Kevlar gear from Motoport

[ancosta]

Anyone have experience with kevlar-blend gear from Motoport? I am about to shake the piggybank bigtime for this setup.

I considered aerostitch but concluded from reviews that it is jack of all trades & master of none.

Leathers are an obvious pick but daily driving in 90+ heat and rain are showstoppers for me there.

They claim this stuff is functionally as good as leather, has unsurpassed armor placement that exceeds CE standards, and is good from 50-100+ degrees (unless I get the thermaloft liner then its good from 20ish they claim).

If their claims live to >80% I would be pretty satisfied. Then the guy said that there was no need for a back protector with their jacket, unless I wanted one to go down to the bottom of my tailbone. I thought that was a bit of a bold claim. How can a back protector work if it's tethered to a moveable piece of clothing vs. my back?

Their $.02 on MC gear materials & durability:
http://motoport.com/saveyourhide.pdf...erchant_Phone=



I want to go with overpants because I'd use them for touring/day trips 90% of the time. They said that they can put velcro for knee pucks (purely a poseur's amenity at this point in my riding career but there for when/if I need them down the road).



This plus a set of good kevlar jeans for the casual street riding and I think I would be set. (The motoport guy told me draggin jeans were gimmicky BS that woudn't hold up...who am I to say one way or the other?)

I've had my eye on jeans from Hood UK. I'd paste a pic but their site seems to be down: http://www.hoodjeans.co.uk/

Ideas/suggestions are helpful...!

[benVFR]

Motoport is supposed to be good stuff... very close to Aerostich and the other high end Cordura gear.

Only suggestions I would have is to perhaps select a "coat" instead of a "jacket" for all weather Cordura gear. I would bet Motoport has that same jacket but it comes down a few inches lower below the waist.. it helps you stay a bit warmer & keeps the water out of your crotch, with little penalty in warm weather.

The overpants are indeed the best option for commuting/errands/etc.. but do keep in mind they will never be quite as waterproof as the same pants without the zippers down the legs. I end up wearing my overpants (not as nice as the motoport ones) for commuting, etc.. but they are not good for more than 1 hour of heavy rain before some of the zippers start to leak. My regular pants are far less convenient as you have to change into regular pants at your destination but they are good for all day in the rain and are a better choice for touring & all day sport riding.

Check the crotch zipper.. there should be a waterproof piece of fabric under the zipper that you have to move out of place to go to the bathroom. That keeps the crotch from leaking.. getting your junk wet on a cold day when the rest of you is dry really sucks.

Small things, but things you should look for on gear that is that expensive.

20 degrees without electrics underneath is probably not for real, the rest of their claims are probably pretty close if the gear is goretex. It will not be as comfy at 100 degrees as a mesh suit but it will be much better than leather.

Any high end suit like this will be better than leather for your every day riding though, you can't go wrong!

How much does that suit cost?

edit: The back protector claim is BS.. if this jacket is $400-500 like an Aerostich it should come with a real articulated back protector that can be separated from the jacket and secures to your body with straps. Don't settle for a crappy foam pad that is just stuck in between the liner & outer shell of the jacket. You should also be getting the Thermal & Gore-tex liners included for no extra cost at that price.

If you're going to buy it sight unseen online & it is going to come out to $700-1000 you might as well go out to Motomarket and try on some of their stuff. They'll get you out the door for the same price range, and their stuff is as good if not better, and it is very worth it to be able to try on stuff like this before you buy it.