That's because the gear is made for average city dwellers.

In backcountry winter camping, we dress in layers. The outer shell is usually just a waterproof/breathable shell. The layers underneath are what keep us warm. That allows us to deal with a signficant breadth of temperatures. If we wore only 1 very warm jacket, we would overheat much of the time.

I'd suggest the same for extended travelling. Determine which parameters are important to you ie abrasion resistance, impact protection, breathability, water resistance etc. And then look for gear that meets that. The popular mid-price brands are probably not the best in terms of providing something that you can "live-in" day in day out for a whole year. They aren't designed for that.

As a general rule, outdoor activity stores, the ones that are staffed by people who actually do the activities and use the products are a good bet. You can find clothing that is meant to perform well. And then you top that off by a motorcycle specific shell whose purpose is to protect you in case of mishap.

Hope that helps some,

Bruno
Montreal, Canada
Gerbing Heated JACKET LINER Review
http://pages.videotron.com/mcrides/p...bing/liner.htm
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[This message has been edited by Bruno Valeri (edited 23 November 2005).]

[This message has been edited by Bruno Valeri (edited 23 November 2005).]

__________________
Bruno
Montreal, Canada
CBR 929
http://pages.infinit.net/mcrides

Agrre with the post above. In short, here is my opinion... summed up:

1) Layering
2) Protection from road rash (i.e. kevlar)
3) Protecting major joints in crashes (armor, built in or strap on)

Then

4) Wind proof (If you bring an aditional windbreaker, having clothes that will let the air through on hot days can be nice)
5)Breathable water proofening??? For me this is not a must as I carry 100% water proof raingear with me - my experience is that when my body is cold and I am riding wast into the rain, I still get wet. These things work on the osmosis principle, and when my body is cold (as it often gets when sitting still riding in the rain), my body doesn't build up enough bodyheat for moisture on the inside of the jacket to evapurate. The airpressure (generated by riding), moisture and heat on the outside may in fact be so high that the osmosis effect works the other way around, making moisture seep into the clothes. Further, I find these clothes large and bulky, and hot as hell, even without the liner, they make me look like a clown on the way to the moon, and they have no other versatility besides riding. Also, I don't feel they do a heck of a lot for breathing either... All in one concepts have short comings in all areas but one, general convenience.

__________________
Blog: www.bamakobyvespa.no
My Youtube Channel

After quite a lot of deliberation, my wife and I opted to go with AEROstich. There were several reasons for this. First, Andy Goldfine is a world class rider who has travelled to many of the places we will ride and his designs are based on experience not fashion or marketing. While we will be riding in the heat, I would rather sweat a bit than be without real protection. And since I have some experience of riding in the deserts of the American SW, I feel ok about this. We were also impressed with the quality of construction. While this may require that the Darien Jacket is a bit stiff and heavy, I have been assured that the stiffness will go away and I will get used to the weight. We also have the Darien pants, that have been altered to fit - I do have short legs.

We also opted for AEROstich' Combat Boots. Made by Sidi, they really are waterproof according to all the tests I have read.

To be fair to any one who reads this post, out ride is being sponsored by AEROstich so we got a substantial break on the purchase price of all the stuff we bought from AEROstich and RIDERwearhouse. However, even without their support, I would have selected their products any way.

For a final note, we leave on July 17 for Beijing and after a final bike check we head off to Mongolia to Ulaan Baator and then to the western border where we will enter Russia.

Thanx for all the advice, couldn't have done it without HU and all the people who have helped with this and other posts.

www.draginrun.com

B/rgds

Jack

__________________
On the road,

Jack & Janet

Gloves.

Think I've decided on some MX gloves for really hot days, and some vented gloves for every thing else. To water proof them some waxed cotton over gloves are the only product that I'd trust RTW for water proof gloves. They also eliminate wind - making the vented gloves non vented for cooler weather.

14 summer glove review
http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/acc...ummergloves01/


The most essential thing is the protection for all the clothing.

On the dragin jeans etc. While fine products ... they are not suitable for RTW .. Pack volume is large and drying times are long. I use than for day/weekend trips. But not a week.

__________________
---
Regards Frank Warner
motorcycles BMW R80 G/S 1981, BMW K11LT 1993, BMW K75 G/S

My last big motorcycle trip took me from Virginia to Alaska to the the "loneliest road" in Nevada. Not big by the standards of many people on this site, I know, but still, it included days of near-freezing temperature as well as days of 110 deg heat. What it did not include is any serious off-roading. I had been on several similar trips before and so had a few learning experiences. On this last trip I was very satisfied with what I used for gear. I was determined to travel superlight on this trip, and winter clothing takes up a lot of luggage space.

