In contrast to all my other gleaming reviews, this one is the total opposite ?
I do not recommend this product, nor really do I recommend this company to anyone.
I bought these gloves because without the luxury of heated grips on my previous bike, I needed something to handle the winter riding, had heard a couple good reviews of these so thought I?d give them a go.
Firstly, at ?160 they?re not cheap, so you?d expect the build quality to be tip top, which it certainly is not. For starters the knuckle protectors don?t really line up all that well with your knuckles and behind the back of one of the gloves it is everso slightly ruff which over time causes irritation.
The second problem, is the faffing required, because out of the box you are reliant on having the gloves wired into the battery of the bike which means you are required to thread the wires through the arms of your jacket, which then come out at the base where there is a control unit which plugs into a lead which directly connects to the battery. By the time you?ve sorted that lot out you?d have been better just taking the car lol.
On the plus side, once you?ve done all of that, the gloves do get very warm on the highest setting, though it might have just turned to Spring anyway lol. Seriously though, they get hot so will keep you mitts warm no matter what Mother Nature throws at you. You can ride through conditions which really, no body should be road riding in anyway.
To reduce the amount of faffery though, I decided to purchase the battery pack for an additional ?80! Now this is the point where the review goes from luke warm to bad, because now these gloves are a very expensive proposition indeed and the performance and design of this set up is frankly sh*t. The gloves do not get as hot as when connected to the battery, they get warm, not hot, but it?s still warm enough, especially in conjunction with a bike that has heated grips. An annoying problem is the battery life however, which lasts for little over 2 hours on the highest setting (which you?ll be using because otherwise they?re pointlessly tepid), so for me personally, I was unable to do a round trip commute despite the gloves being fully charged before leaving.
The bigger problem, possibly the biggest, was the the design, because if you look at the front of the gloves there is a window where the display port on the batteries (Indicating the heat setting), is supposed to be positioned, whereas in reality this window doesn?t line up and therefore you have to push the fabric into position just to see what setting the gloves are on. Another issues, is where the wires are supposed to go, because neither I nor Hideout (Where I purchased them) could come up with a better solution then what I did which is seen in the photo and not ideal. This is a frustrating design flaw, especially when you consider the price of the gloves. I had a fault with my battery pack or gloves, which meant that when turning them on, the left hand glove would turn off by it?s own accord after the first few mins, at which point you?d turn it on again and then it might well turn off a little later, so after maybe 2 or 3 goes it would stay on. Another annoyance, is that the gauntlet part of the gloves are very think, particularly if you use them with the battery packs, which makes it very difficult, or impossible, to fit under a textile jacket, so if it rains, these aren?t great.
Unfortunately I had to contact the Gerbing UK representative to go about sending the gloves off for a warranty claim, sent a very pleasant email and wished them all the best at the NEC which was approaching, and received no reply whatsoever. At which point I?d had enough and quite frankly will not purchase or recommend these products in future. My recommendation to you all is, if you can?t ride with regular winter gloves and heated grips you shouldn?t be riding at all.
Hope this has been useful to you and at least makes you think twice before purchasing a set of Gerbing heated gloves,
Oli
I do not recommend this product, nor really do I recommend this company to anyone.
I bought these gloves because without the luxury of heated grips on my previous bike, I needed something to handle the winter riding, had heard a couple good reviews of these so thought I?d give them a go.
Firstly, at ?160 they?re not cheap, so you?d expect the build quality to be tip top, which it certainly is not. For starters the knuckle protectors don?t really line up all that well with your knuckles and behind the back of one of the gloves it is everso slightly ruff which over time causes irritation.
The second problem, is the faffing required, because out of the box you are reliant on having the gloves wired into the battery of the bike which means you are required to thread the wires through the arms of your jacket, which then come out at the base where there is a control unit which plugs into a lead which directly connects to the battery. By the time you?ve sorted that lot out you?d have been better just taking the car lol.
On the plus side, once you?ve done all of that, the gloves do get very warm on the highest setting, though it might have just turned to Spring anyway lol. Seriously though, they get hot so will keep you mitts warm no matter what Mother Nature throws at you. You can ride through conditions which really, no body should be road riding in anyway.
To reduce the amount of faffery though, I decided to purchase the battery pack for an additional ?80! Now this is the point where the review goes from luke warm to bad, because now these gloves are a very expensive proposition indeed and the performance and design of this set up is frankly sh*t. The gloves do not get as hot as when connected to the battery, they get warm, not hot, but it?s still warm enough, especially in conjunction with a bike that has heated grips. An annoying problem is the battery life however, which lasts for little over 2 hours on the highest setting (which you?ll be using because otherwise they?re pointlessly tepid), so for me personally, I was unable to do a round trip commute despite the gloves being fully charged before leaving.
The bigger problem, possibly the biggest, was the the design, because if you look at the front of the gloves there is a window where the display port on the batteries (Indicating the heat setting), is supposed to be positioned, whereas in reality this window doesn?t line up and therefore you have to push the fabric into position just to see what setting the gloves are on. Another issues, is where the wires are supposed to go, because neither I nor Hideout (Where I purchased them) could come up with a better solution then what I did which is seen in the photo and not ideal. This is a frustrating design flaw, especially when you consider the price of the gloves. I had a fault with my battery pack or gloves, which meant that when turning them on, the left hand glove would turn off by it?s own accord after the first few mins, at which point you?d turn it on again and then it might well turn off a little later, so after maybe 2 or 3 goes it would stay on. Another annoyance, is that the gauntlet part of the gloves are very think, particularly if you use them with the battery packs, which makes it very difficult, or impossible, to fit under a textile jacket, so if it rains, these aren?t great.
Unfortunately I had to contact the Gerbing UK representative to go about sending the gloves off for a warranty claim, sent a very pleasant email and wished them all the best at the NEC which was approaching, and received no reply whatsoever. At which point I?d had enough and quite frankly will not purchase or recommend these products in future. My recommendation to you all is, if you can?t ride with regular winter gloves and heated grips you shouldn?t be riding at all.
Hope this has been useful to you and at least makes you think twice before purchasing a set of Gerbing heated gloves,
Oli
