Gerbing's Cascade Extreme Suit
The electric clothing manufacturer goes prime time
 The
creators of some of the most popular heated motorcycle clothing and
gloves in the world
have taken things to the edge with their new Cascade Extreme riding
suit.
Over the years, Gerbing's has come up with a number of textile
riding suits incorporating their heated lines, but there’s always
been something missing. Early suits lacked needed armor, style was
often an issue and flexibility to morph the suit as the weather
dictated was sometimes missing.
But the Union, Washington, company has done their homework and
come up with a suit that stands up to the standards set by top
textile riding gear competitors like First Gear and Aerostich. In
fact, as we reviewed the new Cascade Extreme we put it to the test
against other gear like the Kilimanjaro jacket (First Gear) and Road
Crafter suit (Aerostich).
The first thing you notice when you pull the suit from the
packaging is that the quality in the fabric is premium. Unlike lower-end brands like Joe Rocket, Nitro and Teknic, the Gerbing Cascade
Extreme (let’s just call it the CE from here on out) incorporates a
higher denier weave in the outer shell.
There’s a distinct lack of Velcro at the collar--a welcome design
change from the Kilimanjaro which had a way of self destructing
itself as well as helmet chin straps.
 Zippers
– oh yeah, the CE utilizes many, allowing venting on the arms, chest,
back and at the arm pits. All venting zippers are waterproofed with
marine quality zipper types.
The pants are matched in design to the jacket. Missing are side
pockets and rear which eliminates leaking in those areas during
heavy rain. Instead, the pant incorporates front panel packets that
fold over when shut to keep the rain out.
Reflective piping? There’s plenty of it on both the jacket and
pants. So much so it puts the low end guys to shame.
Now, it is a Gerbing product, so we need to talk about the
heating element (good pun, eh?) of the jacket and the pants. Each have
zip-out liners which incorporate Gerbing's tight weave heating wire.
Anyone who has compared a Gerbing liner to say, a Widder, knows what
we’re talking about in terms of a tight weave on the line. The
Widders tend to have much more space in the wire weave making them
less effective than the ones our friends in lower Hood Canal
produce.
 The
Gerbing heating setup utilizes the company's Dual 2 schematic which
splits the heat with one channel sending heat to the jacket and the
second providing current/heat to the pants and optional gloves and
socks. Both channels can be controlled with an optional Dual 2
thermostat. If you don’t want to use the thermostat, you can Y
together the inner connections to feed them evenly from a single
thermostat.
The liners integrate extension plugs off the arms and legs that be
be used to heat the optional gloves and socks.
Unlike Gerbing's standard liners that work with any riding jacket,
the liner used in the CE cannot be removed and zipped up on its own
or with another jacket effectively.
The outfit is perfect for 3 season use. Because the heated
liners zip in and out the jacket and pants can be worn comfortably
during the fall, winter and spring months. Venting on the
jacket makes it suitable for summer use, but at present the pants
lack venting and would be uncomfortable on a hot day.
Zippers are included in the lower jacket sleeves to reveal the
plug points for the optional gloves.
If there’s an obvious downfall to the jacket it’s the choice of
armor the company selected. Not because of its quality – it's TPro CE
rated body armor, but because of its excessive weight. Essentially
the armor is soft rubber weighing in at six times that of typical
armor found in a First Gear or Aerostich jacket and pant
combination. The result is a heavier suit that makes you feel a bit
like the Michelin man when you wear it. The quick fix is to replace
the stock armor with one inch thickness Visco foam such as Confor®
which can be purchased in sheets
through better foam resellers, or an upholstery shop. Doing so will
eliminate more than 3 pounds from the final weight of the suit.
And while the price seems more in line with high end makers such
as Aerostich and First Gear, you’ll realize it’s a true savings when
you remember you get those toasty electrically heated liners as part
of the deal. The jacket with liner is $425 and the pants with liner
are $299. Thermostat, gloves and socks are extra, but well worth the
addition to a great suit.
We’ve been watching and waiting for a suit of this quality to hit
the streets from the little heated clothing company in Union that
could. Now that it’s here we like what we see and feel. Contact your
nearest Gerbing dealer and arrange to view the Cascade Extreme soon.
You can locate your local dealer by visiting Gerbing’s website
at www.gerbing.com.
PT/Fall 06 |
