Winter Gear

[jbr7t]

I'm looking into some winter riding gear. I live just North of Richmond Virginia and ride 12 months per year. For those not familiar with Virginia weather, well neither am I! We can have sun and 75 on a december day then 2 hours later its 25 and snowing (maybe a little exageration..but you see my point) We often see below freezing temps especially when i'm commuting early in the morning pre-sunrise. Anyway, the past few years I've used my columbia ski jacket and gerbing liner and pair of carhart overalls. I'd like to find something waterproof and with some armor. Of course the limiting factor is budget. I love some of the Klim gear but I can't drop $1000+ for gear. I see tourmaster centurion suit has some good and some bad reviews and is certainly more my price range. Anyway, I'm open to suggestions! What gear do you use for winter riding? Likes/dislikes

[Rougarou]

I'm in central NC and ride all year. For the top, I wear a Columbia fleece jacket under a Tourmaster Transition jacket. Pants are Columbia sky pants. Socks are thick wool. I don't know the name brand of the gloves, but they do block the wind and are warm enough. I do have a Gerbing liner but don't wear it and I've ridden down to 17* and a few hours in the low-mid 20's.

 

While people can suggest snivvle gear, it is up to you and your tolerances as to what works best for you. A person may claim to be warm with a windbreaker in 30* weather while another needs a Arctic explorer coat.

[OoPEZoO]

My winter gear is a First Gear Kathmandu jacket and a set of First Gear HT over pants. With my Gerbings jacket liner, I have run that combo down into the single digits for an hour+ commute and was comfortable. I could easily ride for hours with that setup if the temps were in the 20-30s. I REALLY like that Kathmandu for anything under 75 degrees. Its a great jacket and literally all day waterproof. The over pants are the same deal. They break the wind well and are waterproof. They also zipper all the way up the lg to the waist, so they are easy to get in and out of with boots on. I'm very happy with both.

 

My only weak spot is my gloves. I have a older set of "winter" riding gloves, but they don't work that well and are not waterproof. One of these days I will upgrade them to something better.

[jbr7t]

Richard, You're absolutely right, the definition of warmth is definitely different from each person.

 

Keith, I think I'm gonna grab a pair of the Aerostitch 3digit cover things. I've got the gerbing gloves which are nice and toasty, but certainly not at all waterproof. And the waterproof gloves I have last about 20 minutes.

[OoPEZoO]

I have a set of triple digits. They are a pain, but do the job when you know you are going to get wet. My only real complaint about them is that they are very slippery. I never feel like I can get a secure grip on anything when I have them on.......but they have kept my hands dry on many occasions.

[Doug_Baliko]

Richard, You're absolutely right, the definition of warmth is definitely different from each person.

 

Keith, I think I'm gonna grab a pair of the Aerostitch 3digit cover things. I've got the gerbing gloves which are nice and toasty, but certainly not at all waterproof. And the waterproof gloves I have last about 20 minutes.

 

The largest size Aerostich 3 finger rain covers will not fit over Gerbings g3 gloves. I have them both and it's a no go.

 

I have both a Olympia AST and an Aerostich Darien jacket. In really cold weather I wear a Gerbings hinder underneath. For pants I wear either Aerostich AD-1 pants with some cold gear long johns or Olympia Ranger pants. Everything is waterproof.

 

Doug

[waynerd]

My set-up runs similar to Keith's.

 

I got a pair of FG HT Overpants a couple of years ago and immediately wondered why I didn't get 'em sooner. They are great for my commute. Previous to that I was wearing long john's and my backpacking rain pants - transitions were a pain. Obviously the overpants run a little baggy, but on/off is a breeze. They are plenty warm over jeans as I rarely use the included thermal liner. One minor nit is the snap button in the waistband - it's pretty weak and regularly unsnaps (common problem). There's a hook type fastener on the waist as well, so it's not like they're ever going to fall down. I plan to supplement the snap by adding some velcro.

 

I have an older Scorpion EXO Commander Jacket that I really like . I qualify it as "older" because I think the current ones don't come with the very functional (though really goofy looking) neck gaiter attachment. The gaiter is very effective at keeping the breeze off my otherwise exposed neck. It has two different liners for varying conditions and temps. Outer shell is not water resistant (uses a rain liner). I think I would prefer a waterproof shell on my next jacket.

