Is a riding (Aerostich) suit worth it? Do you use your riding suit?

[JerseyRider]

Its time to make sure that I am ready to cover some country in the spring on the TTSE.  I am looking at the general cost of touring gear from TourMaster, Klim, Rev It, CoreTech, Alpinestar and others.  The cost of a set of pants and jacket is going to be costly in any event.  I am considering the Aerostich suit and am wondering why it may be worth investing even more?

While I see Aerostich mentioned often in various threads, I have not seen any thread dedicated to a discussion of the idea of wearing a suit.  Does it end up being practical and used?  There must be a number of forum members using this product that can offer some input concerning their experience with an Aerostich suit or any riding suit?

[GarminDave]

Over my riding life, I have owned three Roadcrafter suits, one after the other.  For me, they are perfect and are my go-to gear. 

I change them about every 5 years which relates to about 125,000 miles.  I use them in all weathers.

It is costly buying them in Uk as we get high carriage costs and import tax and duties so I have been looking at alternate suits for when I'm ready to replace and I like the KLIM Kodiak, also the Rukka looks good.

But currently I use my Roadcrafter3 and am very happy with it.

[JerseyRider]

Originally Posted by GarminDave

Over my riding life, I have owned three Roadcrafter suits, one after the other.  For me, they are perfect and are my go-to gear. 

I change them about every 5 years which relates to about 125,000 miles.  I use them in all weathers.

It is costly buying them in Uk as we get high carriage costs and import tax and duties so I have been looking at alternate suits for when I'm ready to replace and I like the KLIM Kodiak, also the Rukka looks good.

But currently I use my Roadcrafter3 and am very happy with it.

Thanks very helpful. It is an economic decision for sure.   

[Djhan486]

I have an Olympia one piece suit. A remarkable piece of equipment if only for the acres of Velcro. I wore it today in 44 degree weather, kept me toasty warm. I have worn it in heat, too, and beyond 90 degrees F it slowly roasts me, though it does vent well. It also keeps me dry in brief showers, not sure about heavy or sustained rain. It is easy to get in and out of even with boots on. It is heavy and takes up a lot of room. Armored everywhere.

I like it but it's a bit much when it gets hot. I love it for cooler weather though. Black and hi-viz yellow. I can fit it easily in the top case with room to spare.

[thogland]

When I got back into riding about 12 years ago, I initially just bought a jacket and chaps. Ended up I was putting better than 5k miles on the bike every year, and really wanted something more weather-proof. Like you I saw lots of comments on the Aerostich gear, but they're spendy (and I'm cheap). Found a one-piece used and grabbed it. Amazing how convenient it is for commuting - in 30 seconds you're in it and ready to go. Used suits in decent shape are usually in the $400 range, and (assuming you don't crash in it or gain/lose a lot of weight) it'll last 10-20 years with some care (mainly washing and re-treating).

Couple years ago I grabbed a Transit2 suit that someone didn't like. Love it, but the two-piece design means it's not as convenient getting into and out of. But, it's waterproof leather, which is amazing considering how much rain I ride in.

[Luckycharms]

I love my Aerostich R3 suit for commuting. There is nothing better then being able to zip out of my suit and be in my work clothes in less then 30 sec.

I don't think there is anything better for commuting. That being said I do not tour in it. I prefer to wear dedicated riding "under layers" when I'm touring and the R3 suit isn't conducive to this unless you want to either wear your suit when stopping to eat, or have no issues eating in basically your underwear.

I wear a Rev'it Poseidon suit when long distance touring and much prefer to just take off my jacket when at stops. It also makes changing under layers much easier as I can easily take off the jacket to take on or pull off a fleece under layer. Again, unless your're ok with stripping down to your underwear at a gas stop to change. This all assumes that your're touring during summer when you're not wearing normal street clothes under your riding suit as it would be too hot for hours of riding.

Your're in luck. Aerostich is having a pop up event right near you next weekend - http://www.aerostich.com/cherryhill18

I've been to two of them and it's great to be able to go there, touch, feel, and try on all the different suits. They will also size you correctly and you get to sit on your bike to see how it feels.

I love both of my riding suits but I use them for different purposes. Even Andy the owner of Aerostich has stated he uses a Darien 2 piece suit for long touring and a 1 piece roadcrafter for commuting and around the town riding.

[BigPoppa]

I recently bought my first one piece commuting/touring suit. I bought a Joe Rocket Survivor suit since it was about the same cost as a decent jacket. For $400 US I’m very happy with the suit. I’ve worn it on my daily commute off and on for a month now and I have to admit that I will primarily wear it for either rides over a couple of hours or during inclement weather. It’s still a bit of an inconvenience to wear it for daily commuting, especially if I want to run errands during my lunch break on the bike.

[Volfy]

I ride all year round here and temp/humidity vary from one extreme to another.  I've got a closet full of gear I rotate depending on the prevailing conditions.  I do have 1-piece track leathers, but it's only zipped up 20-mins at a time.  A road riding suit probably would not cover a wide enough range of weather to be worthwhile for me.