I seek opinions on the First Gear Jackets

[redclfco]

I have First gear mesh and winter pants, and am looking at retiring my old yellow Joe Rocket jacket. I have been super happy with the pants, the quality and durability.

I have been looking at the Kilimanjaro for $399.00. I have ALSO been looking at Areostich jacket for $60.00 more, and have came to the conclusion the First Gear is the better jacket, and the Aerostich is paying for the name.

Any opinions out there?

[jduke]

WebBikeWorld rated the Joe Rocket Ballistic 7.0 jacket as their 2007 Product Of The Year. It retails for $250, but I've seen it at New Enough for $225.00
I think that will be my next cold weather riding jacket.

http://www.webbikeworld.com/r4/joe-r...tic-jacket.htm

[tommcgee]

$399 is way too much money to pay for a Kiliminjaro 4. $209 at Motorcycle Superstore.

[oldhway]

I have First gear mesh and winter pants, and am looking at retiring my old yellow Joe Rocket jacket. I have been super happy with the pants, the quality and durability.

I have been looking at the Kilimanjaro for $399.00. I have ALSO been looking at Areostich jacket for $60.00 more, and have came to the conclusion the First Gear is the better jacket, and the Aerostich is paying for the name.

Any opinions out there?

I have been using a Kilimanjaro 4 for about a year and I have zero complaints. I have the HT overpants as well. The venting will work well for you until you get to mesh gear weather. With the liner in, it's very warm in the winter, and it is waterproof. Fit and finish are excellent, construction quality is great, and once you have it on, all the bulky feeling 3/4 armored jackets have goes away for a very natural and comfortable fit. Great features, lots of pockets, well made, if I lost mine tomorrow, I'd buy another in a heart beat.

And it cures baldness. Well maybe not but everything else is spot on.

[136045]

I have an older model Kilimanjaro. It is my favorite Jacket.

[rmarkr]

No complaints with Kilimanjaro jacket. Waterproof, good armour, vents well and the liner is warm (and bulky) and looks good worn as a cardigan. The outer material feels a little thin, but does the job. I have a few burn holes in mine, I think from campfire sparks.
BTW I have an unused large, black/grey jacket for sale. A gift that was a size too big (too embarassed ask for the receipt) $150

[BobFV1]

I had an older First Gear Kili and HT Overpants that I bought used on Ebay, wore the heck out of for a couple of years, and then sold on EBAY for roughly what I bought them for. It was great gear, and with an electric liner I think you could use it year-round. The jacket is a little hot for warm Summer weather.

Also, +1 on the pile liner that comes with the Kili - that is may favorite piece of fall clothing to wear without the jacket - I use it as my casual light weekend jacket in cool weather because the thing is so darn comfortable!

The Kili gear is great stuff - so is the Aerostitch, though. If price is a factor they are both excellent, both have lots of excellent safety and utility features, so yo may want to take price into account.

[mistercindy]

I've worn the original First Gear Mesh-Tex jacket for nearly eight years. It works great and, outside of looking used (I've never washed it), its in perfect shape. I also have a pair of First Gear Mesh-Tex 2.0 pants that also work well.

My old 3/4 length Tour Master Cortech Lite jacket, which I got on a closeout sale for $120 four years ago, is literally coming apart at the seems. So I'm also in the market for a new winter jacket, and I'm also thinking of the Kilimanjaro. But I'm also looking at the First Gear TPG Rainier jacket. I've never seen the TPG Rainier in person, but I think I like it. At $360 (at NewEnough) its more than I want to spend, but if I get a good seven or eight years out of it, then I don't mind. But I won't buy it without first being able to look at it personally.

Anyway, IMHO First Gear makes quality stuff that lasts for a reasonable price.

[spiegeltuxer]

BMW has the Tourance 2 line now to compete price and quality with First Gear. I have FG Kilamangaro and replaced it with the Tourance. Maybe check that out if you want to, it is the nicest jacket I have purchased. I went back a month later and bought the pants to match. I have FG over pants and got wet a few times recently by gaps in the velcro along the legs. The Tourance pants are not as easy to put on under a bridge while its raining and trucks wizzing by. But they have suspenders if you like those or they come off easy for using a belt. Also pants zip to the bottom of the jacket, thats nice feature. Something different if you didnt know the price of BMW gear has come down a bit.

[clowry]

Check out cruisercustomizing.com They have the Kilimanjaro 4 for $269.95 and the Kilimanjaro 3 for $219.95. We've bought several items through them and have found them to be very good to deal with. Reliable, reasonably priced and prompt.

Cheryl

[redclfco]

I've worn the original First Gear Mesh-Tex jacket for nearly eight years. It works great and, outside of looking used (I've never washed it), its in perfect shape. I also have a pair of First Gear Mesh-Tex 2.0 pants that also work well.

