Recommendations on women's gear?

[DrD]

Dot is thinking of replacing her gear.  It appears some manufacturers are making gear for women, but not many.  BMW does, but at a high cost.  So, any recommendations for women's gear at reasonable cost?

[coho]

This could help narrow it down. Not all brands that make women's gear are listed, but WebBikeWorld's reviews are usually pretty good.
http://www.webbikeworld.com/women-motorcycle-clothing/

[KLRchickie]

I have Joe Rocket textiles & Dainese leathers.  Both work, neither are perfect. 

The two piece leathers had to be lengthened at the waist zipper (my next leathers will be custom, I'm not fussing with fit on leathers again).  Other than that, they do have an appropriate female shape though.

On the textile jacket I had to add Velcro at the waist in order to be able to cinch it in far enough (I had to do this with ZED's jacket too).  Textile pants a not particularly "girl shaped" in my experience, but the women's pants work OK.  My Alter Ego 10 pants cinch in far enough in the waist, and have "adjustable" length legs.

5+ years ago there were FEW "real" women's motorcycle jackets - that has improved over the last couple of years.

[DrD]

Thanks!  

[Kawgurl]

Dot is thinking of replacing her gear.  It appears some manufacturers are making gear for women, but not many.  BMW does, but at a high cost.  So, any recommendations for women's gear at reasonable cost?

Joe Rocket is the best I have found - and they run up to plus size as well.  And they are attractive in design.  Good luck!

[Marin Phil]

Victoria's Secret

[Stripes]

Victoria's Secret

+1  

[bluepoof]

What type of riding?  All-weather/summer only/etc?  Street only or occasional dirt or dual-sport?  Commuting, day trips, long distance?  One- or two-piece?  

 

[viffergyrl]

I have Joe Rocket Trixie leathers but Joe Rocket is making less and less for women in leather and more and more gear with textiles.   That said they do a good job of fitting the real female form - go to Motorcycle Superstore and read the reviews on any brand of female gear - women are pretty good and stating what runs small and what runs large. Women's jackets should have either a yoke or princess seams to accommodate the bust and waist differential   Even then there can be a whole sizing catastrophe - I have a Dainese one piece leather suit that took about three tries with Cycle Gear to get the size right.

I actually would check out Cycle Gear and the Sedici leather line for women. I would do that before I resign myself to custom leathers if and when my Joe Rockets 'wear out'.

If I was commuting on a regular basis I would be looking at the new Aerostichs for women and Teiz' Revolution suit these can go on over the work clothes (see bluepoof's suit and the thread "I hear Teiz is making a new women's...")

Good luck.... I would rather go to the dentist than shop for motorcycle jackets and pants or one-piece.

Oh and I recommend a two-piece in the event you have to pee by the side of the road....  

[KLRchickie]

That said they do a good job of fitting the real female form - go to Motorcycle Superstore and read the reviews on any brand of female gear - women are pretty good and stating what runs small and what runs large. Women's jackets should have either a yoke or princess seams to accommodate the bust and waist differential  

More adjustability at all of our "diameters" would be awfully nice.  My Alter Ego 10 jacket fits reasonably in the shoulders & chest, the hips fit with the adjustment zipper/dart thingies CLOSED, and I had to add several inches of Velcro to get the waist to cinch in close to my size.

I actually would check out Cycle Gear and the Sedici leather line for women. I would do that before I resign myself to custom leathers if and when my Joe Rockets 'wear out'.

Ooh, nice to hear of a brand that may have a better idea how to fit women.  I'd have to travel to get to them, but hey!

Good luck.... I would rather go to the dentist than shop for motorcycle jackets and pants or one-piece.

 

[viffergyrl]

Unfortunately I haven't 'qualified' that brand (Sedici) so don't go out of your way unless you have another reason to go.  

[Hotbrakes]

Revzilla carries a large line of women's gear with in depth video reviews.  They are also very helpful when ordering and if it's the wrong size you pay return shipping and they ship it back free.  

As for gear, Rev'It! and Spidi have quite the range to choose from.  

[KLRchickie]

Unfortunately I haven't 'qualified' that brand (Sedici) so don't go out of your way unless you have another reason to go.  

No worries.  I'm not in the market right now anyway.

