For the Boys.

Men always ask me why I don't do review for men. Well, ALL the sites are for men! That's why I started mine. But, most of the fitment articles I write do apply to men and women, so for that kind of gender neutral advice I hope you'll find it useful. But, seeing as how many of my readers are men (thank you!), I felt that a quick review was in order.

I will make a gear recommendation for the boys based on the outfit that my husband just got for the long ride we did yesterday to SoCal. The jacket is also a top seller at Scuderia West as well. For reference, here he is, Mr.GearChic.

My husband is 5'11", ~190lbs, has broad shoulders, a long torso and a 33" inseam. These fit him him perfectly. The pants do come in short and long, depending on the size. But he was fine with a standard 52 for the pants and a 52 for the jacket. These are pants, not overpants. They also come with a windproof/waterproof liner which he didn't need to wear for this ride, since the weather was mostly 70s along Hwy 1. Before acquiring these 2 items, he was wearing a Dainese leather jacket and Olympia Pro Textile Pants. He definitely prefers this outfit and finds the cut on the REV'IT gear to be perfectly suited to his body type.

Because he has broad shoulders, he thought the 52 would be a little too small, but after sitting on the bike (of course!), it felt fine in riding position (on a Standard). It was just a little uncomfortable standing up straight with the jacket zipped up (as it should, since it's cut for riding not standing!) And he had no problems breaking it in on the ride down, since we got it for him the day before we left. The arms are nice and long, which is definitely a problem for him when shopping for regular clothes and jackets.

Since it's a combination of textile and leather, it wasn't so bad wearing for the first time on a long ride. If he wear in a one piece or two piece leathers, he probably would've been a little uncomfortable after the first hundred miles. Overall, he is very happy with this combination and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good all around 2 piece for city, urban and long distance riding. So get thee to Scuderia West, or if you can't drive to San Francisco, order a set from Revzilla and try it out for yourself!

1) REV'IT Ignition Jacket.
$429.99

2) REV'IT Gear Pants
$379.99

3) Dainese Torque In Boots
$299.00

Revit Mistral Ladies Pants

Revit Mistral Ladies Pants MSRP $239.99 I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of these pants. I just ordered them from Scuderia last week. I've been searching for the perfect pant that I can wear as pants, instead of jeans. My Olympias are a little too bulky and warm for San Fran.

They also fit like a glove. One thing I don't like about my Olympias are the way they hang on me. I'm fairly petite and the leg is cut rather wide as well as the hips. (which is great if you have hip, waist or thigh issues as the cut is fairly generous)

I can't wait to post a review of these next month.

FirstGear Jacket and Pants Review

Check out this review of the TPG Monarch Jacket and Escape Pants by my friend Carla King:

WomenRidersNow.com

Thanks Carla, for reviewing Real Gear for Real Women!

Pants and AntiFog

1. Pants.

Wait, what was I going to say? My brain only works for like 30 seconds when I come up with an idea, and then it disappears forever, never to be seen again. That's why I can't seem to blog more frequently. This time I had time to text myself these 2 words. Now if I could just remember what pants were. Oh yes!! Sizing.

So I was dutifully working last Saturday afternoon at Scuderia West. And a female customer came in to try out the Olympia Promax overpants. An excellent option for cold weather and/or every day riding. We tried her in a size 4 / Euro 42 (Olympia sizes in US women), which was a little bit too tight for her in riding position. Then we tried her in a size 6. For some reason, the 6 was fitting more like an 8 or 10, fitting really really generous in the waist. The length seemed normal, as a 6 would be but the waist just seemed really wide. I decided to try them on myself and found that they were definitely cut wrong. For most overpants, you may want to try on one size up from what you'd normally wear in jeans or slacks. If you have no idea what size you are, generally a xtra small/small is 0-2-4, medium is 6-8-10, large is 12 and up. Of course, this can vary from manufacturer, which is super annoying, I know. But that's why I'm here to help.

Since there wasn't another 6 off the rack for her to try, I brought her mine. They fit her perfectly and more snug in the waist, but not too tight. We ended up sending back the funny 6's to Olympia, since they definitely weren't cut right. She ended up ordering a size 6 for herself as well. Hopefully they'll fit her as perfectly as mine did.

The moral of the story is that sometimes you can't trust the sizing, or the pants off the rack. If you think something is wrong, or aren't sure if what you're wearing is the right size, try on a size up and down. If the store has a good special order policy, order another pair and see how it fits, it may fit differently or the same. You just never know!

2. Anti Fog for Arai Helmets

Apparently Arai has finally come out with a pinlock system for their helmets. This is the one thing that I don't like about my helmet. It just fogs up like crazy. First, you need to buy the "Arai Clear Pinlock Shield for Astral, Quantum, RX7, Profile, Vector Helmets". Then you need to order the Arai Antifog insert. I'm still waiting for the insert to come in, so I can test this thing out!