Aerostitch owners poll

[miles]

Please only post in the poll if you own or have owned an Aerostitch Roadcrafter suit.  Otherwise, feel free to comment in this thread if you really have to.  You know who you are.


So my question to Roadcrafter owners is this:  Do you pack rain gear for times you know it's going to get really, really wet outside, or do you just trust the suit to do the job of keeping you dry?  Please mention if you have a one piece or two piece suit, too.

[Orson]

I had the wet crotch. That was from an all-day ride in the rain in Scotland. To be honest, it was so minor, I didn't even know I had a wet crotch until the end of the day when I disrobed. I guess when the humidity is high, it's less noticeable, so it's not a big deal to me. What you don't notice doesn't matter.

I sent it back to Aerostich for an Inspection Service and asked them to give it the waterproof treatment and to seal the zippers. Since then, I haven't gotten wet.

I learned about pooling here on ST.N, where the water seeps thru if it's allowed to soak in a pool on your lap, so now, whenever it's raining, I make it a point of standing up every 15 minutes or so to "drain the pool"  

in keeping with my minimalist commando touring mode...no rain gear for me  

[Bandera]

miles,

I've put lots of wet miles on my two piece 'stich since '99 and have never needed extra raingear. I did the "Waterwerks" maintenance as recommended by Aerostich to seal the zipper tape when new and perform an annual NikWax wash and ScotchGard treatment.  

Aerostich really needs to find a proper source for heavy duty waterproof zippers instead of expecting customers to personally apply seamsealer to acres of zipper tape. Still maintenance of my 'stich is less time consuming than keeping my leathers de-bugged and conditioned.

Regards,

-Bandera

[auggius]

Hmm, not sure how to answer. I've had different experiences with 1 & 2 pce suits using the same waterproofing methods. I both cases they were my only riding gear. I don't carry an extra rain suit.

No wet crotch with my old 2 pce suit, even on a long ride with lots of steady rain. I just Scotchguarded the suit once a year, no extra work on the zippers.

Got a 1 pce suit...not so good. Leaks during my 20 minute commute to work in steady rain leaving a big wet spot on my inner thigh. I used Scotchguard originally and then Nikwax. Haven't tried using seam sealer.

Looking at it, the jacket provides an extra measure of protection, plus the leg zip is better protected on the inside of the leg. For example, I have never had a leak on the right leg with either suit.

I'm going back to a 2 pce suit. Got the jacket, need the pants.

[miles]

Thanks for the replies.  More, please, from you 'stitch owners that haven't chimed in yet.  

[Dr Gil]

That's one of the great joys of Aerostitch to me...I'm always dry.  

I have a 3 year old set of the two-piece Roadcrafter and have ridden all day through downpours.  I have never gotten wet anyplace on my person that was covered by my 'stitch.  Wet inside the helmet, yes.  Wet gloves, yes.  But never inside the Aerostitch.

The only downsides to the 'stitch as far as I'm concerned is that can be hot, hot, hot in warm weather and that it's butt-ugly.  

[Stray Cat]

I have the one piece and have had the wet crotch syndrome. Got it once real bad in a heavy rain on my way to work.  
It's the only time I've had an issue though. FWIW I don't use any rain gear even after the "incident".
I'm going to use some nik wax and seal the zipper though.

[Rocket_Cowboy]

I have the two piece suits ... never had a one piece. I've only had one problem with wet crotch, in the most hellacious thunderstorm I've ever ridden through. To be fair, along with my wet crotch, I was getting water up my nose from under my helmet (shield closed), and had a good bit of water running down my neck and entering the suit that way. So much water that the gear position sensor on my transmission injested water and couldn't tell me correctly what gear the bike was in. That's the only time I've gotten soaked through the stich.

[hawkeyejohn14]

I have used the Darien with out any leaks, but alas I have lost a lot of weight and my Darien no longer fits, I am going with leathers and rain gear this year.

[photomd]

After 6 hours in a true frog choker, I'm damp...just like I'm after 6 hours in a rain suit. For me the one piece Roadcrafter is good enough. 99% of the time I'm completely dry.

[Jetpilot5]

After a four hour ride in steady rain I had a quarter size wet spot in the crotch on the front of my jeans.  Didn't know it was there until I got out of the suit.  One piece and the only waterproofing I do is a yearly wash with Nikwax Tech Wash and then treat it with TX Direct Wash-in Water Repellent.  No rain suit if I'm wearing the Stich.

