New Innovations from Gerbing’s Heated Clothing
Your tax dollars at work
What do radar guns, GPS’ and the internet have in common? They
were all heavily developed by the US military before they were
accessible for public consumption. The military has had a large hand
in numerous innovations over the years and one recent project will
be a boon to the motorcycle community – if you like to ride warm.
Beginning in 2006, Gerbing’s Heated Clothing was contracted by the
US military to develop the next level in heated clothing technology.
The company had been on the forefront of heated clothing since the
1970s when founder Gordon Gerbing first laced the interior of a
snowmobile suit with copper wire, making it warm up similar to the
way electric blankets work.
That same copper wire technology held steady throughout the
company’s development of heated gear until now. Anyone
who has donned a heated jacket, gloves, pants or socks from any
manufacturer knows the issue with copper wire is that it’s bulky and
feels strange around the fingers when you’re trying to operate your
motorcycle.
The company was charged with developing a heating technology that
shed the bulk and odd feeling of the old copper wire format. A
Kevlar heat transfer technology had been developed by another
company to a point already, but the project was scrapped when the
Kevlar proved to be inconsistent in temperature range and faulty in
the field. Gerbing's went on a mission to find a better way. In the
process they came up with not one, but two new technologies.
 Enter Microwire
The first technology to be developed was branded as Microwire. It
involves creating small wires, about a quarter of the size of copper
wire, by bringing together several hundred strands of conductive
wire which are a quarter the density of human hair. Wrapping these
in pairs and running them alongside each other creates a flat
surface area like ribbon in which the heat can be transfer to the
rider without the bulk of the old technology. In 2008, Gerbing's
quietly phased this into their current line of Classic and G3 gloves
and incorporated it into a new glove, the T5. It worked well and
managed to provide the same level of heat as the old technology at
about the same wattage. Later in 2008, Gerbing's replaced their line of
heated socks with heated insoles which utilize the Microwire
technology. The ribbons of microwire are very suitable for gear like
gloves and insoles, but heating pants and jackets would require a
different approach.
Above: The black line at the bottom right is
Microwire, next to a key ring which represents the thickness of the
old copper wire technology. The fuzzy stuff on the left is the
Microwire opened up displaying the hundreds of hair-like wires woven
in to the wire strand.
Nano Nano
To accomplish the task of heating jackets and pants, Gerbing's
developed a small conductive thread which would come to be known as
Nanowire. This thread can be sewn into patterns that would be
inserted in the sleeves, chests and backs of their jackets and vests
as well as the legs on their pants. Unlike Microwire, the Nanowire
can give a broader radiance of heat on larger garments.
 Still Growing
For motorcycle enthusiasts, it would appear that Gerbing’s
heated clothing was created just for them, and originally it was.
There’s always been growth at Gerbing’s. First it was when they
picked up a contract to build all the heated gear for
Harley-Davidson at the turn of the century. Later they developed
heated pads for sporting events. More recently they have developed a
7 volt rechargeable battery line that can be used by someone working
outdoors such as a hunter or camera man, to keep a flow of heat
going to the body for a period of time. The need for heat is huge
from the pipeline worker in Alaska to the fishing crew on the Arctic
Ocean and Gerbing's is at the forefront of creating the gear to keep
people working in a myriad of industries.
To accommodate all this growth, Gerbing's recently moved from their
7,000 square foot facility in Union, Washington, to a new 29,000
square foot facility in Tumwater.
Above: Gerbing's newest glove, the T5 incorporates the
companies new, stealth, fast heating microwire technology.
 The recent developments by Gerbing's that apply to the military
also apply to the industrial and medical fields are likely to insure
the company will continue to grow in the heated clothing market,
despite the current down economy.
No more socks! Gerbing has come up a new heated
insoles to replace their sock line.
For more information about Gerbing’s Heated Clothing, their new
lineup of gear, MicrowireTM and NanowireTM
technology, visit their website at
www.gerbing.com
SR!/Summer 09 |
