You'll probably come around to the Hi Viz look eventually.

One feature that's nice with Aerostich gear is they will repair it. When I had a run in with a car the old Roadcrafter I was (thankfully) wearing was abraded through the outer layer in a number of places. The car's insurance paid for a new Roadcrafter and motorcycle. Naturally I promptly ordered both. I also sent the worn and damaged gray Roadcrafter back. They called me with a price to replace the affected panels along with various worn items like the Velcro, zipper slides, etc. which was quite fair. I received it back a couple weeks later.

 

Oh I've been rockin the Hi-Viz for years. Just not so much on the Harleys. I don't want to get beat up by any real bikers I might come across on the Street Glide.

 

I have to add that Aerostich has a great catalog. They have a good sense of humor.

 

Both Olympia and Rev'It make better all weather textile touring gear than First Gear at roughly similar prices. First gear is at the low end of the quality scale. Aerostich is good gear but over priced IMO and vents poorly in hotter weather. For the price of Aerostitch you can buy a better suit from Rukka or the high end Rev'It stuff. Klim which is also American made is also excellent and superior in design. Polaris/Victory/Indian now own Klim. http://www.motoport.com/ also make custom Kevlar gear in the US which they advertise as tougher, lighter and more versatile than leather.

 

"Better" is subjective. I have all of the brands you mention (except Motoport - pants are on the wish list), and frankly, none of them disappoint. I will say that I feel Klim is a bit overpriced and some of their stuff lacks venting as well. I'm pretty sure my Dakars were not made in the US, but I could be wrong. And they are far from water proof. I agree that Aerostich lacks venting - One of my gripes, but they use Gortex which breathes really well. As far as First Gear being on the low end of the quality scale, I couldn't disagree more. As I said, it is at a lower mid level price point but my real world usage has been stellar. Rev It! is among my favorite gear. It is a bit more expensive, but worth it. I would rate Olympia somewhere between First Gear and Rev It!, which is a good thing.

Other than the brands listed, I have Tourmaster, which is at about the same quality as First Gear, and Belstaff. Now lets talk about over priced. My waxed cotton Tourest Trophy 3/4 length jacket was about $800. But, it looks fantastic and fits like a glove. True, it weighs about 50 lbs and it's somewhat water resistant. But you can't put a price on looking like Brad Pitt on bike night.

 

[QUOTE=nevada72;13348263]Oh I've been rockin the Hi-Viz for years. Just not so much on the Harleys. I don't want to get beat up by any real bikers I might come across on the Street Glide.

I love rockin' the hi-viz jacket and full-face helmet, cordura riding pants, and Alpinestars Toucan adventure touring boots on my Harley. I love all the comments that I get! I would start a book, but it would only be a paragraph long. The haters have no imagination!