new gear
Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2006 4:31 pm
I guess I should have mentioned this earlier, but I finally got some new gear. I was on the fence for a long time, considering either Motoport kevlar mesh or perforated leather. A few weeks ago I finally decided and bought bought Tour Master Impulse jacket and Decker pants from newenough.
The pants were terrible. Too long, too narrow, very constricting, very hot. I sent them back and already got a refund.
However, the jacket is actually pretty good. At 40mph it provides enough airflow to not notice the heat. At 6000 ft on Angeles Crest, it actually got a bit chilly, so I zipped in the liner, and zipped it out again when I got to the bottom. The liner is much better than the Phoenix liner: it is a lot more breathable. Phoenix liner is basically unusable without a long-sleeve shirt.
In terms of protection, the jacket seems to be well maid, with armour in all the right places, though I did notice some sloppy stitching on the right sleeve. Still, I certainly feel safer riding on the freeways now.
Overall, the jacket is obviously not as comfortable as my Pheonix jacket, but still surprisingly good, and from what I read, this is basically as good as it gets with leather. I can live with that for better protection.
I am still using my phoenix pants, but now the jacket & pant zippers don't match. I'll take it to an alterations place to saw the spare zipper into the jacket. Eventually though I will get new pants as well. At this point I'm considering either Tour Master textile overpants or Motoport solid kevlar.
The pants were terrible. Too long, too narrow, very constricting, very hot. I sent them back and already got a refund.
However, the jacket is actually pretty good. At 40mph it provides enough airflow to not notice the heat. At 6000 ft on Angeles Crest, it actually got a bit chilly, so I zipped in the liner, and zipped it out again when I got to the bottom. The liner is much better than the Phoenix liner: it is a lot more breathable. Phoenix liner is basically unusable without a long-sleeve shirt.
In terms of protection, the jacket seems to be well maid, with armour in all the right places, though I did notice some sloppy stitching on the right sleeve. Still, I certainly feel safer riding on the freeways now.
Overall, the jacket is obviously not as comfortable as my Pheonix jacket, but still surprisingly good, and from what I read, this is basically as good as it gets with leather. I can live with that for better protection.
I am still using my phoenix pants, but now the jacket & pant zippers don't match. I'll take it to an alterations place to saw the spare zipper into the jacket. Eventually though I will get new pants as well. At this point I'm considering either Tour Master textile overpants or Motoport solid kevlar.
but come on this is taking it a bit too far...