Sitting on the left are the Icon 29er gloves. I bought these gloves new when I first started riding 5 years ago (damn its been that long) They have lasted this long and now are my primary off-road glove. The fit is good, and the material is durable to last 5 years and still be good to ride on the street. The cuff is an elastic/velcro cuff that is now a little worn out. That would be my only complaint about the glove. Even though I bought it 5 years ago it is still available today for $35 on Revzilla. Heck of a value for a decent glove. http://www.revzilla.com/product/icon-tw ... ner-gloves
The Gloves on the right are my current Street gloves. Alpine-stars SMX-2 Air Carbon gloves. They are a short cuff design which I like and have a full leather palm with padding, and a carbon fiber knuckle. The fit out of the box was weird but once they were broke-in I really like the fit of these gloves. They were a little more pricey but offer a lot more protection than the Icon Gloves. Sadly I got to test them out. I was being stupid which isn't normally like me but I ended up doing something stupid and going down at around 15mph. The leather palm held up well and the carbon fiber saved my knuckles from becoming a bloody mess. It didn't mess the gloves up too badly and I still use them. They just don't look as good any more.
http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/alpi ... loves-2011
The picture above is the Alpine-stars WR-3 Goretex gloves. These are my winter gloves. I used to ride a lot more than I do now and needed some good winter gloves. I wore these for 2 seasons. And I really like them. Money well spent in my book. My previous gloves made my hands sweat instantly and then they would freeze. These are much more breathable and actually allow my hands to stay warm. I wish they were more waterproof but even wet they keep me warm, but not dry.
http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/alpi ... tex-gloves
Scorpion EXO-1000 Helmet. I have had this helmet for 3-4 years now and I still like it.
Some of the Features include:
Adjustable cheek pads
Drop down sun visor
Fully removable liner
Snell and DOT approved
3/4 design for upright touring bikes
All this adds up to a great helmet. The adjustable cheek pads are excellent. On long rides I always felt like my helmet would start to get looser as the day went on. Well now just pump up the pads a little. I like the venting alright but it would get hot behind a big windscreen of a larger touring bike.
I have three complaints about this helmet.
1. Weight- this thing weighs a ton. All those comfort features add up to a heavy helmet. The only upside to the weight is less wind buffeting. But at the end of a long day my neck is a little sore.
2. Glue- Whatever glue they use to secure the bottom trim of the helmet is crap. The only thing holding that part on right now is my intercom system.
3. Sun shade - the drop down sun visor is pretty much worthless it is not dark enough to use by itself. But It is nice to have even just a little help to knock off glare and such. I bought a dark smoke visor shortly after I bought the helmet.
Coretech GX-Sport AIR Jacket
THE BAD
This is a great SUMMER MESH jacket. The reason I picked this over the other mesh summer jackets is that it comes with a waterproof liner and a quilted liner for warmth. This was a dream however. The mesh means that it is cool no matter what. The warmth layer doesn't do anything. And the Waterproof liner is a joke, it doesn't work at all. I just ended up wet and miserable. I picked the White version and love the color but I soon realized white was not a good choice. The bug guts after one summer make the jacket look 5+ years old and It just has so many stains
THE GOOD
BUT what this jacket does do well is high heat and good protection. The Elbow and shoulder protection is advertised as CE rated. But it also has a hardened plastic layer on the outside of the soft foam armor for added impact protection. The mesh ventilation is amazing and in weather 75 up to 100+ I am comfortable. It fits me perfect tight around the waist and mid section which is good because many of the American cut jackets leave room for a big gut, and the access material just ends up bunching up on me and is uncomfortable. Not so on this jacket. The inner pockets are big enough for a smart phone and the design is really cool.
http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/cort ... esh-jacket
Firstgear HT Overpant
If you're a commuter and ride in the rain, snow, wind, salt, nasty crap, weather. Then you would love these pants. They are not the most stylish pants in the world but they have excellent function. Great big cargo pockets so you can fit your winter glove hand down in there and pull out your wallet. Half leg zipper. Fully waterproof shell, and a warm liner. The liner is really warm. They have an inner cuff at the boot to block out water and road grime and they will fit over jeans really easily.
My only complaint with these pants is that it is a winter/fall/spring pant only and they get a -1 out of 10 in the style department. http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/firs ... -overpants
Sena SMH10 Headset.
I have this headset on my helmet now. I bought it after not being happy with my Scala TeamSet headset.
This one is much better IMO. The Bluetooth connectivity to my Samsung Galexy S3 was really good I could make calls listen to the radio, or switch to the MP3 all by voice command. It's able to connect with up to 3 other headsets at the same time. It has all kinds of other features I haven't used but the sound is great and the speakers are more comfortable in my helmet than the Scala speakers were.
Joe Rocket Boots
The above picture is NOT my boots. I have the 10-15 year old equivalent of those boots. The soles are falling off and they are no longer waterproof. And there is zero comfort left in the insole. But I love my Joe Rocket boots. The toe slider is a must on the Seca for me. The low standard pegs hit the ground a bunch during my TN Deals gap trip last year and I am glad the sliders were on the boot. I just keep Gluing the sole back on with 3M indoor/outdoor adheasive. Usually lasts a month.