Petite Women's Motorcycle Gear for Winter

Hi Joanne, Been following you for a while and love your site! I'm from Australia (living in Canberra) and wanted your advice on, believe or not, some gear :). The winters in Canberra can be quite chilly (down to 0-4 degrees celsius in winter) and I'm looking for a good winter jacket. I have some Rev'it gear - Ignition 2 for spring/summer/fall) and the Siren (predecessor of the Indigo for fall/winter). Wondering if you have any suggestions? I've been looking at the Rev'it Sand (looks quite bulky), Dainese Elysse (not sure what this is like other than reading on the internet). Are there any favourites of yours for winter?  For Canberra winter mornings can be as low as -3C (26F) degrees to about 7C (44F) degrees. In Sydney, which is 280km away, their mornings are probably 9 degrees and they will consider that cold!

Thanks so much and might I add again that I love your site! :) 

Cheers, Kathleen.

We went back and forth a few emails, so I won't bore you with those details. After getting Kathleen's sizing/measurements, I was able to give her a few ideas. Kathleen rides a Ninja 300 and is on the petite side, (5'3", 119lbs).

In general, I recommend anything with Gore-Gex because it offers the best waterproof/windproof layer, and for breathability.  As far as cold weather gear, it depends on your body type. I only make recommendations based on what fits you! I need to know your height, weight, chest (over the bust), hips, inseam measurements to give you some ideas. Believe it or not, the Revit Sand suit is the lightest year round suit, because the shell is ultralight. It would probably be the least warm for this reason.

I think a Dainese Jacket would work well for you. I would also highly recommend a heated jacket liner such as this one:

Firstgear Womens Heated Liner, size XS http://www.revzilla.com/product/firstgear-womens-heated-jacket-liner

You would substitute the thermal layer in the jacket for the Firstgear liner. I also have a review of the previous version of this jacket (made by WarmnSafe) including installation here.

Given the temperatures you're attempting to ride in, you'll need it! If you're like most women, you're colder on top vs. bottom. I think this outfit would be awesome since it's GoreTex (which provides the best waterproof/windproof liner!):

• Dainese Zima Gore-Tex Jacket: Size 40; Unfortunately Revzilla only shows color Black/Dawn Blue. I have no idea what that color is. I can't find any samples online! You would need a 40 since your chest measurement is 35.5. This combined with your weight of 54kg/119lbs, you'll need the smallest size available. The nice thing about the Zima is it's waterproof on the outside, only the thermal liner is removable. I've tried it on and it's awesome! Here's a link to some pics of me in it.
• Dainese Travelguard Gore-Tex pants: Size 40; Again, Gore-Tex is such a great windwall and fully waterproof. It only has a removable thermal liner. I like the fact that there is hip armor and adjustable knees! I never see adjustable knee armor on Dainese pants.

Of course, these are higher on the budget but given what you need and the size that you are, I think these are the best option. A heavyweight winter baselayer like this or this is perfect too.

UPDATE 6/6/2014:

Kathleen emailed me back to let me know what she found!

Hi Joanne,

Wanted to say thank you, thank you, thank you!

I bought the Zima - actually found in a store in Sydney, tried on the 40 and bought it. I absolutely love it - it fits really well.

Haven't got the heated liner yet, as I've only had the Zima for a few days so wanted to see what the fit was like, etc. Next on the shopping list is the heated liner and some new pants.

Loved your advice so thank you again.

Summer Motorcycle Gloves for Men

Joanne,

I came across your GearChic blog & Moterrific podcast after listening to either the Wheelnerds or (more likely) The Pace Podcast.  I've caught up on all the podcasts & really appreciate all the great info & engaging interviews you & Christi have with people in the industry.  I listen quite a bit through my Sena while commuting to & from work & often on rides elsewhere (I'm a podcast addict, so I have something playing just about anytime).  

I have a gear question I've been trying to nail down for a while, since I ride mostly Kawasaki bikes - an '02 KLR650 (now 685) and an '09 Versys - both green.  I'm trying to find a comfortable summer-oriented glove for riding in the usual 80-100 degree summers we have here, and it would be a real bonus to find something in a Kawasaki green.  I currently wear a Sedici medium gauntlet style glove in the spring & fall, as well as some insulated Joe Rocket gauntlet gloves or Tourmaster heated gauntlets for winter.  During the summer, I will usually wear the Sedici gloves to work, but on the hot ride home, I will either wear some cheap dirt gloves or Mechanix gloves.  I know these won't give me the same protection as good street gloves in the event of a crash, so I'm hoping you can steer me in the right direction.

Thanks & I hope to boost your email count just a little :)

Cheers,

Aaron in Yuba City, CA

Hi Aaron!

Thanks for breaking my email record and making it 6 emails in the last week. I'm stoked to help you out. I'm going to warn you, these will all cost more than your budget gloves, but they are going to offer lots of protection, ventilation and comfort.

As far as Kawi Green, that's a tough one. As most of my recommendations aren't available in that color. Try not to think about that too much, you're not looking down at your hands while you're riding, right? :D But I found you one option below that is offered in green, just in case.

