T5 Heated Gloves
Gerbing
T5 Heated Gloves $169.95
Portable Temp Controller $69.95
Portable Temp Controller Cover $10.95
12-Volt DC Plug (cigarette) Adapter $19.95
www.gerbing.com
866.371.HEAT (4328)
For the past dozen years or so, I have been doing fine in the cold winter weather by wearing waterproof leather gauntlet gloves combined with a pair of Polartec glove liners. Last winter my fingers began sending me signals that it might be time to investigate warmer alternatives.
What better choice than Gerbing’s, a company that’s been producing heated clothing since the early ’70s, and the company that makes Harley-Davidson’s line of heated clothing? I decided to go with the T5 heated glove that, according to Gerbing’s, is Europe’s No. 1 heated glove, which now are available in the USA.
The T5s look great; feel wonderful and fit nicely (they have an adjustable wrist fastener). You may not be able to pick up that quarter that you dropped at the toll-booth, but you can definitely operate your GPS buttons without any difficulty while wearing your T5s. Of course, the heat is amazing.
Before my first outing, I actually read all of the instructions included with the gloves and accessories, and I treated my gloves with a waterproofing agent (Gerbing’s recommends Nikwax Glove Proof). According to the instructions, I started my Harley Road Glide before plugging the heated gloves in, but as it turned out, I was not cognizant enough to flick the on/off switch on the back of the accessory 12-Volt DC Plug Adapter. A quick call to Gerbing’s set me on the path to hot hands.
A couple of days later, I was headed out from Kansas City to Oklahoma City. Shortly after sunup, the temperature was a below-freezing 28 degrees. I was surprised that full heat on the Gerbing’s T5 gloves was too hot. So I dialed down the heat on the Portable Temp Controller and my hands were comfortably warm.
Once I was out on the open roads of Kansas, I set the Road Glide cruise control to its max of 83 mph and began to test the gloves in the wind stream. Heading into a 40-mph south wind made for an equivalent velocity of about 120 mph, which rendered a zero-degree wind chill factor at 28 degrees. I tried out the T5s in a variety of positions in the cold wind: fingers forward, palm forward, palm backward, etc.; and duplicated the positions with both hands (one at time, of course). There was no change in hand comfort and no cold air reaching my hands. I was elated.
A few hours later, the temperature had risen to 38 degrees and I adjusted Gerbing’s Portable Temp Controller to a very low heat setting. My fingers were still very comfortably warm. Four hours later, the ambient temperature reached 48 degrees and I turned the glove heat off. In another two hours, with the outside temperature at 58 degrees, I took the Gerbing’s T5 gloves off and pulled on a pair of unlined leather gauntlets.
That one trip from KC to OKC sold me on Gerbing’s T5 Heated Gloves. The only minor drawback is that the dangling electrical connector wires hanging from your jacket sleeves can make your restroom pit stops a little awkward.
Gerbing’s Heated Gloves are made with high-quality full aniline leather while the brushed tricot liner integrates Hypora, a waterproof, breathable membrane. They use Thinsulate insulation and Gerbing’s Microwire heating technology—fast-acting micro-sized heating fibers that surround your hands and the entire length of your fingers with instant warmth. Gerbing’s offers a lifetime warranty on the Microwire heating elements.
Don’t put it off any longer. Since you only get to go around once, you owe it to yourself to invest in Gerbing’s Heated Clothing to maintain warm riding comfort in cold winter weather. Check out their offerings of heated gloves, heated liners, heated jackets and pants, heated insoles and a full line of controls and accessories.
