I had always admired the Aerostich gear but never had the money for it. I always thought of the Roadcrafter as a top of the line suit that only the most serious of riders could afford. But as my existing suit aged I played with the numbers and found the Roadcrafter to be right on par with a more midrange suit, once everything was factored in. I was kind of forced into making this purchase (or at least SOME kind of purchase) after a recent failure of my nearly new riding pants. Being the 3rd zipper failure on the 2nd pair of pants of the same brand in less than a year, I no longer trust them for the long haul. Since I had a trip planned, and my warrantied pants wouldn't be back until 3-4 weeks after the trip was over, I had a decision to make.
This is where I need to describe my current suit. I use a Joe Rocket jacket purchased new in 2002. It has been great, was very waterproof for the first 5+ years, but is now faded and only somewhat water resistant. Due to the age I really can't guess how much longer this jacket will last. My pants are 2 month old Joe Rocket pants that the fly zipper had failed on. Research has found this is a very common problem for newer Joe Rocket gear. For bad weather I use a 5 year old Firstgear Rainman suit which works well, but like the jacket, could be near the end of its useful life. Taking all of this into account, it made little sense to just purchase a new pair of pants to use as a spare. Due to my size, my options are limited- choices are either Motoport, Aerostich, or Joe Rocket.
Once I priced out what replacing my aging suit would cost- aprox. $250 for a decent jacket, $250 for decent pants in my size, and at least $125 for a decent rain suit, and I'm up to $625. For roughly $100 more I found a discounted Roadcrafter in my size that was only used for a photo shoot. With help from a very good friend who was concerned that I have a safe and comfortable suit for trips, I ordered the Roadcrafter, which arrived the day before I was due to leave on a 2700 mile round trip, 3-day ride.
My first impressions were that the Roadcrafter seemed heavy and thick. Once I compared it to my old gear, the whole suit actually only weighs about what my Joe Rocket jacket alone weighs. The quality of the stiching, pocket placement, padding, etc. were all what I would expect from a high-end suit. I tried it on and found it very easy to get into. I took a quick ride down the road to try it out and found it worked very well. I should note that due to my ongoing diet I went with a size smaller than what Aerostich's sizing chart shows. Since I'll be using the Roadcrafter for trips, but no commuting, I will rarely be wearing street clothes under it, so the smaller size works out fine. Hopefully by the end of the summer I'll have lost enough to allow me to wear extra layers under it more comfortably.
After my 2-mile test ride I packed up for my trip. My first leg would be a hard push of over 1300 miles after work, so I was putting as lot of faith in the new suit. Aerostich says the Roadcrafter takes around 500 miles of use to break in, so I would know by morning how its working out. I dressed in a pair of LD Comfort shorts and a T-shirt under the Roadcrafter then hit the road. After a few hundred miles I was still very comfortable and had high hopes for this suit. As the sun came up I had over 700 miles on the Roadcrafter and was only getting happier with it. It kept me warm during the cool night, with temps in the low 60s. As the sun came up it was already in the mid 70s and rising quickly. I opened the two armpit vents, loosened the sleeve cuff zippers, and unzipped the back zipper. This one would require partially removing the suit to reach, so I just found a nice person at a gas stop to open it for me.
During my breakfast stop I found that in "touring mode" the suit is a slight bit inconvenient. I unzipped and removed the top half of the suit and let it hang during meal stops, but it wasn't exactly convenient. This could be easily overcome by wearing shorts or light pants under the suit, as many people do. If I was on a shorter ride with planned stops I will do just that; but the comfort level of the combination of the LD Comfort shorts and Roadcrafter just can't be beat.
Later in the day I saw temps as high as a very humid 98 degrees, but with the vents open the Roadcrafter was fine. I saw a couple hours of rain ranging from light drizzle to a short period of heavy rain and I stayed perfectly dry.
By the time I got home I had done over 2700 miles, spent at least 14 hours in temps above 90 degrees, and hit a bit of rain. I was more comfortable than I had been on any previous ride. I'm sold on the Roadcrafter...it was worth every penny!
This is where I need to describe my current suit. I use a Joe Rocket jacket purchased new in 2002. It has been great, was very waterproof for the first 5+ years, but is now faded and only somewhat water resistant. Due to the age I really can't guess how much longer this jacket will last. My pants are 2 month old Joe Rocket pants that the fly zipper had failed on. Research has found this is a very common problem for newer Joe Rocket gear. For bad weather I use a 5 year old Firstgear Rainman suit which works well, but like the jacket, could be near the end of its useful life. Taking all of this into account, it made little sense to just purchase a new pair of pants to use as a spare. Due to my size, my options are limited- choices are either Motoport, Aerostich, or Joe Rocket.
Once I priced out what replacing my aging suit would cost- aprox. $250 for a decent jacket, $250 for decent pants in my size, and at least $125 for a decent rain suit, and I'm up to $625. For roughly $100 more I found a discounted Roadcrafter in my size that was only used for a photo shoot. With help from a very good friend who was concerned that I have a safe and comfortable suit for trips, I ordered the Roadcrafter, which arrived the day before I was due to leave on a 2700 mile round trip, 3-day ride.
My first impressions were that the Roadcrafter seemed heavy and thick. Once I compared it to my old gear, the whole suit actually only weighs about what my Joe Rocket jacket alone weighs. The quality of the stiching, pocket placement, padding, etc. were all what I would expect from a high-end suit. I tried it on and found it very easy to get into. I took a quick ride down the road to try it out and found it worked very well. I should note that due to my ongoing diet I went with a size smaller than what Aerostich's sizing chart shows. Since I'll be using the Roadcrafter for trips, but no commuting, I will rarely be wearing street clothes under it, so the smaller size works out fine. Hopefully by the end of the summer I'll have lost enough to allow me to wear extra layers under it more comfortably.
After my 2-mile test ride I packed up for my trip. My first leg would be a hard push of over 1300 miles after work, so I was putting as lot of faith in the new suit. Aerostich says the Roadcrafter takes around 500 miles of use to break in, so I would know by morning how its working out. I dressed in a pair of LD Comfort shorts and a T-shirt under the Roadcrafter then hit the road. After a few hundred miles I was still very comfortable and had high hopes for this suit. As the sun came up I had over 700 miles on the Roadcrafter and was only getting happier with it. It kept me warm during the cool night, with temps in the low 60s. As the sun came up it was already in the mid 70s and rising quickly. I opened the two armpit vents, loosened the sleeve cuff zippers, and unzipped the back zipper. This one would require partially removing the suit to reach, so I just found a nice person at a gas stop to open it for me.
During my breakfast stop I found that in "touring mode" the suit is a slight bit inconvenient. I unzipped and removed the top half of the suit and let it hang during meal stops, but it wasn't exactly convenient. This could be easily overcome by wearing shorts or light pants under the suit, as many people do. If I was on a shorter ride with planned stops I will do just that; but the comfort level of the combination of the LD Comfort shorts and Roadcrafter just can't be beat.
Later in the day I saw temps as high as a very humid 98 degrees, but with the vents open the Roadcrafter was fine. I saw a couple hours of rain ranging from light drizzle to a short period of heavy rain and I stayed perfectly dry.
By the time I got home I had done over 2700 miles, spent at least 14 hours in temps above 90 degrees, and hit a bit of rain. I was more comfortable than I had been on any previous ride. I'm sold on the Roadcrafter...it was worth every penny!
