How long does your riding gear last?

[C-dub]

As mentioned in another thread, I'm contemplating upgrading my gear as the gear I have is showing signs of wear. And I'm considering waterproof gear without liners for breathability.

My current gear is the Bilt Explorer Air Adventure Jacket & Pants. This model is being closed out and is at closeout prices, but my size doesn't seem to be available any longer. Otherwise, I might get another set and go for a couple more years with this inexpensive gear that has worked well despite its drawbacks.

I've been looking at the Klim Badlands Pro stuff and found some to try on today at Moto Liberty. They have the color I want in my size. My problem is I'm not sure I'm ready for the $$$ hit. When I bought my current gear I paid around $350 for pants and jacket together and I'll get at least two years out of it. Possibly three or more. There's no rush and I'm sure that something better will eventually come along from Klim or anyone else.

After reading many reviews on Klim gear it looks like that with regular maintenance their gear should last many more years than what I'll probably get from the Bilt stuff I have now.

Regarding boots, I ordered a pair of TCX AirTech EVO boots in the same size of a different model of TCX boots I have now and they were painfully too small. I returned them, but have yet to order the next size up because I'm not convinced that I want something that much taller yet. I didn't even know Klim also makes boots until today. Good grief I might end up looking like a walking/riding billboard for Klim!

How long does some of your gear last? Do you plan on regular replacement intervals or just wait until it wears out before getting new gear?

[Andy Cote]

Gloves: I seem to wear these out most frequently. Olympia summer weight did not make one season, Fulmer summer weight gave me four seasons and I just bought some KLIM. Heavier gauntlet set from Roadgear have lasted well along with heated Gerbings.

A couple Firstgear jackets are still in service. I think they are five and ten years old respectively. I also have Firstgear overpants that are at least five seasons old. My Joe Rocket mesh jacket blew a zipper shortly after purchase which was fixed under warranty, Fits tight even on the arms and doesn't get much use and I never wear it with the liner as it doesn't breath at all.

I have trouble with glove sizes and took a while to get gloves I liked but the rest of KLIM that I have tried runs very small. For the price of KLIM I would prefer Aerostitch - Gore-Tex without liners. Also have looked at Motoport; needs liner to be completely rain protected but pretty nice. Available in denier or Kevlar.

[Rambozo]

I have a mix of brands and price points. Bilt has been hit and miss. One jacket great, one junk. Gloves I gave up on after 3 warranties in as many months, while another style has been my everyday pair for over three years. A super heavy duty Fieldsheer leather race jacket that I had for over twenty years and might still be using if it wasn't stolen. A few things from Icon that have done well. Vega mesh jacket and Joe Rocket mesh pants that get a ton of use here in SoCal. 5 plus years on the jacket, a little less on the pants, no issues. Some things I upgraded to get the newer type armor, but usually once I find something I like I do my best to wear it out, before thinking about replacements. Rain gear has yet to come out of the saddlebag. Riding in the rain on the wing has been a non-issue. Pretty dry behind that giant fairing at speed. I thought I would like the versatility of gear with various liners, but I would rather just have different gear. That might change if I was doing really long trips where I had no idea of what weather to expect.

[Viking]

Dunno bout others, but I have both textile and leather. I prefer the leather. Good solid heavy leather. I have been knocked down on bikes by cars on highways and have survived because of the leather absorbing the asphalt rash as opposed to having to do it with my own skin. Gotta love cows. Last time I put a good rub on a leather jacket and it saved my hide, I went out and bought another the same brand. Bristol is a good manufacturer. I also have chaps made by Bristol, but I have gotten away from them in favour of Kevlar pants and full leather pants. Boots are by TCX and I like the Air Tech model. As far as gloves, I search at vendor booths at rallies for deerskin gauntlets. They are not as tough as some others, but they are tough enough and soft enough to be comfortable. For rain, over the leather, I wear Frogg Toggs, and for my hands, good old kitchen rubber gloves over the deerskin gauntlets. The boots need nothing, and after ten years are still waterproof. I have a new pair but have only just broken them in, waiting in the wings for me to finish with the old ones, which are like everready bunnies. They just keep going and going. My gear is not overly expensive but it does the job. Underlayers help with heat, so I do not need batteries. I always was of the opinion that keeping it simple was best for me.

