#Firstgear

–We’re constantly on the look for great deals on motorcycle gear. We’ll be updating this post each week with the latest sales on gear and accessories, so keep checking here for new deals.

HEY! Did you know you could help support us MOrons by buying stuff at Revzilla? It’s true. Whenever you click on over there after seeing a thing here, we get a piece of the pie. It’s a win/win situation – especially when the thing is on sale. You get a deal on what you needed anyway. We get to keep eating. Here are a few of this week’s retail therapy opportunities.

Adventure riders know that choosing a jacket and pant that will offer versatility in a wide variety of scenarios is paramount to enjoying the ride. Fortunately for us, most manufacturers now make matching jacket and pant combos to offer suits that integrate seamlessly from a fit and function standpoint. It’s always a good idea to be realistic of your intentions when considering new gear, but thankfully with adventure gear, like adventure bikes, most are designed to do a little bit of everything. Below is our list of the best adventure suits on the market today.

Updated April 2021

Well, there really is no “best touring glove,” because when you’re really going places on your motorcycle for days, the climatic conditions are liable to change more often than your underwear. From baking desert to bone-chilling mountaintop and all points in between, we know of no gloves with adjustable ventilation systems. Touring also implies that you’re probably on a bike with enough storage to carry more than one pair of gloves, which is really the way to go. Having heated grips gives way more flexibility to your glove selection as well. With them, behind handguards or a fairing, you can probably get away without needing really heavy winter gloves.

There are tons of gloves with the features to deliver the comfort and protection from the weather and mishaps that you’ll need out on the long and winding road. What makes a touring glove a touring glove is the ability to be worn comfortably for extended periods. Just like with a helmet, there’s no substitute for trying them on in an actual motorcycle store – most of which will gladly match your best online price. Add multi-weather adaptability. Finally, you need crash protection. All of the gloves featured here have these qualities in spades.

Here are more than a few of our favorites, in alphabetical order.

The perfect solution for being able to ride year-round would be to have gear that can handle all four seasons. Wait – we do! That’s exactly what this list is about. Well, at least your upper half, anyway. What you’ll find below are our picks for four-season motorcycle jackets. You’ll notice as you scroll down that most of these jackets are touring-oriented. The reason is pretty simple: those are typically the riders that will face the gamut of weather extremes on just one ride. So, if a jacket will work for them in extreme conditions, chances are they’ll handle your ride to work in December just fine. Assuming you’re not working from home, that is.

Before we jump to the list, realize that while these jackets are made to handle all four seasons, by that very definition these jackets are a compromise. None of these jackets will outperform a dedicated summer jacket in the middle of July, but if you truly only have the budget for one jacket, and are willing to sweat a little, all of these picks are very versatile.

Updated March 2020:

With summer right around the corner, many of you will face motorcycle rides in really hot climates, and while much attention gets put towards ventilated jackets (and rightly so), there’s another piece of gear that’s less talked about, but also important: boots. Hot, clammy feet are pretty gross, and wearing non-ventilated boots can make the situation even worse. Here, we’ve collected a small sample of vented motorcycle boots that will not only protect your feet, but also flow some air. They probably won’t do much to prevent the stench, but at least they can make your feet a little more comfortable on a hot ride.

Motorcycle touring, traditionally, means we’re sticking pretty much to pavement. Though you can wear any of these for Adventure riding, we have a whole other list of  suits more suited to life off the beaten path, designed for the most part with even more freedom of motion and impact absorption. Every suit here, from the one-piece Aerostich to the jacket/pants combinations of the others, are a bit closer-fitting for reduced drag at highway speeds, with plenty of ventilation but not too much, and with enhanced abrasion resistance as well as armor. When you’re caught out in the rain after dark, you’ll be glad to find yourself inside any one of them.

Updated February 2020

Heated grips are nice, but some people like to ride even when hot grips aren’t enough. If you’re riding a sportbike, for instance, with no fairing or handguards, heated grips might not be able to keep your hands thawed even if you had them. Heated gloves, on the other hand, will keep the backs of your paws warm as well as your palms. Heated gloves also gallop to the rescue of motorcycles that just don’t generate enough juice to power a bunch of accessories, because in addition to the ones that plug into your bike’s wiring harness, there are now a bunch of gloves that draw power from their own rechargeable lithium ion batteries. Just beware how long a charge will last, and buy a second set of batteries if you need to. Here’s a quick pu pu platter of the ones people seem to think are the best heated motorcycle gloves.

Firstgear Electric Apparel Review

Prior to me and Evans going on our American Iron Butt ride, where late-night temperatures were expected to drop below freezing, I’d never ridden with electrically-heated gear. Ironically, I hate being cold, but I’ve always chosen to layer rather than rely on manufactured warmth. How wrong I was before is only magnified by how glad I am now to have an electric outfit in my moto-closet.

Truth be told, I still packed extra layers just in case the electric stuff failed to electrify. And it almost happened! While messing around (testing) with the device, with cruise control keeping the Harley-Davidson scooting along at freeway speeds, I accidentally dropped the powerport-to-coax jack adapter that delivers electricity from the bike (in lieu of hard wiring directly to the battery. A half-hour roadside search amounted to nothing more than revealing how much crap litters our freeways (add to that a powerport adaptor). Thankfully, some Radio Shacks remain in remote corners of the country, allowing me to purchase a cheap cigarette lighter power adaptor, splice it into the remote heat-troller’s receiver, and continue on our ride into the desert night.

In a world of motorcycle apparel where a single jacket can cost more than $1,700 (Klim Adventure Rally), it’s refreshing to know that basic, reasonably priced moto gear still exists. Of course you have to be willing to forego some niceties, but if you’re requiring shelter from the wet and cold, Firstgear’s Thermosuit literally has you covered.

It’s June and the temperatures are now starting to hot up. That can only mean one thing: Summer’s here and riding season is in full swing. For some, riding in hot weather means shedding the protective gear in order to stay cool. You don’t need us to remind you what a bad idea this is, as one of our favorite adages when it comes to riding in hot climes is “I’d rather sweat than bleed.” For this buyer’s guide, we’ve put together 10 jackets and pants that’ll both keep you cool on a hot ride and also protect your hide should you have the unfortunate fate of falling down. The list is organized in ascending order based on price.

Shoes are the most common element on earth after carbon, so we’ve barely scratched the surface here of what’s available in warm-weather, vented moto street footwear. But we did attempt to hit all the major purveyors, almost all of which pack a plethora of different styles on their web pages, from high-top sneaker wannabes to serious adventure boots. Though the boots pictured are men’s, nearly all of them are available in women’s sizes too. It’s hard to be cool on your bike with sweaty dogs. Let’s get out there and shop for some coolness, people.

If you’re a rolling moto-stone but you’ve never owned an all-weather one-piece suit, you’re doing yourself an injustice. For keeping warm and dry in the coldest and wettest weather, a well-constructed onesie will outperform a two-piece outfit any day of the week, month or year. Once owned, a onesie soon becomes the go-to riding garment because of its versatility and user-friendliness.