Winter Clothing, what are you wearing.

Sportsterpaul

Well-Known Member
#42
Yes, those would be the “Aerostich” branded rain covers. Mine are going on 17 years of service and are excellent protection from cold and wet. Just retreated them to a heavy dose of “Camp dry”, looking forward to many more yeats and miles of use. A side note, they quickly become second place when adjusting to the split mitten style, not a problem. Also have found, and for safety’s sake won’t recommend slipping them on while rolling down the road, but it is very easily done. Mine live in the top of my tankbag, don’t leave home without them!
 

HACKLE

Well-Known Member
#45
Clive come for a ride further south in July or August. Lets you see the benefit of heated gear. Some rides I start of with heated gear on and finish with Draggin jeans. It can get hot around Mackay. Oh, I'm from Trafalgar in Gippsland, Victoria. Cheers.
 

Clive Rand

Premier Member
#46
I am actually planning a couple of trips South, I have family in Boolarra, and Morwell, and I will admit that things can get a bit cooler. I grew up around Bega/Bombala, then lived a while in Cooma and a few seasons up in Berridale and Jindabyne, I am planning on going as far as Colac around June/July, because I am one of those stange people that enjoy the colder climates, then going to the Bombala bike show later on as well.
 

WY88

Premier Member
#47
I have the Firstgear jacket liner, gloves and new* pant liner. I like the heat of the pant liner but I 100% HATE how they operate. Does not run thru my duel heat controller, they have a long tap with the control button on it, left side, which is difficult to impossible to operate while riding.
View attachment 4891
 

cacomly

Premier Member
IBR Finisher
#48
Khakis ... :)

But for riding, I wear an ancient pair of Gerbing Extreme Element heated pants that are no longer heated, an brand new Warm N Safe heated jacket liner, insulated leather jacket because my Klim is too snug to wear layers under it, and varies sets of heated gloves or regular gloves with heated glove liners.

I use a Warm-N-Safe wireless "Heatroller" mounted on my handlebars so I can see the settings and the blinking lights
 
#49
I don't do long-distance riding in cold weather (I know, I'm a wimp) but I will commute to/from work if the temps are around freezing or higher which here in the Memphis area that means about 11 months out of the year.

For this, I run Aerostitch AD1 pants, thermal socks if it's on the cold side of my range, and a Warm & Safe 90 watt jacket liner under a Klim Latitude shell. I'll layer under that if it's very cold as the liner can get hot against the skin. Klim Vanguard GTX gloves plus grip and seat heating all work together to keep me nice and dry and toasty for my 30 minute commute every morning.

I recently acquired the W&S gear and absolutely love it all. The controller works perfectly. In researching heated gear, I immediately rejected any of the brands that had those attached, kludgy, buttons like the Firstgear does (I am generally a Firstgear fan though, just not their heated liners). I can fine-tune the heat with the W&S controller, and do so frequently as I ride, so I'm glad I didn't get one with two or three position switches as I'd be guaranteed to be too hot or too cold all the time with that setup.
 

Sportsterpaul

Well-Known Member
#50
Just want to update as I’ve received my “Cabelas” snowmobile gloves back from our illustrious Ken Phenix, Mr. Heated Gear Guru. The gloves have genuine gore-Tex liners and heavy thinsulate insulation and now Ken’s superb electric heating elements. I also ordered the dual controller as I expect to be adding heated socks soon. My aging arthritic body is struggling in the winter temps of late. Thank you Arthur Ritis. A note on the gloves-they get hot! Much more so than any of the manufactured gloves available and the reason for the digital controller and it means as you dial down you preserve power for other needs. You can adjust warmth on the fly and maintain the “not cold” feeling which proves to be most comfortable. While I no longer do the -20F riding, 0F is my new lower limit, which can be done for hours at a time. A quick note on “pinlock” inner shields, they do quite well but given time and the right conditions I’ve had fogging with mine. I added the “Respro Foggy Breathguard”,(Aerostich #1558 $28.00), neoprene that covers the nose and lower face. Combined with the “pinlock” almost totally alleviates any shield fogging. Note: it attaches with Velcro inside you full face helmet and may take several fittings to find the sweet spot-take your time, get it right and enjoy.
 
Last edited:
#51
Soooo...

What I do (or did; going through a divorce so maybe won't be keeping the bike):

Base layer: Russell moisture wicking pants and long-sleeve shirt (I wear these year 'round).

Upper body: Warm n Safe heated base layer shirt, Tourmaster Transition 5 jacket (I would wear the quilted jacket liner if the temps were close to zero).

Lower body: Warm n Safe heated pant and sock liners, Tourmaster Caliper 2.0 pants (I would wear the quilted pants liner if the temps were going to be in the 40 or below range). Merino wool socks over the heated sock liners.

Hands: I gave up trying to wear heated glove liners or finding a set of "winter" gloves that actually worked. Instead, I use the Wunderlich bar muffs (about $180 for the hi-viz version) and a set of insulated bicycling gloves that are easy on and off, the finger tips are touch-screen friendly, and are a unique design in that the thumb, index, and middle fingers, are in their own thing, and the ring and pinkie fingers are in the same pocket which keeps them nice and warm. I've ridden when the bike was telling me that the temp was zero and with the grip heat at only 2, my hands were always warm and dry.

Butt: I kept the seat heat at max because it just takes a long time for the heat to get through everything.

Face and Head: I bought a full-face ski mask/balaclava from the BMW dealer (but not a BMW product) for about $30. It has a good-sized opening for my eyes but will also cover half of my nose, and it has a good length to tuck into my jacket. What's really nice is that this allows me to keep my visor opened one notch and that keeps my face shield absolutely clear and my face warm in any weather conditions. This means I was able to eliminate that piece-of-shit Shoei anti-fog liner (which really screws up the optics, especially at night).

Misc: I wear the lil peep jacket and pants all year 'round, even when it's hot as fuck, because they are water-proof. I can vent the jacket well-enough when needed. Still, I don't like the bulk but it's not too bad. The pants have two waterproof pockets on the upper thighs which are easy to use; I keep my key fob in the left pocket and my wallet in the right.
Natural materials are on your side. A pair of thin, supple leather fleece-lined mittens will allow you to move more freely and keep you warmer than an inch-thick pair of polyester gloves. Hats made of fur. Coats made of down. Purchase air-filled liners (similar to shiny bubble wrap) for your boot soles; the cold soaks through the rubber, especially if you spend a lot of time on concrete.

Participate in winter sports! Get some skates, learn to ski, or go tobogganing. Winter can be extremely depressing because there isn't much sun and it always feels so long, but it's a lot easier if you can find a way to enjoy it. Bring a flask to a skating rink. It makes you less angry at winter for existing and less hopeful that it will pass.