Member Contributer cozye Posted June 26, 2006 Member Contributer Share Posted June 26, 2006 did a quick search, didn't see any direct comparison between the two. Paul at New Enough has nice things to say about both. The HT Air's look a bit cooler and better constructed from the pics, but who knows? I Know leather is better, I have some JR speedmaster pants for my weekend spirited riding. I'm just looking for some overpants that are multi season to wear over my regular clothes for the occasional ride to work, riding to the gym over my shorts, etc... Which ones should I get ? Flowing air is important, as well as blocking out cold in cooler weather. Looks like the liner on either will achieve cold protection. I'm thinking the HT's will flow more air since it looks like they have more mesh per sq in ? I could go either way. Help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 I can't offer any comparisons between the two brands you are looking at, but I can speak highly of the FirstGear products. I wear the HT overpants (not the Air's) and the Kilimanjaro II jacket and they are great. My mesh gear is JR...but as soon as I can afford it, I plan on picking up a pair of the HT Air pants and a Kilimanjaro Air jacket. My HT pants are tolerable in warmer weather, so I am sure the Air's would be nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon28 Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 I can't offer any comparisons between the two brands you are looking at, but I can speak highly of the FirstGear products. I wear the HT overpants (not the Air's) and the Kilimanjaro II jacket and they are great. My mesh gear is JR...but as soon as I can afford it, I plan on picking up a pair of the HT Air pants and a Kilimanjaro Air jacket. My HT pants are tolerable in warmer weather, so I am sure the Air's would be nice. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Same here: I own a pair of FG Fuel pants and they are well constructed and appear to be high quality. Plus they are comfy until the temps get past 94 or 95, then it becomes a sweatfest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer benSV Posted June 26, 2006 Member Contributer Share Posted June 26, 2006 I've been using the JR pants for about 2 months now? They are OK, not great. Construction is much better then past JR gear I've looked at, they've come a long way in that aspect. Fit is very much "eh". I got mine from New Enough and these pants just don't seem to be sized properly for wearing them over jeans or dress pants. They are definitley sized as if you were wearing them alone. I first got the size based on my waist as directed by New Enough. Forget it... I couldn't even get them on over jeans. (Fit great without any pants on underneath, but that is not the purpose of buying them for me) I exchanged them for the next size up and I can get them over jeans but now the fit is not exactly "right" for riding a bike. The waist is too big, and the adjustable waist on the JR pants is pretty poorly designed. It's designed with rectangular rings on the "belt". Well you tighten the belt up with the rings oriented vertically as they are supposed to be... after you ride around a little while the rings rotate horizontal, opening up the waist about 1.5". They'll ride down as you ride, if it's raining very hard this will cause major crotch leak. I'm going to cut the plastic rectangular loops off the pants and use keychain rings instead... that way they cannot change waist size if the rings rotate. The other fit issue is the pants seem to work their way up your leg at the bottom as you ride and move around on the bike. The tops of the pants will end up way over the tops of your boots after a while, you need to take care to stop this if it's raining, and it worries me in terms of crashing too. Because the armor is adjustable in the knees to two positions I am able to get the armor in the right spot but I am still a bit worried if I crash in these. The fact that they ride up will be a problem in cold weather for sure I am guessing... you'll get air leakage up the pants. I have yet to wear them in cold weather though. The vents on the legs work great, if you were wearing them without any pants on underneath they are pretty much as good as mesh. The vents leak like crazy even with the covers zipped on though, so keep in mind you must keep the waterproof lining with you at all times if you need to stay dry. The other issue with using them in place of mesh is wearing street clothes under them completely negates the whole point of having a "cool" pair of pants for hot weather. I have First Gear Mesh pants, which fit flawlessly without pants underneath, I will stay much cooler and less sweaty for commuting if I just wear the first gear pants and accept that I will have to change into my work clothes in the bathroom. And if it's hot enough to need the mesh, if it rains I could care less. With no pants on underneath all I have to worry about is my underwear getting wet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer cozye Posted June 26, 2006 Author Member Contributer Share Posted June 26, 2006 great feedback guys. thanks. I won't order until tonight probably, so keep them coming. I was originally set on the alter ego's, but I have looked at the HT Air's in the last couple of days and they do look like nice pants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Funny, I just stepped out of my HT Air's a few minutes ago after a nice little ride. I can't say enough good about them, especially for the price newenough is selling them for now. I just came back (early June) from a trip from Wisconsin to Deals Gap and wore them every moment on the bike. I was however on my Harley, I didn't have the VFR yet. I tested the waterproofness (is that a word?) of them and they