipe out a manufacture license to use their product if they don't attend to such details. You have expressed frustration at finding a supplier who will consistently make your products exactly the way you ask, and i totally understand how that goes. I agree that there are plenty of other waterproof breathable fabrics out there which are equivalent in nature AND are well constructed. I had a Pacific Trail rain jacket i wore for years which was 100% dry and i finally gave it to my son who keeps it in his back pack in case he gets stuck in the rain. I guess I'm saying that i know that goretex isn't better material, but as a consumer i know that i have higher confidence in that hang tag than i did a few years ago. As a guy who bought a sewing machine a few years ago and made some gear i have always been mystified that you could make two gloves that even look the same. That's a lot of damn seams that are all really, really close together.
one thing i did forget to mention. gore is not licensing any more motorcycle products from my understanding and second, what do all the rest of the heated clothing makers use in their liners? non-breathable urethane coating. Gelanots is not cheap and seam taping is not cheap. ok as for gloves, it does not help that they all use the same wrong patterns and hand cut the leather. like i ssid even the work gloves they were selling at SEMA had all the same mistakes.
I'd like to know from people who have used both the Gerbing T-5 and the W&S ultimate touring glove, is one warmer than the other? I have the Gerbing now, and down to the 30s, it keeps my hands from getting too cold, but it does not really keep them warm. I am on a naked bike with no handguards or anything, so it could be that I just have to live with "not cold", but I'd be willing to try the W&S if people have generally found them to be warmer.
The warm n safe would be warmer....just be sure to ask for the "hotter" gloves IE 10ohm instead of 11.5. Those extra 3 or so watts really do help.
Oh wait, you said ultimate touring. Those are not insulated, think about the classic rider gloves, they have a bit of thinsulate in them.
I don't have grip heaters on my bike, but the T5 Gerbings definitely kept my hands warmer than the Classic Rider gloves. Mine measure 9.6 ohms by the way. (No heat in the palms) I'm not of fan of Gerbings customer service and would buy W&S + grip heaters. (If you can spare the watts.)
Actually, the ultimate touring are insulated according to the website... and mine have the 3M Thinsulate label in them. While I can't compare to other heated gloves, it's been my impression that "not cold" is a good description of my Ultimate Touring gloves. With that said, I'll add that I'm one of those people that tend to have COLD hands when riding in cooler weather. Even when the rest of me is ok, my hands have ended the day for me due to pain and the inability to operate the controls safely. The W&S gloves (used with the heated jacket liner) solved that problem for me and I've seldom felt the need to turn them up more than 50-75%. Then again, I don't usually ride in the cold extremes that some do... I guess what I'm saying is that I don't believe that any two people "feel" cold the same. So, hopefully you'll find someone that has directly compared the two gloves you mentioned...
again, we do not stuff insulation in our gloves. so while they will get hotter, i am not sure they are warmer at that temperature or wind blast. yes there is 70gram thinsulate in them but that is nothing compared to what others stuff in them.
I've been using the T5's for about 6 years snowmobiling as my fingers will get cold and won't warm back up. The Gerbings were a last ditch effort and they have been flawless for about 25K miles. I usually use them 15F and below and have ridden down to -30F without issue. I can't speak about the first gear gloves, but the Gerbings I highly recommend, with a thermostat controller as well.