Keis Or Gerbing?

[Udders]

I’ve not had either of these two brands before so have zero experience of the quality / warmth / ease of use / heated areas / controllers / wiring etc….
Cost isn’t an issue and I’ll only be buying either of these two and no other brand.
I want to be able to control 4 separate areas individually ( gloves, jacket, trousers and socks or insoles ) so a pair of dual remote controllers is needed I’m guessing? I’m not sure if I want full gloves or inner gloves yet. I need to see how thick the inners are to see if they’ll fit under my Klim Badlands or if I need to get new gloves.
Ta.

 

[wessie]

I’ve not had either of these two brands before so have zero experience of the quality / warmth / ease of use / heated areas / controllers / wiring etc….
Cost isn’t an issue and I’ll only be buying either of these two and no other brand.
I want to be able to control 4 separate areas individually ( gloves, jacket, trousers and socks or insoles ) so a pair of dual remote controllers is needed I’m guessing? I’m not sure if I want full gloves or inner gloves yet. I need to see how thick the inners are to see if they’ll fit under my Klim Badlands or if I need to get new gloves.
Ta.

Good luck finding stock. When I wanted a Keis waistcoat, Helmet City had to order it in. It is a great product used for several winters. I also have the Keis insoles which have been a game change for winter riding. I ordered those online after finding no stock locally. These are used much more than the waistcoat. You are buying at the wrong time really. Looking at the Keis website, they have low or no stock in some lines.

I run my insoles and waistcoat, if used, through a single controller with a Y piece on the output. I have never used it higher than the lowest of 3 settings and often unplug the waistcoat unless below 5C.

My hands are cosy inside muffs with heated grips.

 

[wessie]

oh, yes, I did try a pair of Gerbing (think G12) waterproof gloves. They worked lovely and seemed very good quality, although not tested in rain. I found the wiring too fiddly and adapted my R1200RS to take my beloved Tucano R319 muffs used since 2009.

 

[shedracer]

Just bought a (Chrimbo prezzie from the family)

Gerbing Premium Heated Jacket Liner With MicroWirePRO​

bloody marvellous bit of kit, very warm. Don’t have any experience with adding any other kit to it, but the wires are ready to go for gloves in the sleeves and the controller has a wire connection for the trousers.

was out yesterday for 8 hours in +6 temps and was really happy I had the heated jacket on. Did have a keys vest before that stopped working and to be honest, it didn’t get anywhere near as hot as the Gerbing jacket.

 

[wessie]

Just bought a (Chrimbo prezzie from the family)

Gerbing Premium Heated Jacket Liner With MicroWirePRO​

bloody marvellous bit of kit, very warm. Don’t have any experience with adding any other kit to it, but the wires are ready to go for gloves in the sleeves and the controller has a wire connection for the trousers.

was out yesterday for 8 hours in +6 temps and was really happy I had the heated jacket on. Did have a keys vest before that stopped working and to be honest, it didn’t get anywhere near as hot as the Gerbing jacket.

one of the reasons I bought the Keis gear is the lower power consumption. I note in https://gerbing.co.uk/pages/faqs it says the Gerbing jacket can draw 6 amps. My Keis waistcoat only draws 1.5A on the high setting. Yes, the waistcoat might not produce as much heat but I am not riding a Skidoo in Alaskan -20C conditions.

If using multiple items, you need to know the total power need to ensure your alternator has some juice left to top up the bike battery.

 

[shedracer]

Just bought a (Chrimbo prezzie from the family)

Gerbing Premium Heated Jacket Liner With MicroWirePRO​

bloody marvellous bit of kit, very warm. Don’t have any experience with adding any other kit to it, but the wires are ready to go for gloves in the sleeves and the controller has a wire connection for the trousers.

was out yesterday for 8 hours in +6 temps and was really happy I had the heated jacket on. Did have a keys vest before that stopped working and to be honest, it didn’t get anywhere near as hot as the Gerbing jacket.

Keis

 

[Mr Bean]

I have a pair of new Keis glove liners, large sized for sale. Still in box and unused - reason for sale is the Keis sizing is generous and these are closer to extra large compared to other glove manufacturers.

Pm me if interested.

 

[Barnoe]

Cant comment on the Gerbing stuff, but I recently bought Keis Socks, Pants, Jacket and Gloves.

