Originally Posted by CaptCF
Same frustrations as you with regard to tradeoffs between protection, heat, waterproofing (or lack thereof in most heated gear) and reliability. I probably averaged 1-2 repairs per season. Since then I think they have stopped that practice and the warranty is much more limited. In looking for something more akin to sportbike glove protection with heat (the holy grail apparently), I tried the Keis 502s about 4 years ago since they looked much more protective than any of the 3 old pairs of Gerbings I had been through up to that point. I ordered them from overseas and when I received them I found that the fit, finish and protection were definitely a step or three up from the Gerbing but they were not nearly as hot so I returned them. If I had to guess I’d say maybe 30-50% less heat output. Maybe their newer products are different. I also experimented with heated glove liners under touring and sport oriented gloves, but could never get a decent fit that didn’t compromise dexterity so ultimately went back to the Gerbing heated gloves.
Well, at least I’m not the only one. 
Gloves and boots are really troublesome; I’m using California Heat gloves now; they are comfortable and warm, but.. If I have a fall.. Yeah, I have absolutely 0 confidence they would be much better than wearing a set of latex gloves for protection. My non-heated gloves are in a different world for protection, carbon in all the impact areas, sliders, etc. Boots are OK, I run heated insoles in my Daytonas, no worry about protection there, but that setup just kind of stinks; I can feel the wire sometimes, snaking the wire through my kevlar pants was a nightmare (I took up sewing and made a pair of kevlar riding jeans specific for the purpose with the wires run through the fabric; again, it works, but it’s janky). I’m actually happy with my jacket/base layer setup now.. Well, mostly, it’s comfortable and fits well, layers easily, doesn’t look like it was stolen from a kid collecting retro baseball gear, but the pocket isn’t big enough for the Gerbring remote control to fit easily (which is stupid large). I have a panel jack on my bike; even there there’s room for improvement; breakaway cable (I built my own), a keeper so the wire doesn’t come out when getting into more aggressive riding (again, built my own).
I’m really struggling to think of any piece of my heated setup that I think is really well engineered/good. My Warm and Safe liner is probably the closest to « good », every other piece I have real, fundamental problems with. And I, like you, have a huge collection; California Heat, Warm and Safe, Gerbring. I have 4 sets of heated gloves!! 4 sets, and I don’t love any of them! I have 3 sets of non-heated, and I LOVE 2 of them. I have 3 jackets, Klim, Dinaise and Scorpion; each has their individual strengths, but all of them are really, really nice pieces of gear; more personal preference and riding temp/style than « this is garbage, that is great ». I probably have 5-6 pairs of jeans and 2 sets of textiles, all good to great. I wear them all depending on my ride and never this « this is garbage », even my cheaper jeans are still in the rotation, they are old and less protective, but they are fine for some rides or when the other stuff is dirty.
It’s really only heated gear that I have a collection of stuff I’ve bought that is, frankly, near unusable it’s so bad. Heated socks take the cake, who could wear those things??? Feels like you wrapped your foot in 12 gauge wire, duct taped it, then tried to put on your motorcycle boots. A few pairs of gloves, none of which I have any confidence would protect me in a wreck, and some so bulky and unwieldy that they are again, basically unusable for a motorcycle.
Maybe I’ll give those Keis gloves a try. Wish they had local distribution. And I can already see the problem coming with them if they’re not really warm; refer back to the « individual controls » part of the rant. Gotta tie them to another circuit so now my feet or body will be on fire trying to get my hands warm!?
It’s a rant thread, I warned you guys in the title. 
Ranting commences!!
Oh, and for those who don’t want to go into heated gear but like to ride in the cold, I can’t recommend Bohn armor enough. It’s SO much more comfortable (and protective) than putting all the heft into your riding pants and it’s pretty warm, I don’t have heated pants because.. Well, because I loathe most of my heated gear, but more to the point, I really don’t need heat on my pants with the Bohn winter tights and a heavier pair of riding jeans or textiles over them.
Edited to add… And I didn’t even get into reliability. That’s a whole different rant thread. I’ve been through 2 remote controllers (actually 3, but one was my fault, dropped off the bike because, at the time, nobody made a good holder for one).. On my 3rd pair of insoles. The gloves that I « like » but would provide similar protection to covering my hands in talcum powder, 2nd pair. Jacket liners I’ve never worn out, but that’s because I keep looking for one that isn’t awful (We’ll see how long my liner lasts, it’s good enough that I’m going to use it a lot, I don’t have high hopes, but not fair to throw stones at them just yet). Had to replace the panel jack on my bike once (which is a WHOLE lot of fun to route the wire inside the fairings).
Compare that to my oldest (~10 years) Scorpion jacket and Covert Evo jeans; they are basically still perfect. Everything works, shoot, the jacket was a « weathered look » leather and it’s held up fantastic. And that’s not some super-premium brand, just a relatively middle of the road motorcycle jacket. Even my first helmet, again, around 10 years old now, looks and operates (it’s a modular) just like the day I bought it and has ~50K miles on it. And not at all a premium brand, just a middle of the road modular helmet.
