Best Jacket and gloves you ever owned? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Best Jacket and gloves you ever owned?

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AdrenalineX

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Hey guys,

Just wanted to see what everyone's favorite jacket and gloves have been for all times, for touring/cruising purposes. And most importantly, what features or aspects of the jacket and gloves you liked the most?
 
Jacket - Scorpion XDR Shock. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2DiVAYPSB8
Leather on sleeve and shoulder(high impact/abrasion area).
The waterproof liner breathes well and the outer shell itself repels water, ok for light rain.
Pocket for Camelback.
Glove - Joe rocket Highside Glove
Fits my hand perfectly, finger length is perfect and I can use iphone w/o removing gloves.
 
Joe Rocket-textile jacket. Light weight and cool when it scortching hot out. Even found it warmer than my leather jacket in cooler temps. Just put a thin fleece sweater on underneather.
 
BMW Rallye 3 jacket. Love the jacket, it vents amazing, feels great when wearing and you do not even notice the armor its loaded up with when on. Has a warm waterproof liner, and removable sleeves to make the jacket a vest. It has been the best and most versatile jacket I have ever owned.

For gloves, well thats a different story, so many different pairs for so many different uses and weather. I do not think there is one best glove, you need a variety in my opinion, no one does it all.
 
Would you be able to recommend Southern Ontario dealer for Rallye 3 or BMW motogear in general?

Edit: scratch that. Online US pricing brutal, expect Canadian in store pricing brutaler.
 
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BNKN said:
Would you be able to recommend Southern Ontario dealer for Rallye 3 or BMW motogear in general?

Edit: scratch that. Online US pricing brutal, expect Canadian in store pricing brutaler.
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It is not cheap stuff thats for sure, but the quality is great. I think most dealers will be the same, unless they are clearing out something old. I purchased mine from Wolf BMW in London. Have not worn any Klim gear, but it gets incredibly high praise from the people at Dual Sport Plus, this also is top end stuff, so you pay top end prices.
 
wonderings said:
Have not worn any Klim gear, but it gets incredibly high praise from the people at Dual Sport Plus, this also is top end stuff, so you pay top end prices.
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I have 2 pair Klim pants. For me they were unwearable until I had IM Leather install belt loops. The bomb now. I don't understand how they don't slide off otherwise. When I questioned WaterLilly about that she said she wore them on her Africa trip no problems. Right then I knew I'd never be a RTWer.
 
Haven't found the perfect glove yet, I must have 4 or 5 pair. My summer A* gloves are great though and I'll wear those whenever I could.

Jackets, I've owned 4 or 5. The two best each have elements that I like and dislike.

My Rev'it! Sand jacket looks great and vents better than any jacket I've ever owned. In the cold weather, the insert make it VERY warm. This is a very comfortable jacket and suit. On the negative side, the padding in the jacket is average (though I came through hitting a bear relatively unscathed), it gets dirty easily, and if you use the rainproof insert the jacket gets waterlogged, taking days to dry out.

My BMW Rallye 3 suit is bombproof. The material is different (more rugged) and the protection is much better. It doesn't come with a cold weather liner but the rain liner works great. The suit doesn't seem to hold onto water like the Rev'it! but I still use an outer rain suit for ease of use; it's much easier to throw on a rain suit over the Rallye than taking the suit off and zipping in the liner. I can ride through branches without fear of causing damage to the jacket. On the negative side, venting isn't bad but is noticeably less than my Rev'it! . I find that an evaporative vest is a must in hot weather. It doesn't fit quite as well as the Rev'it! either; I really liked the collar on the Rev'it! that allows one to ride with it open without flapping in the wind.

The perfect jacket, IMO, would be the BMW jacket with more venting, the Rev'it! collar, and a third liner for cold weather.
 
I don't have a favorite jacket or pair of gloves, I have a wide range of gear that fits different purposes, dirt, track, street, touring, etc.

For touring, I am currently wearing a REV'IT! Air Jacket. I like mesh gear because I tend to overheat a lot and if I get cold, it is easy to put a sweater underneath and a waterproof windbreaker over which covers 100% of all the riding conditions on the road and doesn't take up much space on the bike if we need to store it to go hiking.

What I look for in touring gear, assuming all the abrasion-resistance and CE protection is there (which in a lot of gear it is):

- lightweight and roomy enough to be layerable
- lots of pockets. It would be nice to find a mesh jacket with one 100% waterproof pocket to put an iPhone/wallet in (just in case you get stuck in a surprise downpour). Right now it's a ziplock baggie.
- zip-to-pants
- a collar that provides some neck protection (no Mandarin cut) but with a clasp that doesn't chafe too much
- dark/dirt-coloured so I don't have to wash it often
- reflective piping/paneling is nice
- good fit. The North American brands don't have numbered sizing and most are too big around the waist, the European cuts are more fitted so the material doesn't move around that much when riding.

