I've tested my gear.....unfortunatelly

[Tisunac]

Last weekend I had an unfortunate opportunity to test my riding gear. I rode my Vstrom, a dual-sport bike with a friend of mine on a bmw1200gs, we took some back roads that had too much gravel for my taste....Long story short, I went down in a right turn, luckily at low speed. Still, it wasn't pleasant and left my bike scratched up pretty badly, bent foot brake etc....

 

Recently I bought a First Gear Kilimanjaro jacket with a D30 armor in it. I saw videos about how good that armor is (flexible to wear, hardens on impact and go back to flexible in an instant) but I thought they are exaggerating. They are not. If you need a good riding protective gear, get yourself a jacket and pants with a D30 armor. My fall made a bad scratch on my glove, scuffed up the whole right sleeve and tore up a bit of the jacket but I did not feel any pain at all. No bruise, nothing. Amazing! By the look of the sleeve and my glove, I could tell I did slide on it for some time (skid mark on an inch+ deep gravel was about 6-7 feet long) but there was absolutely no pain or bruise on my arm. The armor did a superb job!

 

I have a Spidi adventure pants and they did well...on the parts they had an armor. Now I see why people wear side (hip) armor cause I ended up with a nasty bruise on the outside of my right thigh. Nothing on the knee or butt (armor on both places) but a bruise on an unprotected thigh area. I will install some side D30 armor immediately.

 

My Bates boots did well. Tactical boots used mostly by police and EMT personnel, mine were Gore-Tex, without toe hard cup. The front of the right boot is scuffed up badly, pieces of leather falling off but protected my foot well. And even though they did well on mostly gravel covered road I might look for something more protective, just in case. Same fall on asphalt would be harder on boots, I'm sure. Seeing them scuffed up this bad on gravel made me think about getting something else, tougher. Although, Bates were very comfortable and I want that. Any suggestions? Based on the performance of my Kilimanjaro jacket, I might check some First Gear boots.....

 

Luckily, I didn't test the helmet. But I can highly recommend a D30 armor.

Edited November 13, 2014 by Tisunac

[etcswjoe]

Glad you are ok and thanks for sharing, think I will go look at some D30 armor.

[MikeWa]

Glad you came through ok. Good report. Well written

 

Mike

[XV1100SE]

Good write up on the armour....sorry you had to test it the way you did...but glad it did it's job. Glad you are okay.

[bmiller]

Glad you are able to write the report. thanks for sharing!!

[videoarizona]

Whoa....glad your testing went well! Good to hear about the armour. Never heard of D30. Guess it's time for me to re-think my wearing gear and update to the new stuff.

Thanks for the report and glad you are OK!

[Howard B]

Great report. Happy to hear no injuries, other than EGO type. Send a copy to First Gear. They might be able to use it in advertising, and maybe replace your slightly used gear.

[Tisunac]

Great report. Happy to hear no injuries, other than EGO type. Send a copy to First Gear. They might be able to use it in advertising, and maybe replace your slightly used gear.

 

THANK YOU ALL FOR KIND WORDS!!! I APPRECIATE YOU CONCERN.

 

I never thought of sending that to First Gear - what a great idea! I wouldn't mind keeping the "old" jacket with some scuffs (to show off hahaha) but I wouldn't refuse a replacement!...

 

Yea, go on YouTube and check that D30 armor, several interesting videos. I didn't buy the jacket because of it (I'm not that smart), I bought a jacket I liked and it came with it, and then I google it. Actually, you can buy armor separately and just insert in your existing gear. You can get back, elbow, shoulder, knee and side/hip armor separately from the jackets. Back armor even comes in man or woman size, man comes in two different sizes. The back armor have perforation (for breathability) that's occasionally not finished properly so you need to punch those holes again for summer riding. Other than that, light and flexible. And it works...

[saddlebum]

Any chance of testing some other brands You know :detective:just for comparison sake

 

Seriously, I am glad it worked well for you and that your OK.

 

Thanks for the write up as well.

[Tisunac]

After a suggestion in one of the replies I've contacted First Gear, the manufacturer of my Kilimanjaro jacket and sent them a copy of my posting, just stating the facts, not asking for anyting. They've contacted my within two hours of my email and offered to replace my damaged jacket for free! Now, that's a customer service!... I've received a replacement jacket within a few days. What a great gesture on their part!...

 

I was very impressed with their product (jacket) after the crash. And with this kind of customer service I will make sure to check them first when I need any gear.

 

GREAT JOB, FIRST GEAR!

[bongobobny]

Way cool!! I'm a die hard Joe Rocket fan myself but I do own some first gear gear as well...

[Angelo]

Great customer service, hope you don't need it again.

[Tisunac]

I agree - I hope I won't have to "test" their gear again but I will certainly consider their gear in the future! I was very happy with their Kilimanjaro jacket to begin with and with that customer service I can't go wrong buying their products!!!