did ok, I didn't even bring a rainsuit with. The fabric would get wet and heavier but my skin stayed dry. In the N.C. heat (85+) they did well, flowed good air without the liner at speed and kept me comfortable with boxers underneath. Last week on the VFR it was 57 degrees here and I went out with just boxers underneath and no liner and they were cool. Today low 60's and damp, so I zipped the liner in and was perfect! I can't comment on the JR pants, but the HT's are a sure bet IMHO. I still plan to add the hiprotech pads for the hip area just because. The knee armor is ok, soft but would be better than nothing. I'd say order the size you wear in jeans. I did and they are plenty oversized for over pants or they work with shorts/underwear alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer benSV Posted June 26, 2006 Member Contributer Share Posted June 26, 2006 Hey Hog... any comment on whether or not the cruiser style works better in this aspect? Sitting on the VFR in *EXTREME* rain... I will get water puddling up between the crotch of my pants and the bike's tank. If it's raining hard enough a puddle builds up in this space, eventually filling up the entire area, going under my jacket, and then up to the top of my pants. Once it gets high enough the water just flows over the top of the pants, negating any waterproofing. (Dedicated rain gear does fix this) Just curious if the alternate riding position was better in this aspect. Also same issue with the arms. In heavy enough rain unless I have glove covers or drawstring gauntlets the water will run down the sleeve of my jacket and into the insides of the glove. I can't help but wonder if having your handlebars higher is better in this aspect, although I figure unless you have ape hangers you will still have this problem on any Cruiser or Custom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Oh I'd have no doubt the riding position of my Ultra would help keep me drier. I'm not talking about all the extra protection from the fairing and the lowers either. I had no pooling of water but I sure can see how that could be an issue with the sporty position of the VFR. The HT Air pants are quite high waisted however, I can't imagine the water rising that high (the waterproof liner is equally as high). That's interesting, guess you'd have to stand up on the pegs here and there to keep the water moving, hope I don't need to find out anytime soon lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 1, 2006 Share Posted July 1, 2006 I have Hein Gerike over pants. They are comfortable,resonably priced and offer good protection. They have a removable liner for the summer. I wear them in 14F to 92F weather. I also have cortech gx air over pants which are great also, but the hein gericke have adjustable waste bands which come in quite handy after aquiring a descent beer gut. :goofy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 12, 2006 Share Posted July 12, 2006 Don't know if this will help or confuse you more... I have the JR Phoenix and JR Balistic Pants. The Balistic Pants are warm enough, but in my case (earlier model maybe) the liner isn't removeable, and for me it's a sweatbox. Anything JR makes with that Dry Tech liner is a sweatbox with me, maybe it's me, but I don't usually use those liners... they don't breath or something. The JR Phoenix pants are ok, fit seems ok whether I'm wearing pants underneath or not, but they don't come with a liner and as the other fella mentioned, they do seem a bit loose and not real snug. I normally wear them with shorts underneath, and normally when I'm wearing those, I'm not too worried about rain. My one complaint is the side zipper, it only goes one way, and believe it or not, there are times when I'd like to get a bit more air in if even for a little bit by sliding the zipper down some from my waist... well, you can't do that, you have to reach down and zip them up, which to me, sorta defeats any purpose of wearing them... plus its a bit of a hassle while on the go. I've been looking to add something to the ensemble that will work better when touring, as usually the Phoenix isn't enough unless I'm riding around FLA and the Balistic is usually too much... and I'm not real sold that the Alter Ego's are the solution. I have the AE Jacket, and it's ok, but no thermal liner, which I suppose is ok since I have a heated liner anyway, but still I would like to have that... y'know, makes it an all climate type set... I don't know enough about FG stuff to comment... But, I am pretty impressed with this Cortech stuff... great versatility and seemingly sturdy construction with tons of ventiliation... rumor has it they are coming out with a new set of pants to go with their Jacket that is similar to the Alter Ego (don't know the name), so I'm kinda hanging out until I see those... as their jackets are pretty nice. YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Hoopster Posted July 12, 2006 Member Contributer Share Posted July 12, 2006 I can't say this enough. The JR alter ego pants are perfect all year long. Good protection, stay cool, stay warm, stay dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest juslookin Posted July 14, 2006 Share Posted July 14, 2006 I can't say this enough. The JR alter ego pants are perfect all year long. Good protection, stay cool, stay warm, stay dry. I agree. I've got the JR alter ego's too, and they're great. They are a bit snug though when wearing them over pants or jeans, but I'm not a really big guy anyway, but it's not at all uncomfortable, just snug is all. I had to wait 4 weeks for them to come in from New Enough though a few months back, so hopefully they've gotten more in stock since then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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