What's the story on BILT Hurricane Waterproof Motorcycle Boots

Has anyone tried the BILT stuff? (Cyclegear).

I'm looking for a new pair of waterproof boots and at $79 (50% off) they seem hard to beat but given the low price I'm nervous and wanted to know if anyone had taken the "plunge" and bought these boots?

They also off a shorter pair the Typhoon for $60....

Thanks!

I noticed those today too, look pretty good for the price. I need a boot something like this for the 90% street rides on the GC.

anyone have a pair.....bueller....bueller

You get what you pay for. I bought some Bilt waterproof gloves, and the only thing they did was keep the water in the glove!!! Got wet in no time, then when I was able to pull my hand out of the wet glove, the inner insulation was pulled out w/ my hand. Impossible to get my hand back in while the gloves were wet. I wore them once and gave them away.


BTW---the gloves were crap I will never buy Bilt shit again. I left a less than glowing review and just checked to see if it was posted...wow it was. (Tornado waterproof glove)

yeah, I was very disappointed when CG dropped Frank Thomas in favor of the BILT junk. For economy priced stuff the Thomas equipment was pretty good. the missus had a pair of Thomas boots. 100% waterproof and very sturdy. I had a set of gloves. Loved them good fit, good protection. Finally wore them out after three years.

Yea I know you guys are right about getting what you pay for, I own a pair of Sidi Discovery's that are 7 yrs old and still have another 5 yrs in them at least!
I was just thinking about a pair of more road oriented boots that I would rarely wear, but if the first time it rained and I got two "soakers" I would be sorry.

I bought a pair of the Bilt Hurricanes and I also bought a pair of pants Sedici Veneto Textile Pants. I have the pant legs over the boots.

I rode about 3 hours in constant drizzle in them...No heavy downpour stuff...My feet or legs for that matter didn't get wet...Take it for what's it's worth...So far I'm happy with them...(though I cut off the Bilt lettering...don't need to let the world know I'm a cheap skate )

What I was told at CG was that the guy that started/owned Frank Thomas, sold it to some Japanese company, who ran it in to the ground in a hurry. So he took all his contacts and such and started Bilt.

I have had mine about 6 months, mainly for commuting. No problems here.

Interesting. The guy at our CG said FT was an independent British company and that CG dumped them to sell BILT which was wholly owned by CG.

This is incorrect... Below poster has the correct story...

Bilt is CG's in house brand. After they dropped Frank Thomas (who partially had bankruptcy issues...) they opted to try to create their own line of imported gear. The FT gear was on the whole far above the quality of any of the Bilt / Sedici gear, and even the FT was hit or miss depending on the product.

CG stores have more or less ditched all of their quality gear and now push their house stuff as hard as possible, selling cheaper gear that gives them more of a profit in comparison to selling other vendors' brands. Quality has gone down the shitter. Most of their stores are now full of Bilt/Sedici products, and it's hard to find anything else on the counters. They even ditched HiFlo filters and only stock K&N at this point. It's a pretty sad state of affairs; I don't expect their new business model to last very long. Word has spread pretty rapidly around the net in regards to the substantial drop in quality.

I wouldn't chance it. Watch for other products on closeout and try to purchase some quality gear. I'm pretty disappointed in CG and wouldn't count on Bilt products being worth your while.

I don't know...not all the Bilt is worthless...yes most of it is low end gear...but some of the gear in there has been marketed by others and is not half bad...The Demon Gauntlets were marketed by MotoBoss and aren't to bad...I have the MotoBoss version and they held up very well...actually crashed in them and they held up...and also didn't get wet while in that 3 hour drizzle...I also noticed some of the Bilt helmets look like versions of my old KBC VR2 and one of the helmets looks almost like a Scorpion Exo1000 other than how the visor attaches...

I own 2 Sedici pants and I'm real happy with them...I have the Monza leather pants and they breath very well...matter of fact to well when it gets cold...and the Veneto Textile Pants didn't leak in the drizzle...so far I'm pretty happy with them...

Like has been said...You get pretty much what you pay for...do some research before buying stuff or don't get upset when your low end gear fails...which you should do for all your gear...I mean even High End Gear sometimes is junk...I've enjoyed my Alpinestar Tx-1 Leather Jacket...but I've heard others complain about some of the A* Gloves...