As far as how long it lasts? If I do not rub the heck out of it sliding on roads and such, it just never seems to wear out. Ten years to a set of gear is about average I guess. To be truthful, my Joe Rocket Honda Goldwing Textile jacket is still like new after ten years, but that is because it just hangs in the closet.

[AZgl1800]

I much prefer Elk Skin gloves.... yes, they will rub thru if you go down, but I can't stand the thickness of "real riding gloves"

they tend to "get lost" more often than worn out, but all Farm & Ranch stores have the best ones, easy to replace. I keep 2 or 3 pair with me.

My mesh jacket is now 12 years old, not showing any signs of wear, I hit it with the High Pressure water sprayer once in a while.... mostly to get rid of the damn droppings from birds that like to sit on the rafters in my shop... ( forgot to put a tarp over the bike last year. )

My Tour Master mesh pants need a new zipper, much cheaper to have that replaced than buy new pants.

[julimike54]

Jacket and pants Olympia Airglides, about six years old; starting to show some fading and broke a zipper pull (easy fix, bought a new pull). Probably a couple years I'll replace, maybe sooner. They've been good, other than the pants seem to have shrunk slightly .

Gloves; I've worn a multitude of cow, deer, elk and synthetic. I've liked most of them, found the synthetics seem to wear out faster (ie come apart). Most all gloves have been with no, to slight enhanced protection. Some of the leather motorcycle type are of a "soft" variety and found that when they hit the ground with me in them they abraded very easily, makes me wonder what they'd do in a get off. The other issues I've had is black leather gloves turning my hands black (some worse than others) and others distorting from getting wet (fingers twisted when dry, very uncomfortable). The other thing I've become more aware of is there isn't 'armor' in most of these and have progressed to fill that area. The latest pair are REAX perforated gloves for Summer and have found them to be a great pair (so far, only one partial season) that appear to check all my boxes so far. As far as longevity the clock is still ticking. The oldest pair I have, that I still carry are elkskin (no additional armor) that look like double hockey sticks, but work well in transitional type temperatures.

Boots; I have weird feet and will only buy boots that I can try on, I've returned more boots than I've bought from ordering (online or catalog). I'd like to try the TCX, but so far no one has had my size, instock and the style I'd like (don't need to look like Ricky Racer) and they need to breath and be waterproof. Best so far have been Redwing brand but not motorcycle specific.

[AZgl1800]

Boots; I have weird feet and will only buy boots that I can try on, I've returned more boots than I've bought from ordering (online or catalog). I'd like to try the TCX, but so far no one has had my size, instock and the style I'd like (don't need to look like Ricky Racer) and they need to breath and be waterproof. Best so far have been Redwing brand but not motorcycle specific.

TCX does not offer widths, I bought a pair from WingStuff in size 46.
Because my feet are EEEE, I was told to order up 1 or 2 sizes larger than the uk/usa cross over suggests.

only online boots that I ever ordered. The are too snug across my toes, but passable for a couple hours. I can walk in them w/o discomfort EXCEPT for the tops of them, they will NOT close in tight enough, so they slide up and down on the calf of my legs and tend to make that area sore.

I have had Red Wing boots that lace up to give me ankle support ....
TCX boots are useless for ankle support..
I bought them for being water proof, think I should have stuck with Red Wings and plastic sacks.

[brettchallenger]

My boots are now over twenty years old and still performing well - Daytona.

[WingAdmin]

For wet (and cool) weather, I use these gloves, and have been for 5 years now. They are still in excellent shape: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=24208

I liked these summer gloves, but they lasted only a couple years before they were done: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=13425

My current summer gloves are now two years old and look (and work) like new still. I LOVE them, they are so comfortable, I wear them sometimes when it's even too cold: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=37373

My summer jacket and pants are old Olympa Airglide 2, and they are still extremely comfortable and functional.

My colder wear jacket and pants are the Ranger jacket: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=24210
And the Ranger 3 overpants: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=24209

Both are superior quality items, warm, windproof, waterproof in all but an absolute downpour.

