Comfort Shell, Streetguard or Tourance?

[Bullett]

I've been ready to change my three season riding apparel. I've been interested in BMW's options, because they are cut and styled for female riders, but until recently had never seen any actual jackets and pants that I could try on.

 

After I visited Aerostitch last summer and discovered what it would cost for a suit with alterations, the BMW line of apparel suddenly became "not that expensive."

 

Our new dealer just received a shipment of gear and actually has all three jackets in my size, so I have finally had an opportunity to see, feel and try on this gear.

 

I would like something that is wind and water resistant without a liner. It sounds like the comfort shell is intended for warmer temperatures. The Streetguard and Tourance also claim to be water and wind resistant without the need for a liner.

I have an Olympia Air Glide that I will continue to wear when it is hot out, but would like something for cooler temps or tours that involve potential temperature extremes.

 

Does this gear work as advertised? How is the Streetguard or Tourance in warmer temperatures? Do you stay basically dry in a rain shower?

 

Other experiences or comments? Thanks.

 

 

[Firefight911]

Streetguard to Trailguard comparison I can give which will provide insight to your selection of a Streetguard.

 

The Streetguard is going to be quite warm in warm weather and you are not going to be able to open it up for venting as you would others.

 

The Trailguard, though a liner type jacket, provides the versatility of accommodating you in the warm weather.

 

I spent over an hour reviewing my options between Street and Trailguard before selecting the Trailguard..

 

The Streetguard provides your water proofing in the shell. Any abrasion to jacket will, of course, compromise this waterproofing, whereas the liner style preserves the waterproofing to the liner. The major drawback to the liner is two fold; in the wet you get to walk in to a hotel, restaurant, etc. with a wet jacket dripping all over as it is soaked. You are dry though.

 

With the liner, you essentially remove the breathability. This means you can become wet on the inside through perspiration.

 

Your option for liners can go well beyond just using BMW's liner. You can go with a warm under jacket (Gerbing, North Face, etc.) for those cold mornings and still retain breathability. You can wear an over coat for wet weather and just remove the over covering (Frogg Tog, proper rain suit, etc.) when arriving somewhere and have a dry suit and breathability.

 

Though I understand your desire to go away from linered style, IMO, the liner type creates the greatest versatility in anything above 65 - 70 degree weather where you are going to find yourself very warm in the Streetguard.

 

Just my take after having just gone through it and now owning the Trailguard suit. I did not have to buy the liners as the liners from my Rally suit zip right in perfectly!

 

The Trailguard may be one of the best suits I've owned. Jamie has tried it on and loves it. The female cut really fits well without that Bozo the Clown look. It's a nice tailored cut on the size she tried on for her.

 

The male version, for others reading, is a casual American fit when direct compared to the European tailored cut of the Rally suit. No flapping in the wind but a bit roomier.

 

Also, the Trailguard runs larger by 1 to 2 sizes over what I wear with my Rally suit.

 

Hope this helps.

[johnlt]

Phil. In reading about the Trailguard, it is a little confusing on water proofness. It reads that even without the liner, the material is waterproof but it seems that the zippers may "seep" a little. If this is the case, that's great for summer rains because you don't really have to put the liner in and can stay "fairly" dry. My Savannah II is NOT like that. Rain goes right through it. Stopping to put in a liner is not a big deal for the jacket but I really don't want to take my pants off to put a liner in under a bridge.

[Firefight911]

Phil. In reading about the Trailguard, it is a little confusing on water proofness. It reads that even without the liner, the material is waterproof but it seems that the zippers may "seep" a little. If this is the case, that's great for summer rains because you don't really have to put the liner in and can stay "fairly" dry. My Savannah II is NOT like that. Rain goes right through it. Stopping to put in a liner is not a big deal for the jacket but I really don't want to take my pants off to put a liner in under a bridge.

 

Good point John. The jacket, without liner, is good for the short summer bursts that occur. Anything sustained or with substantial rain beyond that will necessitate a liner or over jacket. All the zippers are water baffled. The jacket can be sprayed with something like Nikwax or the like down the road to preserve the water resistive nature of the suit without the liner. It, in and of itself, isn't water proof but it is far better than previous iterations and I would feel confident without a liner to ride through short summer rains.

[Bullett]

Tom, do you find the pants are warm even on the Tiger?

[John Bentall]

The Streetguard is a heavier duty and warmer jacket because of its storm collar and zip-in thermal liner.

I met a chap recently who was in love with his Comfortshell jacket except it was too cold for the winter.

I told him to buy a Gerbing jacket liner, but he preferred to spend 3 times that on a Streetguard 3 jacket (he is very well off!).

[Sailorlite]

Don't know about StreetGuard or TrailGuard, but the collar/neck opening of the ComfortShell is large enough to also comfortably wear a Gerbing's jacket liner, which has its own turtle neck collar piece. Other outer jackets I own have collars that are too snug to be comfortable.

[darrylm]

My wife and I both have the Comfort Shell suits and love them. My wife refuses to wear anything else. The shell is a bit different to get used to at first, but it does conform, and the protectors mold like butter to your joints. I have ridden down to 28 degrees with this suit, medium weight thermals, and a heated liner, and was toasty. I have ridden the suit cross country twice trhu varying temps,and the only time I was not able to moderate like I wanted was in Death Valley....but then that is a tall order.

[RedHot]

I have the Comfort shell pants and LOVE them! Tom is right, they do get a little warm in the summer but I've worn them all winter and they've been great. I would buy the jackets, but I just simply don't like the colors (yeah, it's a girl thing). The one thing that I'm concerned with is that I've been hearing so much about how important it is that your gear zips together. Soooo, If I can't find a jacket that will zip to the pants, I may end up buying one of those jackets afterall. My pants are still a little stiff and I have 9K miles on the bike now, but I still love the pants!

[IanW]

Sharon

I have the comfortshell pants and the best thing about them is not having to stop to put on overpants or liner.

 

One other thing, BMW claim the material is like a pine cone in that its pores open when hot and close up when cold and are waterproof. On one cold and rainy ride I had my heated seat on, I think this confused the material a little with my warm bottom and cold everywhere else, I had a slightly wet crotch when finished, hope this helps.

Ian

[Riobeemer]

I live in Central California, ride year round, often in rain, and have had a BMW Comfort Shell for about a year. Any concerns that I had about waterproofness (?) or wind resistance have been dismissed. Use a Gerbings heated jacket liner and stay warm and dry. I've not used the Comfort Shell pants - stay with First Gear insulated pants in winter, Air Flow pants in summer.

[Bullett]

Thanks for your impressions, y'all. I have to go pick up a part at the dealer, perhaps tomorrow, if its in, and I'll take another look at these jackets. We are having such a cool and wet spring, I'm thinking I need to make a decision and get 'er done!

[Bullett]

Well, today I went over to the dealer with my warm-n-safe liner, a pair of moderately heavy thermal pants and my helmet to try on the gear. I accidentally ended up trying the trailguard pants, which I really liked, with the comfort shell jacket. I didn't take my boots, and I was worried the zipper in the pant leg wasn't long enough to allow me to get my boots on; so once again, I didn't buy anything. I tried the comfort shell pants and they were really warm. (They seemed to run smaller than the trail guard, too. )

 

[Firefight911]

(They seemed to run smaller than the trail guard, too. )

 

Trailguard runs large. My jacket is (I think) 2 sizes smaller than my Rally jacket and my pnats (again, there I go thinking) are 1 size smaller than my Rally pants.

 

This was explained to me as the difference between the European (Rally) cut/fit and an American (Trailguard) cut/fit.

 

In plain speak, America is fat!