I hear people knock on every company, Icon, JR, Alpinestars, and everybody else. Which company do you guys think offer the best stuff and the best prices?

Jon

 

All companies have their good and bad products, one thing they make might be badass and somethin else in their line might be total ****.

 

I totally agree with him......clothing gear is just like helmets. Each fits differently and you should try on stuff to see which fits you better. I have a vanson and it fits me great

 

SPEEDRAG....CLICK HERE TO SEE THE LATEST DEALS!!!

They are getting ready to release a all new line as well within a few months .

 

I have their Stunter Jacket and love it :YEAH :YEAH

 

Same here

 

jackets:

Speedrag has cool **** for a smaller company. Nice product and CHEAP!!

If your going with the big names, Joe Rocket and Alpinestars are cool leathers

Helmets:


I will never wear anything but Arai - expensive, but worth it.

 

I rock a Arai - RX7 Corsair "Hayden Wired" and I love it! Use to have an HJC an that thing was piece of crap in comparison.

Icon leather jacket

2 different pairs of Joe Rocket Gloves and 1 pair of Fox "Bomber" MX Gloves for stuntin.

And Lugz on the feet!!

 

I can only reply in regards to products I have owned:

Helmets: I have always worn SHOEI. I've had a RF200, a RF900, a X8 and have been very pleased with them. Obviously you get what you pay for, and with the more expensive helmets you will realize a higher quality product. It is of my opinion that all helemts that pass DOT & SNELL requirements are as safe as the rest, but as the price goes up you start to realize helmets with a more contoured fit, better noise reduction, more intricate graphics, less aerodynamic drag and desirable features like removable cheek pads. The most important thing to me, and the biggest difference between cheap & expensive helmets is VISIBILTY. The more expensive models have more advanced shells that allow for larger view-ports w/o sacrificing strength.
I have also just recently bought a HJC CL-14, and although it as mentioned earlier in this thread is not on par with an ARAI, it is on the other hand a great deal at $150. I get compliments all the time about the graphics, it fits well, it is suprisingly quiet, seems to not fog up as much as previous lids I've had and it was $250 cheaper then the top of the line. Can do a lot w/$250! For my 2003 ZX6RR I just got on E-Bay a tail piece, undertail, tail-light, left engine cover and a left rear-set for $300!

Gloves: I always wear top-of-the-line full-length style race gloves as my hands are my life. Years in AGV's as they fit well, but the dye stained my skin with sweat & rain. Wore OLYMPIA's that are now TOURMASTER's, and although I always knew them as a lower quality brand they proved to be one of the better (fit & durability) gloves I've worn. They stained as well though. I am now wearing JOE ROCKET speedmasters, and although the fit between my thumb & forefinger was tight which caused the seem at the tip of the forefinger to split pre-maturely they have been the best gloves I have ever worn. Thick leather that is appreciated padding when you ride a bike as buzzy as the ZX6RR, they look cool, kevlar fiber pads are placed in spots were you need them, fit is snug, fastners are usable even if you have the other glove on & leather that does NOT bleed.

Jackets: I have a FIELDSHEER from like 1995 that has only been retired after #1 all these years of use, #2 a 110mph wreck, #3 2 40-65mph wrecks and #4 countless of 5-10 mph slides. It is a brick! Absurdly heavy. Absurdly hot. Absurdly thick & padded, but let me tell you... I feel like a tank when I am wearing it. I don't remember the model, and no matter what jacket I look at in the 2003 or 2004 model lines of any manufacturer I can find nothing that compares. They just don't build them like that anymore. I have a JOE ROCKET nylon mesh ballistic series that is great for hot weather, and although I have gone down twice in it around the 40-50mph range & walked away w/o scratches on my upper body one of those wrecks left me with a bruise on my back on my upper pelvis that was the size of a grapefruit. If I was wearing my FIELDSHEER the kidney pads would have absorbed some of that impact. It is for that reason that I have never worn that jacket again. I now have the 2003 chicane by TEKNIC, and am very pleased with the jacket. It is the perforated version, and I am AMAZED at how EFFECTIVE it is in cooling you in the heat. IT REALLY WORKS. It is exceptionally light, cool graphics that even in green are not gaudy and flexes well.

Back protectors: Only had one, a DAINESE that doesn't even feel like it's there yet covers me from below the coccyx to between my shoulder blades, flexes well, has only one buckle to fasten/unfasten and doesn't shift all that much. Good product.

I saved my BAD PRODUCT for last as I didn't want to sound negative. I told myself I would never wear boots as they just look so uncomfortable, but after bangin up my ankles & feet so many times over the years I folded. So there I am at my local bike shop, Competition Cycle purchasing a pair of NITRO race-style boots. Never heard of them, but was willing to try them as they looked cool, had average padding and were inexpensive @$79.99... I should have known then! FIVE WEEKS LATER I FOUND MYSELF BACK AT COMPETITION RETURNING THE BOOTS TO THE MANUFACTURER AS THEY HAD ALREADY WORN A HOLE IN THE SOLE, AND ON THE RIGHT BOOT THE SOLE NEARLY COMPLETELY SEPERATED FROM THE UPPER. I am currently waiting to see if the company will be replacing them for free.

 

like Tony said, every company has their good and bad stuff. usually with the top end stuff, you get what you pay for. all the Italian brands make good stuff...Alpinestars, Dainese, Spyke, Spidi. though Corsa is an American company, hasn't been out long, but their stuff is so business! their Corona jacket that Thew Blanstrom wears looks awesome. Not really a fan of Joe Rocket or Teknic. i've owned both, and unless you buy their top top top of the line race suits, or gloves, the rest of the stuff is pretty crap. like i said before, if Wal-Mart carried a bike line of gear, it would be Joe Rocket

 

can anyone give a testimonial on the alipnestar T-Stunt?

 

How about the AGV Sport textile and mesh pants?