[ruf]

I have a one piece roadcrafter, and Darien, and Darien pants.  Both have kept me remarkably dry, but, the gear was expensive enough that I have always treated it (washing and weatherproofing) exactly as recommended.  The few times I've gotten wet were something stupid I did (like leave vents open), or water wicking in around the neck, cuffs, pant legs.  In anything less than a day long downpour the gear has kept me dry.   I ride with people that have chosen other options, and I am never unhappy to have the Aerostich stuff.  I'm guessing I've got something more than 200,000 miles in the gear.  I've noticed not much else stands up to the use / abuse, plus they are so good about repairs.  I'm a huge believer in the stuff.  Is it perfect, probably not, but it has worked very well for me.  I wish all my gear, and bikes for that matter, had served me as well as the 'stich.

 

[Lawn Dart]

I had to say "bring extra raingear".  Perhaps it's the extreme conditions (errr, 750 straight miles of rain anyone?) but I have had the 'Stich jacket fail on me twice.  

I have since retired the 'Stich from touring use and gone to another suit, which I supplant with a rain suit in case the rain really hits the fan.

[Tar Snake]

Living in So Cal most rain I run into is Thunderstorms out on the road or light showers. In those conditions my 1 piece suit is fine. In all day, more accurately heavy rain for a few hours it will do what Orson says, water will pool up in the crotch and leak in through the zipper. Brrrrrrr.........

Light and intermittent rain, no problems even if the suit gets soaked. I wash and treat mine with Nikwax annually.

Miles, for a concrete example: That rain we had on the way over to Pahrump didn't soak through, because while it rained hard, it didn't rain hard for long.

[Shhted]

I have the one-piece.  It's 4 years old and I've never had wet crotch (outside of jungle dick because it's 90+ degrees).  I've been in all day gully-washers and downburst pours and always been dry.  It is getting a bit dirty so next winter I may give it a wash and seal.

[falcofred]

It depends on the bike your on, with my ST1100 I stayed very dry, some seepage around the zippers in the arm pits, some wet crotch only in an extremely long down poor. Now on my Multistrada, I don't stay as dry because of less fairing and windshield, so more rain hits me. I still use it as my only riding suit, I don't carry a rain suit at all. I can live with the little bit of water that comes in.

[bomber]

I USED to carry Frogg Toggs with me -- after a couple of all day frog-stranglers that had me wishing I'd brought my cubit with me, I found I was completely dry in my two-piece stich (except for one place I'd missed sealing the zipper tape)

scotchguard at the beginning of the season works well, for me --

it DOES make me look like a chubby door gunner, but that's better than the looks I get when I take the stich off in the summer - shorts and riding boots getcha some long looks

;-}

[ruf]

The bike you're on will certainly make a difference.  My cuffs and sleeves are much more likely to take in some water on my naked R bike than the faired K bike.  I have ridden from Wisconsin to Eastern SD, about 12 hours in a deluge, and once from home to Omaha (12 plus hours of cold hard rain, and one of the only times in my life that I have ever wished I was not on the bike) in the heaviest rain I've ever seen (turns out it was the tail end of a hurricane coming up the center of the country).  Those were the longest days in heavy rain 600 and 750 mile type days.  Both on a faired K12RS, stayed dry.  I was impressed enough to send Andy Goldfine (owner of Aerostich and inventor of the Roadcrafter and Darien) an email, which to my great surprise he responded.  Lesser rains have never been a problem, unless I screw something up.  

I wash the suits a couple times a year with a powdered detergent, wash again with no detergent to get any residual detergent out, let hang dry, and scotch guard the bejesus out of them.  I usually catch a nice buzz from the scotchguard for at least a few days.  And of course, the chick attracting powers of the 'stich are legendary ....  particularly now with the permanent bug gut spatter on the hi vis.  Chicks dig it, for sure.  And I never tire of the 'Are you a fireman?' and 'Isn't it kind of hot for that today?' questions.  As I said, the stuff is not perfect, but it is one of the best pieces of motorcycle related gear I've owned, followed closely by a couple pairs of Oxtar Matrix boots, and Held Provi gloves. For the most part you get what you pay for in gear.  Aerostich stuff is relatively expensive, I expected it to work well.    

[Dutch]

I like a wet crotch -

[burnergold2B]

 I've got well over 200K on a 1 piece in 11 years. Did Aero recommended maint. and it's great. Wear the old ThunderHead 1 piece rainwear under it when it's below 30, for warmth.