If you could only afford one piece of heated gear for the colder morning commute of about 40 minutes, which would you purchase first?

 

Jacket liner and thermostatic control!

 

Get the gloves first! They'll be a bit of a PITA to wire up (that's where the jacket comes in) but at least the digits will be warm. You'll eventually want to get a jacket liner and DUAL CONTROLLER. The controller will allow you to have "zones" and not be a slave to turning the whole thing on and off and on and off and - well you get the idea.

 

I started with a vest, and noticed that with decent gloves I was ok. It seemed that as long as my core was warm, I didn't feel cold. It stopped me from getting to the point of shivering, which was great. It seems one you get cold enough to start to shiver, it gets miserable pretty quickly.

I did eventually add the gloves; and while they they don't really keep your hands "warm", they do keep them from being cold.

I would completely agree that getting the dual controller mentioned above right off the bat is a smart play.

 

I have gloves and jacket liner. Use the liner frequently and suggest that first. In fact, I no longer use my heavy leather jacket, but have three jackets in one by combining a leather shirt and the liner. 1) Shirt alone=spring, 2) shirt +liner= cool fall/nights, 3) shirt + liner with heat on = winter.

 

Gloves for sure. You can layer up and stay pretty warm with jackets, but gloves need to be thin and warm.

 

What part of you gets cold first, on your commute ? That's the piece that I would buy first.
Like others have said it's important to keep your core warm first and the rest of you will be comfortable. I started with gloves but quickly added the jacket liner. I used to layer my clothing but couldn't retain enough heat for winter riding and that's when I started with heated gear.
Lots of folks get the pants liner and heated socks or insoles, but I have found that as long as my upper body is warm then just well a insulated lower body is fine.
One thing to keep in mind is that in the cold mornings, if you have heated pants liner, and the temp warms up during the day, you may have to shed the pants liner along the road.
Your choice...

 

I agree. two other posters have stated it already. Your hands are exposed to the wind and circulation to the hands is less than your core. You can always bundle up your body. Good heated gloves are a must.

I went with the HD branded Gerbing battery powered gloves. I don't think Harley goes through Gerbing anymore, so I would recommend going direct to them.


.

 

Keep your extremities warm, therefore, gloves first - and I love my Gerbing. However, I would buy the liner and the controller at the same time just to avoid the mess of hooking up gloves only.

 

GLOVES! But make sure you use the suplied fuse!