Considering the fact that our local Ducati Shoppe owner told me "nothing to fit YOU" when I asked him about leathers, and then promptly mentioned he could hook me up with a place that does good custom work, combined with my experiences with the set I DID find, I really do expect the custom thing to happen one of these days..... (like when my biceps get a tiny wee bit bigger around & I can't get out of the sleeves anymore )

[cultureslayer]

If she's skinny and/or has large shoulders or long arms try Olympia, Teknic, and Tourmaster.  I have Teknic jackets and Tourmaster pants and it fits me well without breaking the bank.  Olympia has stuff that fits me great, but I couldn't justify the cost when I was getting clearance Teknic jackets for $50.  Joe Rocket has arms that are way too short for the torso size for me.  If it fit me in the torso it would look like it was 3/4 sleeves.  

KLRchickie,  it sounds like you might have the same problem if you had to add extra velcro to cinch down the joe rocket waist.  Try some of the brands I mentioned next time and you'll be happily surprised I bet.  Teknic leathers had skinny arms when I bought mine but the textiles have good arm room.  I'm at the extremes of female sizing because the only dress shirts I can find with long enough sleeves that are still fitted in the middle are Express.

[expatbrit]

Dot is thinking of replacing her gear.  It appears some manufacturers are making gear for women, but not many.  BMW does, but at a high cost.  So, any recommendations for women's gear at reasonable cost?

Unfortunately, my girl's experience has been that the BMW stuff is best. The lower priced always, always had lots of compromises for her. Didn't fit, wasn't right, etc. SOME of the Rev'it stuff has been good to her, but the Cortech/JR/FG low/mid-range bracket has left her unhappy -- either due to fit or features.

She finally went and bit the bullet and bought a Tourshell, and is absolutely loving it in the colder weather. We'll see how it fares when we hit the NM summer.

[vulcanbill]

Kim made a one piece stich work with minor customizing.   That's her 90% go to gear.  Now, we're looking into offroad gear and the selections are getting tougher.  There are almost no real DS / Adventure boots with any real man like protection.  Compromised w/ man boots that the jury is still out on.  She did get an Alpinestar Stella armored jacket with the built in hard plastic boob protectors.  That's kinda nice.  She's still wearing ill fitting Dariens for offroad duty until we can find something nicer.  This is a very sore subject for her too as she's been riding for...  a long time and has been going through this for all of that time.  We're pretty close of you wanna come by and let her try on all of Kim's stuff to see what works.    

[Indefatigable]

Revzilla carries a full line of ladies gear and they are top notch when it comes to sizing and dealing with returns.  

[frzp]

The wife has been through several different brands and styles of jackets / pants / boots / gloves.  With jackets and pants, her preferance dictated high viz colors coupled with fit.  The largest issue we had is that sizing charts vary greatly between the different brands so when a style of jacket she liked did not fit her, we would have to send it back to get a larger/smaller size.  Luckily our Yamaha dealer works with us as well as Revzilla.com.

Since most shops that sell clothing do not have a wide variety it is best to find a style she likes by shopping around at shops and online (we use Revzilla) and then purchasing it.  If it does not fit upon arrival (assuming you ordered it online) send it back and get another.

For summer riding she has a hot pink ICON mesh jacket, riding jeans, and our favorite boot, http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/tcx-jupiter-2-gore-tex-boots
For cooler weather she wears her First Gear Kathmandu jacket but she finds it somewhat bulky off the bike and has hinted at getting a different style at some point.

My wife and I both agree that little bells and whistles (extra pockets, cell phone holder, aching sacroileac reducer etc) is nice, they are not deal breakers.  We do not mind the fit or comfort while "off" the bike; it does not matter because we can take it off.  Nor do we mind small annoyances for getting in and out of the gear (I am talking to you First Gear Kathmandu outfit with all the velcro sticking to each other!).  We focus on if we notice the gear while in the saddle.  If we are hitting the curves or the slab at speed and are still annoyed by the tightness around the shoulder, the tag itching the neck, the coat riding up the back, or the pants bunching up around the junk; then we start looking for replacements.

We shop very carefully though, and so far we have had no issues with any brands from ICON, to First Gear, to Rev-it, to A-stars aside from sizing charts and stupid winter glove sizing.  We do focus somewhat on the price because we realized a long time ago that, as with a lot of things, sometimes you are paying more for just the brand name, and not necessarily better quality / fit.

[Dot]

Thanks to everyone for all the fine suggestions! I think I'll stick to my BMW gear for right now while I sort this all out. Thanks again!