Impulse Gear Buy: Overpants
*gasp* a new purchase?!
I don't know what came over me the other day, but something inside me said I needed to buy some decent overpants for riding. Maybe it was the fact that I put over 3000 miles on the bike this past winter with nothing but jeans and boots to protect my ability to walk/wear shorts. Or maybe it was just that empty feeling deep in my chest from not having reviewed anything lately. We'll never know for sure.
A quick jaunt over to my local Cycle Gear and I was in business. I really only had two choices: The Firstgear HT Overpant II, or something from Frank Thomas. I asked the nice guy behind the counter which pair floated his boat and he said that he ultimately preferred the Firstgear's. The Frank Thomas ones looked nice, but I think I was just attracted to how form fitting they looked, whereas the Firstgear Overpants were closer to snow pants than anything.
Looks are definitely important, because I'm vain like that, but functionality and practicality are what really counts. The Firstgear's won hands down because they were easy to take on and off and that's something that's very important in an overpant. If they were difficult to put on and take off I'd be less inclined to actually wear them when heading out.
$180 later and I was riding away from Cycle Gear with more protection on my legs than just stylish denim. Immediately a couple things became noticeable. The first was that they only used heavy Kevlar on the knees and the shins, but not on the but or hips which are another high contact area. What this meant for regular riding (not sliding across pavement) was that my lower half felt very slippery. My knees no longer gripped the tank, and my butt slid across the seat like an ice cube on linoleum. Under hard braking I had to squeeze the tank pretty tight to keep from dashing all future hopes of procreation. Also, different from my leather pants, there are no pads in the butt area to help cushion the ride. Granted the 'given' padding of wearing overpants was quite sufficient, I did miss the extra padding.
It was probably around 50 degrees out when I was riding and I had the full length removable down liner out of the pants and I was very comfortable. I imagine that in the winter having that liner back in will be very nice, although I've seldom complained about the temperature of my legs. It looks like Firstgear also makes an "air" version of these pants that utilizes alot more mesh and has a full length removable waterproof liner. The full length zippers down the side of each leg have an extra flap, and then a Velcro closure to really keep wind, and potentially rain out. As an overpant these zippers are what sold the pants for me. I can simply unzip the sides of the legs all the way to the hip, and step through the pants with my boots on and then just zip them back up. The pants also have two front pockets and a back right pocket. Regular zipper up fly with Velcro flap and button snap waist closure with adjustable sides for snugness (or not). The only thing I really have a problem with is that there's a nylon panel running behind the fly that prevents you from actually unzipping the fly and getting 'access' to your pants. This just means that if you have to stop and use the bathroom you're going to be doing it like a 6 year old in a public restroom.
The Good
Lots of zipper coverage and full length removable down liner make these pants a very formidable piece of cold weather gear. There's enough room inside to easily wear them over your jeans, khakis, or even shorts. The full length side zippers make taking these pants on or off a breeze and don't even require that you take your boots off to do so.
The Bad
Absolutely zero airflow means your legs will likely feel like steamed asparagus in the hot summer days. The somewhat 'accommodating' size of the pants makes you feel like you just hopped off the chair lift for the bunny hill. The lack of CE approved armor and only soft pads on the hips and knees leaves something to be desired. No abrasion resistant material on the hips of butt = hamburger-butt?
Just a general picture of the pants themselves:
A picture showing one of the legs half unzipped, revealing the removable soft knee pads:
Until that day folks. Thanks for reading.
I don't know what came over me the other day, but something inside me said I needed to buy some decent overpants for riding. Maybe it was the fact that I put over 3000 miles on the bike this past winter with nothing but jeans and boots to protect my ability to walk/wear shorts. Or maybe it was just that empty feeling deep in my chest from not having reviewed anything lately. We'll never know for sure.
A quick jaunt over to my local Cycle Gear and I was in business. I really only had two choices: The Firstgear HT Overpant II, or something from Frank Thomas. I asked the nice guy behind the counter which pair floated his boat and he said that he ultimately preferred the Firstgear's. The Frank Thomas ones looked nice, but I think I was just attracted to how form fitting they looked, whereas the Firstgear Overpants were closer to snow pants than anything.
Looks are definitely important, because I'm vain like that, but functionality and practicality are what really counts. The Firstgear's won hands down because they were easy to take on and off and that's something that's very important in an overpant. If they were difficult to put on and take off I'd be less inclined to actually wear them when heading out.
$180 later and I was riding away from Cycle Gear with more protection on my legs than just stylish denim. Immediately a couple things became noticeable. The first was that they only used heavy Kevlar on the knees and the shins, but not on the but or hips which are another high contact area. What this meant for regular riding (not sliding across pavement) was that my lower half felt very slippery. My knees no longer gripped the tank, and my butt slid across the seat like an ice cube on linoleum. Under hard braking I had to squeeze the tank pretty tight to keep from dashing all future hopes of procreation. Also, different from my leather pants, there are no pads in the butt area to help cushion the ride. Granted the 'given' padding of wearing overpants was quite sufficient, I did miss the extra padding.
It was probably around 50 degrees out when I was riding and I had the full length removable down liner out of the pants and I was very comfortable. I imagine that in the winter having that liner back in will be very nice, although I've seldom complained about the temperature of my legs. It looks like Firstgear also makes an "air" version of these pants that utilizes alot more mesh and has a full length removable waterproof liner. The full length zippers down the side of each leg have an extra flap, and then a Velcro closure to really keep wind, and potentially rain out. As an overpant these zippers are what sold the pants for me. I can simply unzip the sides of the legs all the way to the hip, and step through the pants with my boots on and then just zip them back up. The pants also have two front pockets and a back right pocket. Regular zipper up fly with Velcro flap and button snap waist closure with adjustable sides for snugness (or not). The only thing I really have a problem with is that there's a nylon panel running behind the fly that prevents you from actually unzipping the fly and getting 'access' to your pants. This just means that if you have to stop and use the bathroom you're going to be doing it like a 6 year old in a public restroom.
The Good
Lots of zipper coverage and full length removable down liner make these pants a very formidable piece of cold weather gear. There's enough room inside to easily wear them over your jeans, khakis, or even shorts. The full length side zippers make taking these pants on or off a breeze and don't even require that you take your boots off to do so.
The Bad
Absolutely zero airflow means your legs will likely feel like steamed asparagus in the hot summer days. The somewhat 'accommodating' size of the pants makes you feel like you just hopped off the chair lift for the bunny hill. The lack of CE approved armor and only soft pads on the hips and knees leaves something to be desired. No abrasion resistant material on the hips of butt = hamburger-butt?
Just a general picture of the pants themselves:
A picture showing one of the legs half unzipped, revealing the removable soft knee pads:
Until that day folks. Thanks for reading.
posted by Courtney Bodett at 9:28 PM
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