Saturday, February 07, 2004

For the past week I have been coming down with a slight cold, on Thursday I took the say off from work to rest. Today, Saturday I'm feeling much better but my head is still stuffy and didn't feel up to riding to school. Hoping things clear up soon, I want to go riding with the Doc Wong group ride on Sunday! If I don't go riding all is not lost, I can study more on my visual basic. After down loading the Resource Kit I found some great videos, lots of step by step instructions. Should be helpful since I'm so lost in VB .Net and not sure where to start.

Since I was sick and resting on Thursday I called Aerostich to let them know I am returing the Roadcrafter suit for another size. After speaking to the guy over the phone he suggested I go with the 40 regular size. Another change I did was instead of getting the one piece I choose the two piece with the ellipse. A few reasons I decided upon the two piece. First, one zipped together they are just as easy to wear as the one piece but you can take off the jacket when needed. I asked around and many people recommended that the two piece is more useful for everyday riding and the one piece is better for riding to work. I haven't tried on the two piece so I'll make my choice after I receive the suit. All they had in stock was the black/black pants and a red/black jacket. I wanted the black/black pants but not sure about the jacket, really wanted the Hi-Viz/black jacket for city riding. Depends how the red looks but I might just stay with red/black.

Aerostich Roadcrafter, first impressions

I should list some notes about the Aerostich Roadcrafter suit, keep in mind I didn't get a chance to ride with the suit since it was too small, just a test fitment.

First item I noticed is the suit weights more than my Joe Rocket two piece suit. The material is a bit rough, and from what the instructions list, takes a few hundreds miles to break in. Compared to my JR suit the material is thicker and seems more durable. The JR suit and the Aerostich use very similar material for the ballistics portion, I think 1050 codura? The armor is much better in the Aerostich suit, a slightly thick form with hard plastic on the main contact point. From what people have told me about their crashes in the Roadcrafter suits, I have heard very positive feedback about the armor.

My favorite piece of the Aerostich Roadcrafter is the ultrasuede collar. My biggest complaint about my JR jacket is the unadjustable collar. From other reviews I have read about the Roadcrafter this seems to be the biggest complaint area, lots of people say it's too stiff. I did find the material stiff but nothing to the point of causing problems or rashing the chin area. The Aerostich Roadcrafter has lots of pockets but seems like most of them are very shallow, allowing only items such as a thin wallet. It should be noted that the instruction manual does describe the pockets taking a back seat to safety, which is why they are so shallow and thin.

The fitment and sizing of the Aerostich Roadcrafter suit was close to my size except I forgot to size in my back protector. Wearing the suit takes a bit of practice, it's really simple after you understand the method. Just follow these steps, right leg, right arm, left arm, zip up the suit. It's really that easy! Another slight problem I had when zipping the suit was the boots, because of the thick shin protectors the zipper was a bit tight.

The only major problem I had with the suit is the size was too small with my back protector in and the back of the suit was too tight. I ordered the next suit one size larger and then ordered the ellipse which is recommended for sport bikes. Should take care of both problems.

Once I receive my second suit, next week sometime, I'll post a follow up review.

Rob

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