Okay. This post is long overdue, so I figured I better have at it, before my upcoming semester wallops me. As part of my commuting plan, I had to go out and buy some motorcycle gear to keep me safe, rain or shine, warm or cold. It was not a decision that came lightly, since buying all new gear was going to cost a fortune! But with some luck and some smart bargain-hunting, I was able to get it done without going broke!
This was my biggest find! I was able to purchase a pair of Daytona M-Star Gortex boots on Craigslist for $40! They retailed for $450 and were barely used! (The seller happened to be just about my size, maybe an inch or two taller, so we wore the same sizes! Just my luck!) He also had a "Hi-Visibility" yellow Tour Master Epic Jacket that he wanted to sell me for $20, with very little use, which retails for $200!. I had been contemplating getting new rain gear, since my old Joe Rocket Ballistic set was getting pretty tattered Hi-Visibility yellow wasn't exactly what I was thinking, but hey, at that price, how could I refuse??
So now, I had to figure out what kind of pants to buy. I needed an over-pant design, so I could wear jeans underneath and they had to be waterproof (or darned close to it). Logically, it made sense to get a Tour Master pair of pants, so that the zippers would mate. I decided to go all-in and get a Hi-Visibility yellow pair of pants. I figured I might as well- the whole idea is to be seen on the road. I really didn't care how hideous I look- I can barely see it from my perspective, and I wasn't really out to make a fashion statement. I ended up buying the Tour Master Venture pants from Motorcyclegear.com for $135.
Last, but not least, I needed some cold weather gloves, since it can get down to about 30° around here some mornings. After doing some research on winter riding gloves, I decided on a pair of Cortech Scarab Winter gloves. They got solid reviews and the price was right- I found a pair on Ebay for $75 (free shipping included).
One more accessory that I thought might come in useful was some sort of anti-fog device or application. After weeks of web surfing and looking over a bunch of products, I took a leap of faith and went with the Fog City Hyper Optiks Visor Insert. It's a simple helmet visor shaped piece of plastic that is applied via supplied foam adhesive strip that controls fog on the inside of the visor, so your vision will not be obstructed. It cost me $37.
The boots were worth every penny as well! (Of course I paid practically nothing for these!) I usually commute in one pair of Thor-Lo socks, like regular running socks, and still my toes have never been cold! The quality and construction are incredible and are very adjustable. They're well insulated and waterproof lined with Goretex. The only thing I can say bad about them is that the toe is so big that it's sometimes cumbersome to shift. I had to adjust my shift peg as far upward that it could go and that barely gets that fat toe in there. After some time, I got used to it and found some "technique".
That jacket is almost too warm! Yeah, it's got like a million zipper vents and the quilted liner comes out, but still, it's one heavy piece of equipment. If the temperature outside is higher than 65° F out, it'll be uncomfortable if you're standing around in that thing too long- once you start moving, it's fine. But even on the coldest of days, when the quilted liner is in place, that jacket will keep you very warm. Even when it's freezing outside, sometimes I'll ride with nothing on but a T-shirt and my scrub top, and still I'm plenty warm. Although I've never had a fall in this jacket, the protection seems adequate. Sometimes the zippers can be stubborn and sticky, but it's nothing to get your undies in a twist about. I've read that the jacket is only 90% waterproof, so after I acquired the jacket, I washed it, then I sprayed down both the jacket and pants with Scotchgard. I haven't had the pleasure of riding in the rain yet.
Like the jacket, these pants are cozy warm! They too have a removable quilted liner. They're roomy enough to wear just about anything you want beneath them. The waist has some flexible material along the lumbar section, so it articulates nicely and adds to its comfort. Again, I haven't yet rain tested these pants, but I'm sure they'd be fine. They seem very durable, but there is one seam near the left pocket, where the stitching has come undone- the opening is just over an inch long. I'll have to sew that up- it should be no big deal, but I did expect more out of a $135 pair of pants.
As for the Fog City visor insert, it's a pretty cool product. It's light sensitive, so when the ambient light is dark or low, the visor is just the slightest tint of light green, but when the sun is out, it turns a shade of blue. It's nice to be able to ride during the Winter days with the blue tint toning down the sunlight, then be able to see at night, while on the freeway. Given a choice, I would still opt for my dark smoke visor for a ride on a Summer day, but for Winter, this is just fine. The visor does a nice job of keeping the fog away, but I would say that it's about 85% effective. If you're sitting at a light for more than a minute on a cold day with the visor clipped close, you might have to help it out by breathing downward or you'll start to fog up. But for $37, I think it's money well spent!
All in all, I'm very satisfied with all the gear that I got! All together, I spent just over $300, while the equipment MSRP'ed for over $930! With the exception of that split seam on the pants, everything has held up and performed up to my expectations. Now, if would only start raining in California, I could test out the gear the way meant to be used!
