Monday, December 28, 2009

Commuting & Heated Gloves – December 28

My left heated glove failed and the temp was 18F. Over the last few days my left heated glove hasn’t been working consistently. It has been producing far less heat than the right. I tried swapping cables, but that didn’t seem to help.

They finally quit, and I pulled out my unheated winter riding gloves instead. My hand was cold by the time I made it to work, but not nearly as cold as it would have been wearing the failed heated glove. The Tourmaster heated gloves only have 40gm of insulation, and they get cold very quickly without heat.

From previous experience with my vest, I knew I had to return the failed item to the place of purchase to use the three year warranty. Unfortunately for me, I purchased these gloves from Motorcycle Superstore. I called them to see if we could speed up the process. Like a broken robot, they kept repeating it would be six to eight weeks -- I ship them the gloves, they ship them to Tourmaster, Tourmaster sends them back to them, and then they ship to me.

Their solution for my current needs was for me to purchase another pair of gloves. I told them I would, but it wouldn’t be from them. I had been researching other heated gloves over the weekend in preparation of the impending failure. I decided to get Gerbings this time around (lifetime warranty directly with Gerbing).

I called around and found a local place 35 miles away that had gloves in stock and in my size. The sun had finally come out by the time I left work, so I was able to enjoy the blue sky as I rode down on I35. Since the sun was low, every time the road twisted to the southwest, everyone on the road was momentarily blinded and slowed down. The frequent slow speeds helped my unheated hands make it.

I finally settled on a pair of medium G3 Gerbing gloves. They are all leather with a microwire heating element. I almost purchased a small pair of the new T5 gloves, but the G3s fit my hands better. The sizing on the Gerbing gloves is a bit off compared to other major brands (I normally wear a large), but the sizing chart is surprisingly accurate.

In the parking lot, I tried to install the battery harness in the 16F dark, but I forgot to bring my 8mm wrench for the battery posts. I tried my leatherman and some pliers, but it wasn’t working – I couldn’t properly grip the nut and the bolt separately. I rode home with the new gloves on, but without heat (my vest was on high).

My feet were more cold than my hands by the time I rode the 35 traffic-free miles. The new gloves have 100gms of insulation and seemed warmer than my regular winter riding gloves. I need to get some Nik-Wax to treat the leather of the new gloves.

I enjoyed my riding today, and am looking forward to the –6F predicted in a few days! I have added two 8mm wrenches to my on-bike tool collection.

9 comments:

  1. I've read about the microwire gloves from Gerbing, looking forward to your review....

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  2. I visited the Gerbing booth at the motorcycle show earlier this month. Heated gloves would be lovely, I thought. Gerbing has a great rep. However, I have a Tourmaster heated jacket liner and was told by the Gerbing rep the connection would fit from my liner but would not create much heat. A difference in wire resistance, if I understood him correctly.

    So, I'm curious. Have you wired your gloves separately, or are you connecting to your TourMaster vest?

    Happy New Year!

    Chuck

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  3. I hate problems with defective stuff. I live 200 miles from the Motorcycle Superstore but would have the same wait time.

    I love my Gerbing heated jacket liner. I just wish some good elf would come along and wire the FJR for it. Never tried heated gloves.

    Hope it all works out well for you.

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  4. Chuck: I have them wired separately, and I plan on replacing my tourmaster vest with a Gerbing coat liner. I'm stick of the extra wires, and I want the more warmth for those 0F days.

    I did try connecting them to my Y-adapater, but barely got any heat. The warranty situation with Tourmaster has made me re-think purchasing anymore of their heated gear.
    "Please return the item to the original dealer in which you purchased it through, they will be more than willing to assist you. As the initial purchase was not done through Tour Master/Cortech, we are unable to process such requests."

    Irondad:I'm not looking forward to wiring the Ural, the battery is not easy to get to. I may cheat and make a battery tender -> gerbing cable like I did with my tourmaster stuff. I have a bunch of extra battery tender leads laying around.

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  5. Charlie6: So far so good after two days. They got HOT yesterday... definitely need more than an on-off switch. Initially, I think I like them more than my tourmaster gloves.

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  6. Everytime you buy something make it sure you will have to double check it is working or their are no damages at all before leaving the store. You better buy the expensive one rather than the cheap ones because you can never tell how many months or years that cheap product will last long.

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  7. Chuck, my husband just bought a new heated glove from internet. He told me it is really better than before his old heated glove. It is really warm with unexpected hot with gentle. The name is heatfabric. But I am not sure where from. Hope it can help you to get the choice in the future.

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  8. Thanks for the tip Anonymous.

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