Here are my favorite men's summer gloves which also offer plenty of abrasion protection on the palms for street riding. They look like dual sport gloves, and they definitely work well for that but the protection on these are sweet for street riding.

1/ Rev'it Dirt 2 (my fave)

$109.99. These are extremely well ventilated and have a strong goatskin palm, reinforced palms and hard knuckle protection just in case. Like all Rev'it gloves, the fingers tend to run a tad longer.  A really neat feature about these gloves is that there is mesh above the thumbs, so if you have trouble with gloves that are too short over the thumb, these may work better. They're also touchscreen friendly, but please no texting and driving~!

Fitwise, they are a bit narrow at the wrist so if you have really wide hands/palms, go up a size. But they will stretch out in the palms after you break them in.

2/ Held Sambia

$108.00. The Sambias are very similar to the Rev'it, with different construction but the same general purpose/features. Lots of abrasion resistance in the palms for street protection, and ventilation for summer. They also have my favorite, kangaroo palms!

Fitwise, they're also a bit on the narrow side so if you have really wide hands then order a size up. Finger lengths are average, not too short, not too long.

3/ Alpinestars SMX-2 Air Carbon

$79.95 These were actually on my mind as I read through your email. What a coincidence they come in kawi green! These also have a nice leather/mesh construction with carbon fiber hard protections. Lots of air flow with lots of protection. They also happen to be touch screen friendly.

Fitwise, I have found that these will have slightly shorter fingers and accommodate a wide palm without going up a size.

Women's Gore-Tex Motorcycle Pants for Summer? Fall?

 

The Travelguard Gore-Tex pants are one of the newest options for women from Dainese. Could these work in warm, wet summers? 

$379.95 MSRP, Sizes 38-54 (~US 0 - 16), Revzilla.com

I really like the features they offer including adjustable knee armor (haven't inspected in person but that's what the description says!) and the ProShape armor in the hips. I also dig the thigh vents. For this reason, I think they might work in summer/spring too. Especially if you're living in a wet summer climate like I am.

AND they're available in 38!! Euro 38 is basically a US 0. The smallest possible size for petite women. If you've been searching for extremely petite ladies pants, these are one of the best options aside from any of Revit's Size 34 pants. The Euro 54 is approximately a 16, which is definitely a difficult size to find in women's Dainese gear.

I've never had to deal with warm, wet summers before. I have my Revit GoreTex suit, so I'm hoping it won't suffocate me with the heat/humidity I'm going to be dealing with. We'll see.

If you like the idea of a slim fit pant v. a bootleg pant, then I would suggest any of the pants that Dainese has to offer.

As far as what else you could wear if it's hot and humid and raining, I would also recommend something like the Olympia Airglide Jacket and Pants (for a fuller, curvier cut) or the Revit Sand Pants and Jacket (for a more slender, athletic cut) or any Gore-Tex suit like this one or Klim's Altitude for the dual sport crowd.  For a brief overview of these outfits, check out the links from this blog post back in February.

Full Textile Motorcycle Suits for Women?

I Love Reader Questions! This just in from the interwebs:

"Hi Joanne, are there any full textile suits for women? I'm only 5'2", about 130 lbs, my inseam is about 28 or 29. I'd like to try a suit, they look like such a simple solution." -Alison

First off, thank you Alison for writing in!

Teiz Motorsports

There are 2 options for full, 1 piece textile suits for women. The first option above is from Teiz Motorsports. The nice thing about Teiz is that every suit is fully made to measure, to your measurements! I've seen the suits in person myself, and I like what I see. The quality is there and the materials are great. Great body armor options, technical fabrics like SuperFabric.

The nice thing about their suits is that they're a little form fitting and fit especially well for petite body types. Hani (cofounder) the model in the photo is very petite, a little smaller than me and I love how the suit fits her. Here's a link to a blog post I wrote awhile ago, as well as a Facebook thread with some comments about 1 piece v 2 piece.

Aerostitch

For awhile, Teiz was the only company offering a full 1 piece, textile suit. But now Aerostitch has one too, as of last year. If you've done any googling on Aerostitch suits, you know how well regarded they are in the riding community. The only thing I am not a fan of with Aerostitch is the fit. It fits like a paper bag, period. I think if you are really slender, especially in the arms/legs, then you will have to make sure they can alter those areas so that the armor fitment is Snug. Since they don't do a full, made to measure suit like Teiz, I would be really careful to pay attention to this.

As far as 1 piece vs 2 piece, I'm a huge fan of 2 piece because simply, they fit better. I am a small person, (5'3", 135lbs). I do NOT like looking heavier/larger than I am. So I opt for form fitting, really tailored 2 piece outfits like this one:

I also prefer to have 2 pieces so I can take my jacket off when I go inside. But that's just me. It depends on how you like your gear to look, fit and function. I also don't mind wearing motorcycle pants inside a restaurant or whatever. I would recommend hard luggage if you want to opt for separates so that you can store your boots/helmet/jacket, etc. in your topbox.

Do whatever works for you, your lifestyle and your budget!