I bought the most expensive "Premium EXTREME J505RP" jacket.
for something you wear under your normal jacket its quite bulky so make sure your main jacket has plenty of room under it.
the jacket is windproof and nice and warm before you even plug in... very nice to wear off the bike

The G701 gloves are a nice fit and comfy on, the only downside is they don't fit over my jacket and rub, limiting movement, they don't fit under either?

The 2 issues above have me now looking at buying a new jacket (need one anyway), I've been looking at the Klim Carlsbad, my mate has a 2XL version i am going to try it on with the heated jacket under it and gloves.

Pants and socks are tight
they are meant to be as they are elasticated, they don't just slip on easily. Being a big lad it feels like i will bust them and i have the biggest size in both.
maybe the insoles would have been a better choice.
Putting these pants on wriggling around in my tent will be fun!

Heat wise they are red hot, although i did notice that the heating element on the pants is on front of your leg only, not been an issue as i haven't rode them in zero temps yet.

I just have the normal set up with the controller sticking out of the bottom left of my jacket and the gloves work independently.
setting are low, medium and hot!

All in all i am happy with the Keis kit and still glad i bought them, the stuff feels like good quality.

 

[Snelly55]

I have a new Keis jacket and have worn it twice this week. I like it but it has pros and cons like anything would. Pros: easy to fit to bike, warms up fast, build quality is good. Cons: glove connectors are cumbersome and make my Klim jacket tight at the wrists, as Barnoe says, quite bulky so you need space in your over-jacket.

Basically, I should have gone for the waistcoat instead so am going to sell this and buy one. Look in the Classifieds today for mine!

 

[Udders]

I have a new Keis jacket and have worn it twice this week. I like it but it has pros and cons like anything would. Pros: easy to fit to bike, warms up fast, build quality is good. Cons: glove connectors are cumbersome and make my Klim jacket tight at the wrists, as Barnoe says, quite bulky so you need space in your over-jacket.

Basically, I should have gone for the waistcoat instead so am going to sell this and buy one. Look in the Classifieds today for mine!

You’ve actually reminded me that my Klim jacket is already tight at my forearms! Even with the adjusters fully loosened off. I’ll probably not get a heated jacket on under it. I’d better look at the waistcoat too!

 

[Barnoe]

I did think about the waistcoat too but i have had a few trips where my arms got cold.

Just been on the Keis website and see my error...

Heated Jacket - ULTRAFLEX J601RP
This J601RP heated UltraFlex jacket features a much thinner material structure than the alternative soft-shell J501RP and J505RP heated jackets - being designed to fit between the wearer's base-layer and their outer motorcycle jacket

That's the one to go for.
Think i will buy one from Sportbikeshop, they are in stock

 

[crumbles]

I have a Keis waist coat and it's great,I use it on the bike plugged in on low, and at work...( Gardener )
Small battery pack connected and also on low,lasts about 4 hrs..

 

[casbar]

Gerbing heated jacket and gloves. No issues with amps draw, have the tail connected to the battery. Controller connects to the jacket, gloves powered from the jacket with wrist controllers for individual heat settings. I also have an IR controller which allows the heat to be controlled without messing with the controller connected to the jacket. I have never had to have the jacket higher than 2 of 5 heat settings. I just wear a very thin base layer and then the jacket with no jacket liner. The one pain is the cuffs are tight under the neoprene cuffs of my Rukka jacket but not too bad. I have short gloves that go under the jacket rather than over.

 

[wessie]

Re. bulk. I have the Keis waistcoat as a friend found the jacket sleeves bulky. These are the previous line of products from c2015 and there is now a wider range of Keis products with varying levels of padding. I have a thin fleece that I use instead of my Hein Gericke Cruise 3 jacket's liner. Used over a long sleeved T shirt, this is adequate down to 7-10C. Any colder and I put the waistcoat under the fleece. I have tried using just the Keis waistcoat over the T shirt but then there is not enough insulation on my arms. Even with electric gear, layering remains important: the heated clothing is there to supplement rather than replace adequate clothing.

 

[Wapping]

Small battery pack connected and also on low,lasts about 4 hrs..

