Gerbing is the 1 & only heated jacket liner I have exp with, but I'm thoroughly pleased with it. Initially I had a portable Dual Controller which, unfortunately, my 125-pound Akita dog decided would make a great lunch. I got a portable Single Controller as replacement for a number of reasons unique to my own sitch:
(1) I'm riding solo more often than not, so don't hafta worry about heating up an SO's bod for her. At least not on the bike, LOL.
(2) I didn't like the extra profusion of the 2nd set of wires.
(3) I rode absent any heat up in the Yankee Snowbelt for so many years my stupidity is embarrassing to admit, and only got smart re electric heat after I moved - of all places - to the Sunshine State. Do use it when it gets real "cold" here, but got it prinarily for X-country or northern road-trips.
I already feel very "pampered" so didn't feel need for a Dual Controller just to separately control jacket liner & gloves on 2 separate circuits. Perhaps I may regret that in the future, but I doubt it. I've never even used the gloves yet. My Gerbing G3 gloves are so warm I don't think I'd ever even need to plug them into the jacket liner's sleeve-cuff plugs, especially now that I have the '09 with heated grips. But I'll cross that bridge if-when I come to it. I like the smaller size of the Single Portable controller, less wires, and for my sitch I think the Single Controller is more than adequate enough.
Gerbing Controllers come with a little pouch with leather-covered belt clip. I found the belt clip inconvenient if worn on belts because all my riding jackets are 3/4 length thus covering the beltline. If your riding jacket has an exterior waist-belt, that would be handy. I suppose you could just as easily keep the controller in a left side jacket pocket if so equipped, but I don't like digging around in pockets when riding, prefer thermostat control out in the open and readily handy.
I didn't want to cut seat for a Utupia Backrest & I like a much higher mid-back rest, so I have the pivoting Kury backrest. Its flat chrome panel mounting plates mount via the passenger grab-rail bolts. The flat, vertically-oriented backrest bracket, on the left side, is the perfect place to mount my controller via the belt clip, in easy reach of left hand.
The hookup power lead plug from the bike's power supply, I simply tuck under the left lower edge of the seat when not in use, thus entire hookup lead wire is hidden. Its positive lead is "internal" so already well-insulated, but I simply slide a rubber plug-sleeve over the end of the power lead when not in use, just to be double-safe against shorts or water entry. When I wanna use it, I pull outward slightly on the lower seat edge, the power lead drops out, I plug the jacket lead into it & I'm "good to go". Works well for me.
The Gerbings Controller plugs into a receptacle on the inside left side of the jacket close to the lower waist hemline, very near to where I hang the Controller, which is why the above works well for me. Relatively short lead, wires completely out of my way and out of way of any-all hand and leg motions.
Not sure what type of hookup leads your jacket model may use, but they'll typically sell hookup extension cords in both flat wire or coiled-wire (like a coiled telephone handset wire) styles, in various lengths. If you're gonne be installing a permanently-mounted controller, for example, that plugs into a port drilled & hole-mounted in the lower fairing panels, make sure to get a power lead long enough to be able to move around without pulling the lead out of the plug-in port. Also keep in mind that steady wind-blown or contact-rubbing of hookup wires can mar up your paint finish real fast. So you'll want to route and secure them to minimize that as much as possible. So again, make sure you get hookup leads of the necessary desired length. And remember to unplug before you dismount, because it can conceivably be easy to break the power lead or port if you don't, if wire gets tugged laterally during dismount.
Yes, typically, all 4 items you mentioned will interconnect in series and can be hooked up to a single controller. Socks would plug into pant cuffs, pants plug into jacket, gloves plug into jacket sleeve-cuffs and the controller would typically plug into the jacket liner so the torso gets heat first. I really wouldn't think there'd be too much heat loss to the extremeties - for example, the socks would have to have pretty thin wires in them to be comfortable enough for walking on (perhaps only wired on top of foot, not soles? and since thinner wires give more resistance, I imagine they'd still heat up toasty warm, having to warm a much smaller area, comparatively, for feet and fingers. Fitment of heated clothing is important. You want it snug, not loose. The more form-fitting it is, the closer it stays to your skin, the more heat ya feel. The real nice thing about 'em you'll find is that you can usually dispense with your riding jacket's own zipi-out lining, and even a lighter jacket can usually suffice. So you feel a whole lot less like the overstuffed "Michelin Man" wearing 30 pounds of ecess clothing. Crank that sucker up to to full heat when you first take off, you'll be lowering that thermostat controller back down to the lw or midpoint setting in no time at all.
Good Luck in your hunt. Don't know if you've used heated clothing before or not, but if not, you're gonna love it. After I got mine, I was so much kicking myself in the butt. "Why didn't I do this starting 38 years ago?" LOL.
It must be these darn Gold Wings. Once we ride them, we start really pampering ourselves more and more. I think they call it "spoiled" ??? I remember my first road-trip, from NY to CO. On a H-D Low-Rider. No windshield, beanie half-helmet, no face-shield, gear strapped and bungied all over the lace. AKA How Not To Take A Long Ride. Oh, to be young again! Yeah, the GW has spoiled me fer sure . . . comfy . . . tunes . . . sippin' beverages . . . wind protection . . . even mostly dry in the Wet, as long as ya keep movin'. And now, even heat in the cold and damp-chilly, too . . . And (some) of the "real bikers" huddling under the bridge overpasses in the pouring rainstorm sneer at me for riding "jap crap" as I pass 'em by. I think I'll take "spoiled" any day . . .