I tried the BMW Rallye Suits. Well made, but holy crap they are heavy. And not easily storeable when away from the bike. Also, the waterproof layer is under the jacket, so the outside gets waterlogged and even more heavy. All the waterproof gear I own is GORE-TEX and doesn't rely on a waterproof liner. Only problem with GORE-TEX is that the waterproofing doesn't last more than a few seasons.

I wear Dainese Air-Tex gloves. They're very comfortable in hot weather, but probably not as protective as leather with armor. I had a pair of BMW Rallye gloves that I liked, but my wife stole them.
 
For me best gloves to date.... Teknic Violator Pro Gloves

And any of my Fieldsheer Touring jackets.
 

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Jacket would be my alpinestars scout. Got it for roughly $250 off ebay is very much waterproof and has nifty pockets and build quality seems really good etc

Gloves surprisingly enough after the longish break in period the velocity vr-pros fit me like, well, a glove! Mind you I usually buy size large gloves and Jimmy fitted me with a size medium. Aka I've been wearing gloves that are too large for me, could definately influence why I love those gloves so much
 
A very early Joe Rocket Ballistic Series, 0.0? ha. Has the full sleeved liner that also serves as a light "jacket" on it's own, w/ pockets. I'm still wearing out this one, not very waterproof anymore.

Now it's a Vanson MK2 Sportrider
 
Don't have a best jacket, but for gloves I love my Velocity VR-Pro's. Put some fresh leather conditioner on them before a trip, and they were waterproof through 6hrs of rain, and did not harden up under another 6hr of rain :)
 
As you can see from the replies above, it's highly subjective.


Having owned 3 jackets and pairs of gloves, my favourite by far is:

RS Taichi leather perforated leather jacket
Rev-it Gloves below. Unbelievably comfortable.

revit_slr_gloves_black_400.jpg
 
I got a new Icon jacket for $80 and took it on my trip. It breathes well since the middle portion is textile and the sides unzip for a more relaxed fit which lets the wind blow in. It also has leather sleeves so it's stronger in a crash. The fact that it's a mix between textile and leather makes it much lighter than my all leather jacket. That made a huge difference when i had to carry it around on the trip. http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/Detail.bok?no=2508

The gloves i got were also Icon. GP had a decent sale on them so i picked them up. I wore them in 3 Degree weather and my hands were pretty warm. They are also completely waterproof. I rode for 4 hours in hurricane type rain on the way back from Montreal and my hands were still nice inside the gloves. http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/Detail.bok?no=8284
 
As mentioned previously it is very subjective.

I commute a lot and ride a fair amount. Last year about 43,000 km and the year before about 57,000 km. Gear is important to me.

For me the best jacket has been the jacket that is part of my Aerostich Roadcrafter 2-piece riding suit. It is not at all stylish but works for me in all conditions. I generally have it zipped together with the pants and the combination goes on and off in about 15 seconds. I have worn it down to -16 for an hour long commute (I commute daily and wear a suit and tie to work) and have ridden with it on at temperatures over 50C in Death Valley. (Okay I filled the pockets with ice for that part of the ride!) I ride in rain or shine and don't need to worry about rain gear. In cold I layer under it with Fleace pants from Aerostich. On top I had used layers of fleace but now have a heated jacket liner and heated gloves from Tourmaster so less of a concern there.

As far as gloves go I sometimes have four pairs in my topcase. But the ones I wear the most are my heated Gloves this time of year, a pair of Tourmaster short waterproof glvoes in mid temperatures (not sure of hte model name), and some Marks Work Wearhouse gloves for hot weather. I also have a pair of Aerostich Waterproof overgloves for when it is raining more than a light drizzle.


There is no right or wrong and nothing is perfect, just a matter of what works for you; but having said that I wish I had found the above solution a few years ago as I wasted money on three different jackets and two different pairs of riding pants before I found what worked for me.


..Tom
 
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Klim Badlands Pro jacket. Fully Gore-tex, waterproof jacket with great venting. No need for a waterproof liner as the jacket itself is water tight and yet breathable. 3/4 length and the kidney belt are fantastic features for touring.

Had lots of gloves over the years nothing really jumps out but I do like the Dainese X-ILE gloves for touring. The split knuckle protectors makes them more comfortable that ones that don't split. They are certainly not the most protective glove but they are comfortable and have a good fit and feel.
 
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