Gerbing heated cycle riding gear, on my PWC?

ewagman · 02-20-2010, 10:38 AM

I was thinking, why not use my Gerbing heated motorcycle jacket and pants liners under my windsurfing dry suit for riding my sit down Yamaha, that is, once the ice is off the water? Gerbing says their stuff is waterproof, so maybe I could even use them under my wet suit, well probably just the wet suit jacket, the wet suit pants, uh, seem to have shrunk. Wiring to the battery would be easy enough, just need to turn the heat off when the motor is not running. Can't bump start a PWC like you can the bike. Anybody try this already? With the dry suit, I guess I'd have to run a long power cord under the neck or the wrist seal, hate to leave the zipper partially open, just in case it turns into a swimming day.

spence-r · 02-20-2010, 11:08 AM

If your body is getting cold in a dry suite its either super super super cold out or you are just sitting on a couch. I sweat in a dry suite at 40 deg water and 45 deg air

NWDayton · 02-20-2010, 02:49 PM

The point of a dry suit is to provide a place for layering. Unless you have a neoprene one. The main reason people seem to get cold is hands, feet and head. Use a helmet/beanie, gloves and liners, and poly socks wit hyour boots. Quiksilver makes a heated wetsuit for several hundred bucks. And it doesn´t need to be plugged in.

The Cap´n

ewagman · 02-22-2010, 12:43 PM

Thanks Cap'n, it's good to see a reply that addresses the question posted. A question posted in the touring section.

I have found that battery heated clothing marketed for motorcycle usage puts out much less heat than the hardwired ones. Bought my GF a cozy winters battery heated jacket two winters ago, it puts out less than half the wattage (which equals heat) than the gerbings hard wired one does. On high heat setting, the battery lasts only a couple of hours.
I agree with your suggestion of trying to keep the extremities warm. When I windsurf in the winter, under the drysuit with booties I wear this: it's polypropylene long underwear, wool socks, one or two layers of fleece, flannel shirt, flannel lined pants on the inside, cheap sneakers, wet suit gloves, and a snug head covering on the outside. You do scurry back up on the board after you take a plunge into 30 something water. Brrrr.

Since, on my PWC, we are sitting (not standing) on top of a good 12 volt electric source, I thought: "why not use it". We are planning on touring the Potomac River around the Washington Cherry Blossom festival in early April on my sit down PWC, it can be chilly on that water then, & since part of the area has a 6 knot per hour speed limit, we could be out for a while. Because we plan on spectating without getting very wet, I am not planning to wear all above mentioned stuff. Especially if we go ashore for a bite and a brew. Comfort equals enjoyment, a priority for my passenger, and promotes our post trip "rewards".

Again, thanks for your reply Cap'n.

NWDayton · 02-22-2010, 10:38 PM

I have been out just in thick poly/fleece with a nice set of rain gear over that. AKA - dressing for skiing!! Hands are the only thing that gets a bit chilled. Works great when the weather isn´t great, also. Seattle, duh. I would still think twice about being directly connected to my boat. Not so much for the wiring, but the danger of getting hurt after accidental upset. Think I need to find someone for the after rewards! Happy riding!!

The Cap´n

bkoche · 02-27-2010, 06:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ewagman

I was thinking, why not use my Gerbing heated motorcycle jacket and pants liners under my windsurfing dry suit for riding my sit down Yamaha, that is, once the ice is off the water? Gerbing says their stuff is waterproof, so maybe I could even use them under my wet suit, well probably just the wet suit jacket, the wet suit pants, uh, seem to have shrunk. Wiring to the battery would be easy enough, just need to turn the heat off when the motor is not running. Can't bump start a PWC like you can the bike. Anybody try this already? With the dry suit, I guess I'd have to run a long power cord under the neck or the wrist seal, hate to leave the zipper partially open, just in case it turns into a swimming day.

THATS THE SPIRIT!

They say there gear is waterproof but I do not think they ever intended for it to be submerged. There are varying degrees of waterproofness and varying ratings used. IPX 0 through IPX8 going from splash-proof to 1M depth for 1hr. Be careful. My Tourmaster Synergy heated gear will be fine in a torrential rainstorm but I'm not ready to try it on a ski.

Chern_889 · 04-26-2010, 11:43 PM

That heated clothing sounds pretty cozy!