Olympia Pants EZ Hem

[Guest ebnash]

I am wondering if any of you have purchased any of the Olypmia pants with the EZ Hem. I purchased these pants with the belief that I could go to pretty much any tailor/seamstress and have them hemmed for a reasonable price, as they claim on the website...

I am a 30-31 inseam so pant length is always an issue. I finally found some off the self gear that would be easily altered to fit me correctly. I bought the pants and when I looked at the bottom of the legs, I could instantly see that this wasn't going to be just a hem job. Fist off, there are pants and liner that both need to be hemmed. Secondly, the Velcro would need to be sectioned and stitched. Third, the Velcro cincher at the bottom would need to be re-located. Lastly, the retainer for the liners to stay at the bottom of the pants would need to be re-located as well.

So I called half a dozen tailor/seamstress joints and all of them said they wouldn't touch motorcycle gear. One finally agreed to see me and she said that she wasn't willing to work on the pants. I already had an idea that this wasn't going to be as easy as Olympia claimed...

Finally, I contacted the dealer where I purchased the pants and explained the situation. They had heard these issues before with altering moto gear. They referred me to a local leather guy and he agreed to do the alterations for $70. So much for $15-$20 max as Olympia claimed.

My $200 pants needed $70 worth of alteration work and I don't blame the leather outfit one bit. When I visited a couple other local custom moto gear places, they said they wouldn't even touch them for less than $100.

Has anyone had an easy hem experience with these pants? If so, what kind of shop did the alterations for you and did they actually re-locate all of the original attachments?

Thanks,

Erik

[Knife]

I looked at those pants and decided not to buy them because I just could not figure out how the hell they could easily be hemmed. Looked like way more work than it was worth. My one-piece is also supposed to be "easily hemmed". What a joke!

[pm_wizard]

I looked at those pants and decided not to buy them because I just could not figure out how the hell they could easily be hemmed. Looked like way more work than it was worth. My one-piece is also supposed to be "easily hemmed". What a joke!

I usually find it is more effective to take a bit out of the thigh instead. My problem is that by the time I get a pair of pants that fit my waist the knee pads are headed for my ankles! It is often a relatively uncomplicated job to take 1 - 2 inches out of the thigh length and not worry about aall the fasteners etc at the cuff.

Fortunately I have found a lady that used to make leather racing suits and now alters ski gear and motorcycle suits. Great work and a great price too!

John

[Guest]

Well I paid $65 at Johnson's Leather in San Francisco and when I picked them up, you couldn't even tell they were ever worked on. They relocated every Velcro strip and button attachment. Very impressive, but the guy also told me if anyone else came in with the same job, he would probably charge closer to $80 since there was so much work involved. Keep in mind that both the pant and liner have there own inner liners that have to be trimmed and sewn as well.

[zx5go]

I had trouble finding a local shop to work on mine so I contacted my aunt. She doesn't specifically work on clothing but has a craft store and makes quilts, does embroidery, etc. I knew she worked with heavier materials and should have the machines to do the work. I didn't originally go to her because I don't like to beg favors from family. Anyway she adjusted mine to about a 31.5" length and you'd never know they were touched. She charged me $10 and said that it was not easy and for anyone else it would have cost much more. At the time I was much more concerned with having them altered correctly than what it would cost. I love my Olympia gear but I think they should either perform the alteration or send them out to be altered for you and just include that as an additional charge/option.

[elizilla]

Heh. I should post some picture of the jacket I've been altering this weekend. I took a before pic, and I could take a work-in-progress pic this evening. Hmmmm, brb...

[elizilla]

OK, here's my alterations tale. I'm 5'11 and female, and have a narrow waist even for a woman. All the women's stuff is too short. Men's pants are hopeless and I've now had more than one pair of leather pants custom made, at a cost I shudder to think of. But at least men's jackets are potentially OK. The main difficulty I have with the jackets, is that men's waists are lower than women's, and their hips are narrower. Jackets that fit me in the shoulders and have a good sleeve length, are often way too tight at the hem, because the point where they nip in for a man's waist, falls closer to my hips.

I recently picked up this Fieldsheer jacket that was fairly simple, and which fit me in the shoulders and the sleeve length. In between, it's lumpy. I'd ignore that, except that when something fits so poorly, the armor doesn't stay where it should; it migrates. But this jacket seemed more easily altered than most. It's unlined, and not too complex. Complex things with a hundred pockets and multiple layers are impossible. Also, this jacket has some stretch, so it's softer and more forgiving than most.

Here's the before picture. Note that it has a velcro waist adjustment. On a guy, this would actually fall at a narrow point. on me, it's at the hips and every time I move, it's going to ride up. Fortunately with the straps apart, it's large enough, though it's still a little tighter there, than I would like.

Here's the work in progress picture. I moved the adjustment straps up, not just to my waist, but slightly higher, because that fits best while sitting on a bike. I actually sewed the back end of the straps to the widest spot on the back armor, so when it's strapped in place, that back protector shouldn't go anywhere.

Next, I'm planning to accentuate the shirt-tail hem shape just a little, so the spot where it is tight at the bottom edge, won't ride up. I'd just shorten it altogether, but then the pockets would become a problem - they need the length in front. And I'd have to move the zipper, ick. Though I guess if I move the zipper I could also make the neck opening smaller, lol!

But the harder part is actually going to be the sleeves. Notice how wide they are on me. I need to move the anchor points of the straps, farther apart. I might attach them to the armor pockets as well; that will keep the elbows in place if they slide down the road. I haven't decided whether to try to take any of the excess fabric out. That would be a big job, and also, I'd have to figure out what to do with the "FIELDSHEER" labels. They're embroidered so I can't just remove them, and they'd look stupid cut off at the ends. So if I do that, I'll hide them under a reflective strip or a piece of decorative trim.

I'm not going to change the waterproof liner. It's thin, and who cares if it's all bunchy in there under the jacket? The outside shell is the important part, it's what keeps the armor where it belongs.

By the time I finish this, I'll have more hours into it, than if I made a jacket from scratch. But the materials are hard to source and there aren't any patterns so I'd have to fiddle a lot anyways.

Usually the men's size medium jackets are the best for me, but this one is actually a small. I'm almost wondering if I should have started with an XS! The saleswoman at Iron Pony said the Fieldsheer stuff runs large and she wasn't kidding.

Anyway, yeah, alterations are a pain!