Four hours is either very good (if you are out for three-and-half hours) or poor, if you are out for four-and-a half hours or more.

Very little substitutes for powering the clothing from the bike.

 

[midnight runner]

I did think about the waistcoat too but i have had a few trips where my arms got cold.

Just been on the Keis website and see my error...

Heated Jacket - ULTRAFLEX J601RP
This J601RP heated UltraFlex jacket features a much thinner material structure than the alternative soft-shell J501RP and J505RP heated jackets - being designed to fit between the wearer's base-layer and their outer motorcycle jacket

That's the one to go for.
Think i will buy one from Sportbikeshop, they are in stock

I have the Keis Ultraflex which I bought recently.
I have worn it between a thin merino base layer and my outside waterproof jacket ( Rukka Nivala or Klim Carlsbad with liners removed ).
Its very comfortable and has been spot on only requiring the low or medium setting even on very cold days.
I power it through my Optimate battery pigtail.

 

[Wapping]

I’ve not had either of these two brands before so have zero experience of the quality / warmth / ease of use / heated areas / controllers / wiring etc….
Cost isn’t an issue and I’ll only be buying either of these two and no other brand.
I want to be able to control 4 separate areas individually ( gloves, jacket, trousers and socks or insoles ) so a pair of dual remote controllers is needed I’m guessing? I’m not sure if I want full gloves or inner gloves yet. I need to see how thick the inners are to see if they’ll fit under my Klim Badlands or if I need to get new gloves.
Ta.

It is all about style and shape, then personal preference, Udders.

The physical bulk of the kit can vary. It is useless a bod saying my XYZ is brilliiant, only to discover that you cannot get your jacket / trousers over the top. Likewise gloves. Putting the gloves over the jacket’s cuffs will probably be useless when it rains, as the water will just run in. If you think it will never rain, that is fine. Me? I think it might well rain. Then you have the question as to whether it’s best to have simple electric liners, worn under conventional gloves, or full on ‘winter’ electric gloves.

I use the glove liners, as it cuts down the bulk. But, I (with medium sized 10 Rukka gloves) had to go up several sizes in order to get a conventional GorTex glove over the top of the liner. I use the electric liner under ‘five fingered’ gloves and the ‘three fingered’ lobster claw style glove, the latter if I expect it to be very cold. I can get my jacket‘s sleeves over the top of both style of gloves, meaning I do not need to tuck the jacket into the gloves.

 

[Wapping]

I have the Keis Ultraflex which I bought recently.
I have worn it between a thin merino base layer and my outside waterproof jacket ( Rukka Nivala or Klim Carlsbad with liners removed ).
Its very comfortable and has been spot on only requiring the low or medium setting even on very cold days.
I power it through my Optimate battery pigtail.

I have what was the original in thinner heated jacket liners, made by RapidFire / Powerlet and then only available from America. That is exactly what I do. At the time (we are going back over 15 years, I guess) it was only the Americans who had the thinner liners. Everyone does them now.

Likewise I have the electric glove liners, electric trouser liners and electric socks. Each of the four items I can regulate the temperature of separately, using two twin wireless heat controllers. The controllers are powered by the bike, too. I stack them onto the clutch reservoir, tacking them on with Velcro.

 

[Barnoe]

I have a Keis waist coat and it's great,I use it on the bike plugged in on low, and at work...( Gardener )
Small battery pack connected and also on low,lasts about 4 hrs..

That's a fair point.

For those thinking of using a battery pack off the bike, you cannot use a battery pack with the jackets
so a waistcoats and body warmer are a good choice if your going the battery route.

 

[Wapping]

That's a fair point.

For those thinking of using a battery pack off the bike, you cannot use a battery pack with the jackets
so a waistcoats and body warmer are a good choice if your going the battery route.

From Keis… long sleeved jacket style liner….

It is recommended that you power the J501RP Premium Heated Jacket from a vehicle battery, using the supplied Keis Power Lead.

While this heated jacket can technically be powered by a Keis Portable Battery Pack, we believe that this may not be very practical. As the heated jacket draws 5.5Amps of current to heat the many different Micro Carbon Fibre heating elements, a portable battery is not recommended to power this garment. It is advised that this heated jacket be powered from a vehicle battery connection.

It can work…. It is just not always very practical, due to the current draw.