| Author | Message | ||
     Tattdbueller |
Does anyone have one of these? Do these have very good protection? I would like to find a suit made similar that I could wear in the summer and layer beneath in the winter. Any ideas? I looked around, but could'nt find anything. Any help is appreciated. Thanks. | ||
| Henrik |
I have an earlier version, and friends of mine use the Mark ?? for track days. We have all crashed too many times in those suits, and the suits hold up *very* well. The perforation is nice on hot summer days, but still not enough unless you're moving. As for layering - well, the way I see it, one of the protective values of a leather suit comes from a good fit, which unfortunately would eliminate all but very thin layering. For cold weather riding, you'll be hard pressed finding anything better than the newer waterproof cordura suits. Aerostitch makes one of the better known suits. Not quite sure that's what you wanted to hear, but that's my 0.2  Henrik | ||
| Tattdbueller |
I just want something to wear that's versatile. A full leather suit would fry my a$$ in summer, so I want the best ventilated suit I can find. Most of my riding is twisty backroads. No track days yet. But, the more aggressive I ride, the more I realize I better get some full body protection, not just a jacket and gloves. | ||
| Djkaplan |
The perforated Vansons are useless in cold weather. Even with the inside flaps zippered up, it'll balloon up at speed. As stated earlier, if the jacket fits properly, you can't layer too much under it - a windbreaker and thermal underwear pretty much takes up all the room and that's not enough to keep me warm in a Georgia winter. As far as crash protection, the perforated material is incredible. I took a swan dive into the pavement after highsiding and did the slip and slide on my chest until I stopped. Not a scratch me (at least the Vanson covered portions) and the leather came right back to life after I polished it with some Kiwi boot black. There is a good reason why Vanson products cost so much. | ||
| Tattdbueller |
Any pics of your suits guys? Cost? | ||
| Danny_h__jesternut |
Perforated Vanson Leather, full armor, I'm good down to 45*F for an hour or two in the back roads. Layered underneath I got, teeshirt, long sleeve thermal,toped off with sweat shirt. Don't realy ride much below 45*F. Brrrrr. But if I jest gota ride below 45* I gotz solid leathers,no armor, be extra carefull. Summer perforated jacket/full armor is white/orange = light colors reflect the sun, adsorb less heat, stays cooler. Winter solid jacket/no armor is black/orange = dark colors absorb sun/heat, stays wormer. | ||
| Chainsaw |
I've got the Vanson Vent Max II Shirt. I like it, wish it had more protection. No integral padding and will only accept a back pad. Leather on the shoulders and elbows. Better than just a shirt. Might save you from some road rash, not broken bones. I wore mine alot this summer when the temps were in the 90's. The next version, the Mark III, is supposed to have armor. | ||
| Henrik |
Mike; it sounds like you're looking for a "do-it-all" suit, and for convenience and versatility the Roadcrafter and similar suits are hard to beat. Even for "spirited" street riding, these suits, if fitted with good armor, have very good (I'm hesitant to say adequate  ) protection. Most of these suits have lots of vents, which combined with a water soaked t-shirt underneath will give a good amount of cooling - at least as long as the shirt is still damp. Henrik | ||
| Tattdbueller |
I looked into the Roadcrafter...not my style. I think I'll go with some leathers with good armor and plan on loosing some lbs. during the summer. Maybe a Mark III to wear to and from the office. | ||
| Tombo |
I have a lot of Vanson products and like them better than other riding gear I have owned or tried. The Night Falcon is a great two piece that accepts full armor and has zip open ventilation that is hard to beat. It is cordura with leather patches inside but they also make a leather version with a different name. I also have a Streamliner vest, it is very warm and very thin. | ||
| Tattdbueller |
I started looking around at kneedraggers,newenough,etc... I just want solid black with good protection. They are expensive, but so are doctor bills. | ||
| Johnb |
A few of us have been watching for more info on Vanson VentMax Shirt Mark3 Edition here abouts: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/3842/143492.html?1125701860 http://66.155.123.195/product_pages/jackets/vx3.htm Kinda wish there was a pic of the VX3 Men's plain version and more info about fitting CE armor.. | ||
| Tattdbueller |
I too want the plain version. I also see they have vent pants with armor at the hip and knee. I did'nt see any info telling us if these two pieces will zip together. I would really like this capability. I think I'll call Vanson today and ask a few questions. | ||
| Henrik |
I looked into the Roadcrafter...not my style. I figured as much  As far as protection you won't go wrong with the Mark III. I'm looking to buy one soon. My old Velocity suit is being put out to pasture. Vanson gets used rental suits back from Penguin Racing once a year. This year it'll be about 2nd week of December. These suits are broken in and pre-crashed and can be had for a good price. That's how I bought my Velocity. Of course you're stuck with off-the-rack sizing and whatever style they have. Henrik | ||
| Tattdbueller |
Called Vanson, no luck, the Mark III Mesh Jacket does not have a zipper for connecting to pants. Wish they made a suit in mesh. Would'nt be too good in winter, but would rock in summer. |
