Do you ride in winter?
Year-round riding is like a unicorn to the majority of the riders in the Northern regions of the country, USA is what I am talking about but it really applies to high elevation regions around the world and most of the countries in the northern hemisphere. Although some of us are ‘real bad asses’ (respect!), a lot more prefer to skip motorcycle riding in the cold winter months. I think people who ‘winterize’ their motorcycles don’t necessarily lack the motivation, but simply don’t or can’t invest appropriately in the correct gear for the occasion.
💡 Winterizing a motorcycle involves preparing it for storage during the winter season. This can include steps such as cleaning the bike, adding fuel stabilizer, changing the oil, and covering it to protect it from the elements.
Why is it necessary for us to consider the use of heated gear when riding motorcycles? What are the underlying reasons and benefits that make these accessories essential for our motorcycle journeys, particularly in colder climates or during winter seasons? These are the questions we are going to cover in this article. So if you are interested, one thing is for sure: you want to spend more time in your saddle and not on your couch.
Key Players in the Motorcycle Heated Gear Market
Some of the key players in the motorcycle heated gear market include Gerbing, Hotwired (Revzilla/CycleGear Brand), Venture Heat, and Firstgear. These brands are renowned for their high-quality heated gear that offers comfort, safety, and durability for riders in cold climates.
Heating quality aside, they all have minor differences.
| Feature | Gerbing | Hotwired | Venture Heat | Firstgear |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of use while riding | 5/5 – With wireless controller 3/5 – With wired controller | 4/5 – With bluetooth controller 2.5 – With out wireless controller | 4/5 – With bluetooth controller 2.5 – With out wireless controller | 5/5 – With wireless controller 3/5 – With wired controller |
| Daisy Chaining accessories | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Internal Battery Packs | No | No | No | No |
| External Battery Packs | Yes, can use any battery pack | Yes, can use any battery pack | Yes, can use any battery pack | Yes, can use any battery pack |
| External Wired Heat Controller | Yes, but this is a MUST HAVE additional purchase. Without this there is NO CONTROLLING HEAT | Not required as the each garment comes with embedded controller. | Not required as the each garment comes with embedded controller. | Yes, but this is a MUST HAVE additional purchase. Without this there is NO CONTROLLING HEAT |
| External Wireless Heat Controller | Yes as an option, this is an additional purchase | No dedicated wireless controller hardware. Wireless is available via bluetooth app on certain versions of heated apparel. Expensive. | Yes, for legacy products. Not available for new apparel line. | Yes as an option, this is an additional purchase |
| Motorcycle Jacket/Jacket Liner | Both | Both | No Motorcycle Jacket but they do have jacket liner | No Motorcycle Jacket but they do have jacket liner |
| Motorcycle Gloves/ Glove Liners | Both | Both | No gloves, but they do have glove liners | Both |
| Motorcycle Pants/Pant Liners | Yes | Yes | Liners only | Liners only |
| Socks/Sock liners | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Inner Soles | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Cross compatibility with other heated products | No | Yes with Venture Heat. Not with Gerbing and Firstgear | Yes with Hotwired . Not with Gerbing and Firstgear | No |
Conclusion
Both type of heated gear has it’s advantages and disadvantages when it comes to usage of the gear. The comparison below is based on my experience with Hotwired and Gerbing. Remember Hotwired has similar tech as Venture heat so the advantages and the disadvantages would be similar and same applies to Gerbing and Firstgear.
| Feature | Gerbing/First Gear Rating out of 5 | Hotwired/Venture Heat Rating out of 5 | Comments |
| Need of external controller | 0 | 5 | Gerbing needs extra purchase of wired or wireless controllers. |
| Wireless Control of Heat | 5 | 3 | Bluetooth control on Hotwired is distracting when riding. Don’t use phone while riding. |
| Heat zones | 3 | 5 | Gerbing has 2 heat zones Hotwired has upto 4 heat zones. |
| Heatzone control | 5 | 3 | Gerbing control is easy with physical knobs Hotwired on-garment controls can be distracting to control while riding. |
| Price | 4 | 5 | Gerbing is about $100-$150 expensive because of MUST PURCHASE dual zone controller. Hotwired has on-garment built in heat controls. |
| Connection with motorcycle | 5 | 4 | Gerbing is only one connection since dual zone controller takes care of heat Hotwired needs purchase of additional Y splitter ($10). |
At the end both products are worth investing if you live in colder regions around the world and are looking to extend your riding season beyond spring, summer and fall.
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Stay toasty! Keep riding!! Stay Safe!!!
This is the gear I am using. These are affiliate gear links, they cost nothing more to you but help run the channel 🙂
Gerbing Gear
Heated Liner: https://imp.i104546.net/nL3rK9
Heated Pant Liner: https://imp.i104546.net/R5jg9R
Heated Gloves: https://imp.i104546.net/4PDONr
Dualzone Wireless Ready Controller: https://imp.i104546.net/75rRNd
Dual Zone Wireless Remote: https://imp.i104546.net/Y9GEaB
Hotwired Gear
Heated Liner: https://imp.i104546.net/xk3VGR
Heated Pant Liner: https://imp.i104546.net/QyrZQx
Heated Gloves: https://imp.i104546.net/rQ3kPy
Heated Inner Soles: https://imp.i104546.net/5gQ2N3
Y-splitter Connector: https://imp.i104546.net/eKMyWX