My old 3/4 length Tour Master Cortech Lite jacket, which I got on a closeout sale for $120 four years ago, is literally coming apart at the seems. So I'm also in the market for a new winter jacket, and I'm also thinking of the Kilimanjaro. But I'm also looking at the First Gear TPG Rainier jacket. I've never seen the TPG Rainier in person, but I think I like it. At $360 (at NewEnough) its more than I want to spend, but if I get a good seven or eight years out of it, then I don't mind. But I won't buy it without first being able to look at it personally.

Anyway, IMHO First Gear makes quality stuff that lasts for a reasonable price.

Grant,

I tried on the Rainier tonight at my dealers shop. What a super fit, great look and looks like it has the ability to keep me warm here in ol sunny Minnesota! It has a little hood thingy to keep the drips out of your collar, which looks like it might work.This is the jacket for me, but not at the 399.00 price tag through "my" BMW dealer!

I found it for about the same price you found through motorcycle superstore with free shipping (thank yoou Tom M). Before ordering on line, I'm going to go back to the dealer to match price; I'm sorry, but I've bought four bikes through this dealer, so I hope there is an adjustment in price through my long term relationship with this Rep!

[rdsmith3]

Earlier this year, I bought the previous generation Kilimanjaro for something like $145. There are deals available for this jacket.

I like this jacket a lot, and it replaced a Kilimanjaro that was six years old. With the liner and the venting, this jacket has a wide temperature range. I will wear it up to about 80 deg F.

Also, they offer tall sizes, which I really need. It fits me well.

[podsobinski]

I have been using my First Gear Kilo. jacket for 4 years and have been satisfied with it. Great for cool weather and as said before the liner is great and wonderful to use on those cool nights/days around. However, the pockets are way to hard to use except for the wallet pocket, all those front ones are so hard to use they don't get used. Then, if you want to vent the jacket, take it off and 15 minutes of folding over valcro and unzipping is unexceptable. It still cleans up great and looks good so even with the pockets and vents it is a great jacket.

gpodzo

[UncleHowie]

redclfco-

I have three assorted pair of FirstGear pants- overpants, mesh overpants, and mesh riding pants. I'm happy with all of them. I would buy them again in a heartbeat. That said, read on:

I have a FirstGear Kilimanjaro, and I wouldn't buy one again. Short story:
-The sleeves in the forearms are too tight- tighter than I'd like with the liner out, but the fabric is REALLY TIGHT with the liner in... then the cuff flares WAY out?!? You can see the tight forearm/flared cuff in the photo in their magazine ad. I would REALLY look at this "feature" closely prior to purchase. My wife also has a Kilimanjaro, and has the same problems with forearm snugness. There has also been a thread about this on ADVrider.com. It makes wearing long sleeves under the liner a no-go for me...
-IMHO, the vents are nearly useless. The chest vents have covers that peel way back, but the actual vent is about one inch wide and way too short. You can secure the flap open, but the vent has a tendency to stay nearly closed, regardless of flap position. The arm vents are also way too short, and in an area that doesn't get much airflow- especially if you run any kind of a windshield. The back vent- well, I will say, it lets out most of the air I let in when I ride around with my jacket unzipped 75%... I hoped for more all-season performance, but this thing is HOT in summer- again, YMMV.
-The largest size doesn't come in tall (may not apply to you, but c'mon- fat guys come in tall, so should their jackets!)
-The "belt" sits WAY to high on me- about six inches up my ribcage. At speed, the jacket likes to blow up around my armpits- nice... See previous comments on lack of tall sizes in 4XL...
-The velcro to secure the collar tab will mesh with the shoulder patch material, leaving you a fuzzy mess to deal with.

With all of the venom I'm spewing, you may be asking, "Why did this clown buy one in the first place?" I bought a GS last year, and needed something in a hurry. This was the only 3/4 length jacket I could find that would go around me (notice I don't claim that it FITS... only that it will go around me). A year later, I'm still shopping...

I'm from MN, like you. I have been to Aerostich and tried on jackets, been measured, etc. They could make me a jacket, but it would cost a fortune in alterations ($50/modification) and would end up being a too-small jacket with a lot of gussets added. I do see a lot of guys that appear larger than I am wearing Aerostich jackets, so maybe I need to give them another chance. I still hear lots of folks stating that their Aerostich jackets are very warm, so that still won't solve all of my problems.

Since I'm too warm more often than I'm too cold, I'm looking hard at the Cycleport Kevlar mesh and their custom sizing.

End of rant...

Happy shopping!

[tommcgee]

Double check the Rainier with the collar zipped up all the way. I loved that jacket, but the collar was a deal breaker for me. YMMV.