One step closer to being ATGATT

Finally picked up some actual protective pants. I had been wearing Duluth Trading Co. Fire hose pants for more abrasion resistance than jeans, but after a year they have become threadbare in the knees and the pockets have holes in them. Plus they are super hot to work in all day in the Texas summers. Now I can wear normal jeans or shorts under my riding pants, be more protected and much more comfortable the rest of the day.

My gear list

Joe Rocket Phoenix Ion mesh overpants

Tourmaster Intake 3.0 mesh jacket (spring,summer,fall)

Street&Steel textile jacket (winter)

Bilt Techno Bluetooth Full face Helmet

SevenZeroSeven full face helmet

Bilt Dominator gloves (spring,summer,fall)

Bilt Demon waterproof gloves (winter)

The only thing I'm in need of now are boots. I'm still wearing my regular Ariat work boots.

What are you looking for? Just protection or waterproof, gore-tex... high shin?

ADV flea market sees pretty heavy traffic for quality stuff cheap. I picked up a pair of Sidi Vertagos for $100. I wore them out pretty good and then - if you want new, I bought a pair of Sidi Adventures ($550 in the US) for under $300 w/ shipping from bikerland.de in Germany to replace them. Full gore-tex and armored to the bejesus. They sell the full line and usually 40-50% less than US retailers. It took 2 weeks to get here but that is reasonable for $260+ bucks off the price.

Revzilla has a lot of butch biker looking crap and sneakery things new under $150 but I bet your work boots are just as good at saving your feet. I always used regular over-the-ankle work or army boots until recently when I started riding ATV trails on the big bike.

In reply to Huckleberry:

Number one would be protection followed by waterproofedness. I would prefer a high shin with some hard protection in it. I change boots when I get to work anyway so I don't need to compromise protection for comfort off the bike.

Interesting convo as I recently started looking at boots too. All my gear, except my helmet cause I bought it new, has come off ADVRider

I'm currently rocking an old pair of Danner Acadia, waterproof, gore text boots. They have been awesome except....super freaking hot in the summer.

The majority of the time I change boots at work so not a big deal. But my big thing right now is comfort. The Danners are comfortable on the bike, but feel a little heavy shifting. And off the bike I feel like Frankenstein stomping around.

So I am interested to see where this thread goes.

ATGATT is the only way to go. Once you commit, you feel naked otherwise. I vivdly remember a conversation with my dad (nearly 50 years riding experience) where he asked me what was the most expensive riding gloves I had considered buying. I told him $200-300, and he immediately asked me if I had priced hand surgery plus the cost in lost work. After the conversation I quickly got a pair of Held gloves on order!

I have 2-piece mesh textile with armor for warm days or off-roading, and 1-piece leather with armor for tackling the tarmac. I want some riding jeans with armor to pair with the textile jacket for rides to dinner, etc. Any suggestions for a 6'2" dude, 200ish, with a 36" waist are welcome.

For boots my feet fit Alpinestars, so I have some waterproof Scout boots for ADV riding, and some vented SMX for the warmer days and/or corner-carving. The Scouts aren't very flexible for shifting or fine rear brake control on rear sets, and HOT on warm days, but awesome on rainy NW winter days. They are high, armored, waterproof, and have motocross-style closure with ratcheting buckles, and I got them on closeout. Great boots I could see lasting many seasons of riding, just not great on a sportbike.

I like being protected, the main downside is a little $$ and a little closet space. Not a huge cost for keeping one's skin.

I second used gear. Sadly, the world is filled with folks that tried motorcycles and failed, so nearly new gear is all over eBay and craigslist.

ae86andkp61 wrote: ...ATGATT is the only way to go. Once you commit, you feel naked otherwise... ...I like being protected, the main downside is a little $$ and a little closet space. Not a huge cost for keeping one's skin.

Quoted for truth. My riding boots are lightweight but thick leather, over the ankle lace-up work boot with a composite toe and thick sole. They even have little strips of reflective material on them. They are very light and comfortable, and were $40! You don't have to spend a fortune to get good gear.

ae86andkp61 wrote: ATGATT is the only way to go. Once you commit, you feel naked otherwise.