I just purchased a pair of the hurricane boots from cg , Talking to a guy who had them for 6 months and he said nothing but good things about them ! I got mine for 70.00 so if they dont work out , they do have a good return policy

Is Alpinestar good stuff? When I look at the boots(at least) in the store they look like junk. Never had a pair and probably never will do them (the boots at least) looking like junk

I looked at those boots after good experience with the BiLT Trackstar boots ($70). I've used Trackstars for summer commuting, and have been happy. Had them for a year so far, and they've held up perfectly. They don't compare to more expensive boots I own in terms of track protection, but they are more than adequate commuters and a very good value for the dollar. 5 year warranty should ease concerns somewhat. But after looking at the Hurricanes in detail because of need for something waterproof and more 4 season appropriate, I concluded they weren't as good quality for value as $100 Tourmaster Solution Boots. You may want to take a look at the Solution 2.0 for a good value, waterproof commuting and touring boot. My Tourmasters have been perfect in rain and are quite comfortable. The build quality appeared to me to be significantly better than these BiLTs.

More generally on CycleGear branded stuff, it isn't like CycleGear is designing its own stuff. They simply go to the same few factories in Pakistan that make 80% of the gear out there, buy the same models you'd get with other brands, then cut out the middle man by branding it themselves. The basic quality varies, but as a general rule it is adequate with BiLT stuff and good with Sedici stuff. You can compare some of the Sedici stuff side by side with good quality Cortech or Teknic gear, for example, and find identical gear. Sedici comes with a lifetime warranty. This sort of approach by CycleGear makes sense to me.

That said, my experiences have been mixed. Good experience with my Trackstar boots. Bad experience with BiLT gloves - though only 19 bucks and actually fairly well constructed and protective, there is a flaw in the glove closure that could be problematic in a getoff. I've tried on the Sedici Laguna boots and found them nearly identical to Cortech Latigos I own and love, but I see from reviews there were some minor differences in the sole that prove to be critical problems. The Sedici Monza leather jacket, on the other hand, looks outstanding.

So I guess what I'm saying is, don't get caught up in branding. Look at what you want out of the gear, and then goto a CycleGear and actually look at the item before you buy. Some of the BiLT stuff is decent, some of it isn't. Most of the Sedici stuff is good. The value is definitely there in the CycleGear brands if you are thoughtful about it. If you want good value waterproof touring boots, though, go with Tourmaster Solution 2.0s instead of the BiLT Hurricanes.

Does not matter whose waterproof boot/glove you buy, any brand. Give 'em the bucket test prior to using them. We make waterproof stuff for a living. All lined products are subject to production quality. Low end stuff most of the time will have a lower QC factor than high end. But check 'em ALL first thing.

Everybody has a story about their XYZ gear was @@@@@@. Check it with the bucket first.

The bucket test works great for brand new stuff...but doesn't tell you how well it will wear...

After 3500+ miles...the Hurricanes are leaking around the toe in heavy down pours...In 30 min. my feet are soaked...Going to see how the warranty holds up...

I'm about to test that warranty the next time I go to Cyclegear. I'm completely unsatisfied with my Trackstars. The plastic eats into the back of the boot and tears it up near the little reflector after a while.

Even if I just get store credit that'd be okay since they still carry Fox Bomber gloves.

This goes to KingofFleece's point about variable quality on lower-end items. Mine have been great, but clearly some concerns in others. A similar issue, which has been resolved, came up with the Tourmaster Solution 2.0 boots I recommend - an early factory run had waterproofing issues. Tourmaster addressed the issue and is doing better QC now with good results, so I feel good recommending them -- they've been the best boots I've owned overall, including much more expensive ones. That said, good point about the need fo extra vigilence on quality of construction for lower cost items. You can find great value out there, but you need to work harder.

They certainly look similar don't they... but check the leather thikness. Sedici feels real nice but the leather is as thick as a piece of tissue paper on some of those gloves. The 'carbon fiber' knuckles are plastic welded on rather than held in place with proper leather and stitching. It looks like their spec is the same as those for the bike show carboard box bargain bin stuff. I bought a pair of leather sedici vented gloves because I was in a pinch and there was nothing else at the store at the time. They have held up so far and they aren't bad for $30 but I really don't want to test them out. I keep them as my spare summer set in the bottom of the bags.

I'm all for cheaper gear, less logos, etc... but it's got to come with protection and I'm jut not seeing it. Heck if Sedici is the upscale line of Bilt, WTF is Bilt?

We have a local Cycle Gear store, and I see a lot of Bilt stuff around. I see quite a few of the MSF students show up with Bilt stuff. A pro side argument is "Hey, it gets the folks started on the path to WEARING gear on the bike". When I talk to the folks, most of them seem to be OK with the stuff, no complaints. No personal experience with Bilt, though.