Gerbings 100%!
Approximately 10 years ago I purchased the H-D heated outer Jacket and thought it was amazing... A friend had purchased a similar jacket from Gerbings... After a little research I discovered that Gerbings actually made the jackets for H-D. I thought great, I have the best heated jacket going and mine has the H-D logo on it! I couldn't have been happier, even though I knew I paid a hefty premium to be wearing that logo.
Well, as it turns out through trial and error of wearing the jacket, I realized once again that not all things are made equal! The "Gerbings" jacket that my friend was sporting had flaps over the outside pockets (obviously to keep the rain out and your belongings in), the connects for the gloves were neatly tucked in their own zippered pockets on the outside of the sleeves where they actually belong, NOT on the inside as in my H-D version where they just dangle about when not in use. However, the real big goof (in my opinion, not necessarily H-D's) was the fact that the Gerbings coat was water resistant!
When I questioned Gerbings about Harley's version appearing to be inferior, they explained that when H-D commissioned them to produce a jacket for Harley the powers at the MoCo instructed them NOT to make their jackets water resistant and leave the flaps off the pockets... Those guys in design at H-D aren't fools! They certainly didn't want to hurt their sales of rain suits.
The Gerbings won't protect you in a heavy down pour, but if you're caught in light rain, they do a great job for a while... With the H-D version, you'll be soaked to the skin very quickly, almost at the first sign of rain.
Two years ago my wife and I both purchased "the real mccoy" - Gerbings outer heated jackets and gloves... We couldn't be happier! I always say, "it's like riding in a hot tub!"
After the snow cleared from southern Ontario (not much, but a little) today I decided to go for a ride in approximately 40 degree weather, and it was fabulous.
My wife and I ride all year long and would never think about it without our Gerbings jackets. Actually, since owning these jackets, we haven't worn a leather jacket and feel so much better for it. These jacket are much lighter in weight and therefore is much less stress on our necks and shoulders. We wear them most of the year with only one short sleeve shirt on, just plug in when it gets cold. In the really hot weather we'll wear a jean jacket or another light one, but most of the time we'll be wearing our Gerbings.
As for durability, my wife when down last year in Vermont, totalled her new '07 Ultra with 12,000 on it, broke her wrist and was bruised up pretty bad. Although she hit the ground pretty hard, her Gerbings jacket not only protected her from serious scrapes and further injury, it didn't have a tear in it and looked no worse for the wear!
The wife picked up a new bike last February, is back riding again with her Gerbings jacket and loving everything about riding again!
Like I mentioned in the beginning - Gerbings 100%!
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Topic: Heated clothing preference (Read 23783 times)