It's funny... I don't even have my DRZ registered yet, so I'm not worried about riding gear yet, but there is somewhat of a correlation to this coming from the mountain bike downhill racing world. When I was racing back in the late 90's, we all (amateurs and pros) wore a lot of protective gear. Dianese jackets and body suites were the norm and we all kinda looked like football players.

Then the Australians arrived on the scene, wearing nothing more than knee-pads and a full face helmet. If anyone also wore minimal armor, we referred to is as "going the full Aussie". 15 years later, almost all of the Pros (and a good number of amateurs) now mimic the Aussie look, although many also add neck brace. Even pros were racing back then. Personally, I'm old and don't bounce like I did even back then so I still wear full armor, usually with long moto pants and a long sleeve jersey.

I'm sure that when I finally do get the moto up and running, I'll be an ATGATT type of rider...

I'm kind of liking these Tourmaster WP air boots. Not a bad price.

Not sure about their boots, but I've been happy with the Tourmaster jacket I bought about a couple of years ago. It's way better than the Bilt crap I had previously. That Bilt jacket broke the first time I wore it, and the gloves came apart in short order too.

You get what you pay for I suppose.....

In reply to Joe Gearin:

I've been really happy with the tourmaster jacket as well. I'm also very happy with my Bilt gloves. I've had the same pair of summer gloves for almost three years, they fit me perfectly and have held up terrifically. The winter gives don't fit as good but they keep my hands warm and dry.

I had a Tourmaster jacket as my first one, and it was very good. I lost weight tho and just sold the jacket last week.

I have Cortech i.e. Tourmaster tail and saddle bags right now. I am very impressed with the tail bag, and currently use it daily. I haven't used the saddle bags yet.

I was on ADVrider and people seem happy with Tourmaster boots based on the price category. Obviously some of those guys are doing RTW trips and are far more particular of their boots than you or I might be.

This seems like a good place to ask this - instead of starting a new thread.

I have "very serious" Klim armored pants. They are great for off-road or long trip touring when bad weather is probable but a serious pain in the arse any other time. They are like wearing a snowmobile suit. I also have a pair of draggin' jeans that I like but they look like baggy kmart jeans that don't fit right (they do fit - they just look crappy). I also have bohn armored underpants that go under normal clothes - they meet all the criteria except they fit tightly like spandex and after an hour off the bike with no wind keeping things dry/cool - the swamp ass is incredible.

I need a good pair of kevlar/armored casual looking pants so I can walk into a business casual office or non-moto environmentwithout having to pull off/store overpants, etc. or explain why I'm dressed like clown. When I'm not on the bike and remove my jacket I want to look like a normal human being and when I sit I don't want velcro armor pockets scratching my knees. And I don't want swamp ass from plastic materials.

The closest I can find to something that might work is Sliders 4.0 Cargos. Anyone tried them or something like them that my google fu has not uncovered?

In reply to Nick (LUCAS) Comstock:

I have those boots.

They're ok, pretty comfortable, fit well, not super hot in the summer.

I question how well the protection will actually work if I go down - they're pretty flimsy. I'd say if you're in it for maximum safety, they're probably not the way to go. They do have built in ankle and shin armor but the structure of the boot itself is not all that sturdy.

In reply to Huckleberry:

The regular Sliders jeans saved my literal ass a few years ago. The Jean part tore in a few spots, but the Kevlar held. No padding, but no road rash, either.

In reply to Appleseed:

Good to hear.

compacc.com had them on sale for $89 so I bought a pair to try. If they work out - I'll snag another pair in the other color and still end up spending less than most kevlar jeans go for these days.

In reply to Huckleberry: I have two pair of Cortech Kevlar reinforced/ armored cargo pants. They are very comfortable, practical, and can pass for casual office wear. They are somewhat heavy, but it's not noticeable when wearing them. They also have hidden zippers on the legs and quickly convert to shorts- which is handy sometimes.

The slider cargos showed up today. They are pretty much exactly what I was looking for. Quality is ... lets say somewhere between Old Navy and Dickies on the stitching but there is plenty of kevlar, the knee pockets are smooth on the inside, the D30 armor fits and stays put, and they look like pants. The fit is a little loose at Levi's jean sizing but they are 100% cotton so I expect them to be perfect once they go thru the wash.

Beer-thirty came early today thanks to an unscheduled visit from an old friend so a test ride to see if they squeeze my nads when on the bike is scheduled for 7am.