Here is what I used:

- Aerostich One Piece suit.
- Few T-shirts, at least one long sleeve (this is also of course your non-riding clothing)
- Heated vest, sleeves, and gloves (I think I have Widder)
- Slim fitting gortex wind breaker
- Leather perferated full-coverage gloves
- Face mask that fits confy under helment and covers neck
- full faced helmet of course
- Matterhorn Crosstech Wateproof Leather Nylon Boots
- Other normal clothes like a pair of shorts, pants, underwear and socks (again also for non-riding).

The one piece suit, for me, answers the question of having to take off so much gear at each destination, because it goes on over your street clothes and comes off almost as fast as a jacket, yet covers your whole body in durable nylon and decent pads. Additionally there are tons of big secure pockets. These features also make this suit great for commuting.

At least one long sleeve t-shirt because you won't want the heated sleeves directly against the skin.

Get a heated vest that includes the collar to cover your neck. The heated gloves work fine in cold and rainy weather. They actually did soak through but with the heat going it didn't matter. A more waterproof heated glove would be an improvement to my list. Use heated gloves, not heated grips.

The windbreaker goes over the heated vest but obviously inside the aerostich on cold days. Makes the heated gear much more effective and it can be something super thin so it takes up practically no space in your luggage on hot days.

The leather gloves are for warmer days and if it rans but is warm, just have wet hands, who cares.

The face mask can be anything that fits comfy under your helmet. This makes such a huge difference on cold days, and yet is such a small item to carry. Look for something that covers the neck as well, and use something that is actually shaped to fit a face. These things are popular for skiing. I bought mine in an outdoor store and it looks like this: http://www.rangerjoes.com/gatorface-...lack-p-41.html

The boots I bought from http://www.newenglandshoe.com and I can't say enough about their quality - these things have lasted 2 years of everyday use. They really are waterproof and at the same time the most breathable shoe I've ever had. They are fine for riding and good for hiking too, thus no need to carry any other shoes in your luggage. Only bummer is no real crash protection or shin protection like riding-only boots would have. MY feet have never felt too hot, cold, or wet in these boots.

On cold days, the heated gear is very effective and it prevents from having to carry tons winter layers in your luggage. The other advantage of the heated gear is that you are bound to experience days that are back and forth quickly between hot and cold if you are going over mountain passes. Since you can flip the heat on and off easily, it is not necessary to stop to add or remove clothing. Wire up a convenient switch on the bike somewhere to turn the power on and off. You can get thermostats but the switch is all the gagetry you need.

On rainy days the Aerostich works well enough, so no need to carry rain gear.

On mildly warm days the one-piece suit is quite bareable if you are able to keep moving.

On really hot days, soak the cotton t-shirt in water and ride! Ah it feels so good! Use the vents on the aerostick to control the speed of evaporation. You must wear something over the wet shirt else it will dry too fast and you will feel a painfully icey feeling against your skin. Open the vents more and it will feel cooler but dry faster. Close the vents and it not feel as cool and will last longer. In any case there is more than enough cooling effect and it will last a good 1.5 hours per soak even in dry desert heat.

Using these methods I was never really uncomfortable, and the most riding gear I ever have to carry in my luggage is the heated vest, sleeves, and gloves. All the other stuff is either clothing that is normal street clothes, or the stuff that is too small to matter.

The big flaw in this setup is that I was not equiped to hike in really cold weather.

Sorry for such a long post! I always have this problem of talking too much when it comes to motorcycles and travel! On my first bike trip I used a leather suit and carried rain gear and winter overalls in my
luggage! Sheese what was I thinking?

Regarding the Draggin Jeans stuff, I read a magazine article that test various riding clothing by putting weights inside and the dragging it on the ground. Some nuts in this test even tested full leathers on a track by sliding themselves intentionally off a racing sidecar at 70mph. Anyway, the kevlar reinforced jeans they tested did only slightly better than regular jeans, and were no where near the protection level of leather or tough nylon. Just an FYI but it was a long time ago and it might have been a different brand.

I'm so proud of myself for keeping this post short! :-)

Ive read previous posts on this topic and I'm trying to decide between the hein-gericke toureg combo which has good ventilation and is gotex at a good price or the more expensive rukka 'safe' jacket which is very expensive I think for a textile jacket. Has anyone seen any comparisons or had experience of both?