For heavy rain I have Olympia Horizon rain gear that I carry, that keeps me bone dry in all weather: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=23131

I've tried several Olympia gloves, and returned all of them. I don't like their gloves at all.

My boots are actually BILT - I bought them cheap (like $90) when I needed replacements for a set I had worn the soles out, and figured I would replace them once they wore out - but I've had them for many years now, they haven't worn out, they're still waterproof, and still comfortable, so that was a good deal. A lot of the Bilt gear is kind of cheaply made and wears out quickly.

I used to have Joe Rocket jacket and pants, but the quality is just not there - they just wear out far too quickly for the price.

Klim has a decent member review as well: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=45161

[minimac]

It 's just by accident that my three (two 'cold weather' and a mesh)jackets are all First Gear. I've had them all for over ten years, and only the mesh is starting to look a little worn. My two pair of Cortech kevlar reinforced cargo pants are still like new after the same amount of time. I'll probably "outgrow" them before they wear out.

[2003Cobra]

I have kind of an addiction to jackets. I have quite a few. I have 2 leather jackets that I have owned for over 10 years. One is a Fox Creek jacket that is very heavy and the other is a custom made jacket and chaps made in Turkey ( I got them off Craigslist but it turned out the seller was not far from me). I also have a Gerbing heated jacket I've had for 3 years, Leather pants I've had for about 8 years.

I had a Joe Rocket mesh jacket I loved but it gave up this past spring/ summer after 11 years of faithful service. The protector pads fell apart and the seams started to come undone. I got another Joe Rocket jacket this past summer but it is more for fall or early winter so it has been to hot to wear it. I did how ever get a Sedci mesh jacket I like but only one season and it had been really to hot to wear it.

I have a complete Electric set of gear to go from head to toes, I got a very good deal about 12 years ago from someone who was giving up riding after and accident. When I bought the electric out fit the gloves are Warm gear that I absolutely love, I will wear them with or without the electrics and they always keep my hand nice a warm. Summer gloves I had a pair of Harley gloves for about 6 years but they finally wore out, now the finger are wind screens for our microphones. The one big problem with the Harley gloves were they have the Harley silhouette on the top side of the hand so after a few weeks of wearing them you would have this tan patch of the Harley logo on you hands. Guess that would be better then a tattoo...

I have several types of pants in various sizes because they tend to get small then when the wife puts me on a diet they tend to grow so it all depends on where I'm at.

[WingAdmin]

My last pair of Joe Rocket pants, the zipper completely failed, many hours away from home. I did a temporary repair with a knife and some zip-ties (I carry tons of these in my bike - you can fix anything with them!) and tossed them when I got home.

Emergency zipper fix

[Ed Brock]

Our gear lasts about 4-5 years, then it starts Looking it's age. Still good, just not as factory fresh looking as new. We do ride all year in all kinds of weather. However, I'm not allowed to ride in the snow anymore, don't ask.
Ed

[Oldbear]

I traded my old jacket 16 years ago as I had lost 160lbs. I bought a Joe Rocket Ballistic jacket and pants set (with gloves). I still have them - but in the past year the jacket zipper has finally started to wear out, the pants have a hole where the seams meet in the crotch. I still have my old chaps, insulated leather gloves and lighter glove (which have finally worn a hole on my signal thumb (all 25 some years old). I did purchase a leather jacket about 10 years ago and it's still in good shape - but I'm out of shape again and require better-fitting gear. I'm planning on some winter gear shopping.

We both replaced our helmets four years ago as an anniversary present - We realized we had gone too long on those (21 years for me 18 for her) - the foam comfort padding was not comforting anymore... and we switched to built-in sun visors and a modular helmet for me.

My riding boots are cowboy boots (purchased in 1996) that I have had resoled three times (they now have a hole on the shift toe - which my cobbler will repair) and a pair of Canadian combat boots (for longer riders) from the surplus store - purchased in 1992 or so.

The gear can last for years if you purchase quality and then take proper care of it. Clean and condition your gear. Store it out of the heat and light. Clean your helmet - I do the inside every few months now as the liner is removable.