REV'IT Ignition Jacket and Gear Pants

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I went out riding on Sunday and who knew that Victoria would show up wearing her Ignition and Gear outfit.  I had to take the opportunity to get a photo together, showing the new vs. old versions.

As you can see, I'm on the left, wearing the new version and Victoria is wearing the old. They both look great, don't they? But you can see some subtle differences between both pieces. They've decreased the textile panels on the front of the pants and changed some of the styling on the jacket.

My review is coming of both pieces, so stay tuned!

One Piece Textile Suit for Women

Do you know who makes the only fully custom one piece suit specially designed for women riders?

TeizMotosports.  www.teizms.com

You can buy other custom one piece textile suits, yes. But they aren't going to offer the kind of fit that many women need (hips, waist, thighs!).  Featuring great armor, front cargo pockets, waterproof zippers and more.  The price point is definitely high ($899), but certainly appropriately priced for a fully custom suit measured to your needs and fit for a woman, not a man.

Even the SAS-TEC Armor that they used are sized and shaped specifically for women. No detail has been spared!

I haven't had any personal experience with one, but I do know that every effort has been made to make this suit truly fit and work for us.

Plus Size Jacket and Pants

My friend Chris needed some help finding gear. She met me at Scuderia the other day and we got her dressed! She's a ~US 10 on top and ~US 14 on bottom and has a 31" inseam.  Her immediate needs were a pair of boots and riding pants.  She's making the transition from a cruiser to a dual sport bike (woo hoo!), with an upright riding position. But she also likes to borrow her man's sportbike and wanted something that would be comfortable on that bike too.

Chris is a real woman with real curves and she needed real gear. She wanted protection in the knees and hips, no mesh/ventilation (since she's commuting on the freeway) and enough room in the hips and her inseam. Although we couldn't get her into the Ventura pants like I wanted, we did get the unisex Horizon Pants, XXL Standard (see photo gallery) on her and they fit perfectly.

What Fit?

The Horizon in XXL (standard length) were perfect (see photo gallery). As you can see, they fit her real curves nicely. The inseam is just right, the armor fell at the knees in the right place (although they are adjustable). They also come in standard, short and long.  They don't have full length zippers, so they're supposed to be worn as pants. You could wear them as overpants without the thermal liner. You'd just have to take off your boots every time you needed to change in and out of them. Chris is wearing them over jeans in these photos.

   

Unfortunately the Ladies Tornado 46 was a little too tight (without the thermal liner, over jeans), so we tried the men's 48 (over jeans, without the thermal liner). The rise (bottom of the crotch to top of the waistband) was way too short so she couldn't even get them on comfortably.

We also figured out that the Horizon and Axis had the best female fit, meaning a slightly higher rise in the waist, room in the hips and thighs but a nice tapered fit at the knee.  The problem with the Axis was that the legs didn't taper enough at the knees and just weren't as protective and fully featured as the Horizons.

The Jackets

Although she didn't leave with one of them, here are two jackets that she tried on.  Unfortunately I didn't have other colors in her size so you can see the difference between the two. She's wearing size 42 in both which translate to a 14-16 or L/XL.  They're very similar, but slightly different in terms of price point and features.

The one one the left is the Ventura. Read my review here. The one on the right is the Indigo (also available in hi viz). The Indigo doesn't have some of the features of the Ventura, and it's also a little bit longer in the torso and falls below the hips.

Both of these would be great options for commuting, touring or everyday riding.

   

How are my leathers supposed to fit?

Another great reader question about leathers.

"Hey, Love your site, I'm new to bikes and it's helped me loads when picking the right gear! I just bought a set of leathers from ebay (risky for sizing but I have textiles in the same brand and they fit) the thing is the leather is really quite tight. I can get them on and zipped up but walking seems like an effort! Are they supposed to be so fitted? Or will they loosen off with use? Or should I have gone up a size?!" - Kristen

They should definitely fit very snug. If you're having trouble walking upright, that's probably the right fit :)

Ideally, your one piece suit is fitted and designed for riding position only. It assumes that you'll be spending most of the time on the bike. If you're riding a sportbike, then it definitely will be more comfortable on the bike than off.

You can tell if it's too tight if you can't inhale/exhale comfortably, or if there's pinching or pulling under the armpits and around the crook of your elbow and behind your knees.

A photo of you on your bike would help greatly, but it sounds like you've found the right fit if it's a brand new suit and hasn't been broken in yet.  If you're buying a set of used leathers that someone has definitely broken in, then in that case, I could see the suit not being the right size or fit.

Unfortunately, leathers are quite uncomfortable until they're fully broken in, but hopefully after you've spent some time making them feel like second skin, you'll love spending every minute in them.

Good Luck!