 

On the subject of liners, I have really come to appreciate jacket liners that can stand on their own (don't necessarily have to be zipped in to the shell). In varying conditions, it's a pain having to always snap & zip liners in or out of the jacket.

 

I have yet to find a good solution for gloves - currently just using heavy winter gloves. My hands usually get colder than most folks so insulation and wind protection is a big priority. Having heated grips I would like to find gloves that are minimally insulated on the palms, but bomber on the back side. They might be out there, but I haven't found 'em yet. I've actually been thinking about dusting off my ancient set of Hippo Hands (the old Vetter ones). I haven't used them in a very long time, but they were absolutely awesome on my previous bikes.

[elkroeger]

like most things - you get what you pay for. Consider the life of the product when you're looking at that price tag.

 

Aerostich. Go anywhere, do anything.

[Shaolin Master Sergeant]

I bought Sliders brand winter waterproof gloves from Competition Accessories. They're not bad at all, even Web Bike World gave them a pretty good review. The kicker is the $39 price. I've never worn electrics but I rode my H-D Superglide during the winter when conditions were favorable (dry, no ice) down to the 20s for my 40-mile commute to work wearing the Slider gloves, Tourmaster Transitions 2 jacket, jeans and MX-style knee armor and maybe military Goretex overpants. Only the very tips of my fingers would get cold after the 30-minute mark.

 

http://www.compacc.com/p/Sliders-Cold-Pro-Kevlar-Armored-Gloves

[Twinsig]

Do the FG HT overpants (not shell pants) need to be ordered a size up?

Couldnt find anything difinitive on their site/sizing chart.

 

According to the Almanac its going to get colder, longer this year.

 

Thanks

[tallman]

Like these ?

 

Explains sizing.

HTH

[Twinsig]

great!

surfing on a Droid has some challenges, thanks.

And these are the closeouts! just my style (price)

[OoPEZoO]

For the HT over pants, they are already sized large enough to fit over normal clothes. There is also a good 2-4" of Velcro adjustability at the waist. I wear 38/34 blue jeans and have 38T sized HT pants. They fit perfect over my work clothes or blue jeans. They aren't exactly flattering, but they do their intended job well

[Twinsig]

how's the pad fitment and are pads secure in place?

i have the cheaply "built" winter pants and actually wired the liner for electric heat, doesn't work nearly as well as my diy heated jacket and I'd rather get a higher quality/warmer pant.

thanks

[OoPEZoO]

Mine are quite a few years old.....I think they have updated the design twice since I bought mine. So things may have changed. That being said, the pad fitment has always been fine for me. Mine are inserted into pouches, and the pouches then velcro to the inside of the pants. The knee pads have several attachment points so you can get them where they are needed. I've never had them shift, pull out, or do anything stupid. I have MANY MANY miles of use out of mine.......probably 30K+ over 5-6 years. I have thought about replacing them a few times with a newer pair, but there isn't anything wrong with them other than the knee areas have faded to a dark grey.

[Sonor]

I agree with Richard, it all comes down to personal preference. That said, I too am in central North Carolina and feel your pain of the psychotic winter weather. So my riding during the "cooler" months uses a leather insulated jacket with the HiViz yellow/green vest (commuter rider), ski gloves with almost CE armor, Olympia air glide pants with liners, and Alpinstar boots. I will use the Gerbings jacket liner when it gets 35 and below, but I am a whimp when it comes to the cold. :-)

 

I will add, the RT has enough tupperware that the wind rarely gets to me. On a naked bike, I used to use the Gerbings as soon as it was 45 degrees.

 

[jbr7t]

Just realized I never posted what I ended up with. I got a great deal on a FirstGear Kathmandu jacket on motorcyclecloseout.com. I still was having trouble with the pants. Tried 2 pairs and wasn't finding something that was comfortable, warm and dry. I was able to find 1 or 2 of the 3 but not all 3. Then one day I threw on a pair of my decommisioned fire bunker pants. Comfy, dry and warm!! Granted they do not have much impact protection in the way of armor but they are good as far as abrasion protection. So, I've been using this set up this winter with the addition of my Gerbing gloves and liner on the real cold days. Loving it so far.

[SteveHebert]

I wore the same pair of HT over paints for 10 years until they started seeping. I loved the comfort but as Keith said, they lack in style when walking around the 7-11 at 0300 trying to pick up chicks:)

 

I replaced them with First Gear Sirocco. They are no longer made but I found a pair that was never worn. A very good upgrade from the HT and a bit clssier.