Bilt Explorer Gear

[hansi]

Originally Posted by Hikertrash

Absolutely. The Cycle Gear Bilt line is much better made, has better protection and will last much longer than any BMW and Klim gear.

[Stromtrooper246]

Originally Posted by Hikertrash

Absolutely. The Cycle Gear Bilt line is much better made, has better protection and will last much longer than any BMW and Klim gear.

Troll?

Honestly though, CG is running this special through the end of the month,

From now until 1/30/2013, buy the BILT Explorer Adventure Jacket at regular price and get the BILT Explorer Adventure Pants, BILT Explorer Urban Rider Adventure Gloves, and the BILT Explorer Adventure Helmet free! Call 1-800-CYCLEGEAR (1-800-292-5343) to take advantage of this great deal!

For this price you couldn't go wrong if it only last a few seasons.

As far as comparing it to Klim... The difference in the protection is immense, Bilt uses memory foam in the back and basic CE armor in the shoulders and elbows while Klim uses their D30 armor. Certainly an upgrade.

CG has fold-over pockets and Klim uses true waterproof zippers.... Then there is the material and the use of Gore fabrics.

Again, you get what you pay for.

Is the Klim worth $900? I honestly don't know but seriously doubt it. That being said, I am still giving it and the pants serious consideration.

But for $399 to get jacket, pants, helmet, and gloves??? I may buy it just to write the review.

[wliggy]

I was at a cycle gear last weekend, just killing some time. I happened to see this stuff on display. The pants seem VERY similar to my Triumph Kalahari adventure pants. Like same waterproof pockets, stitching, ect. I have enjoyed my kalahari's. only thing with them I have found is the waterproof-ness has about an hour limit haha. I also have the triumph mesh adventure pants, and same deal, the bilt stuff looks to be made in same factory. The knee pads hurt after 6 hours or so. I replaced them with the orange ones that comes in the klim stuff (cant remember the brand). And have been very happy with them.
If I am on a long trip and I am expecting it to be wet and cold,,, i will probably stick with my old rally 2 stuff. But do like having them for short trips with better weather.

[150ron]

I went in to check out the new explorer boots, and ended up getting the Hurricane waterproof boots, $79 bucks instead of $149, been testing the shit out of em, rain, mud, trails, sand, dirt, pretty damn good and comfortable,



I see a lot of shit talking about the Bilt brand, been working great for me.

[VACommuter]

Dumped the bike on the highway about 2 months ago (flat tire). Had on the Bilt 3/4 waterproof jacket and it did its thing. Rubbed through to the armor in a few places and ground down a few snaps. No rash on me. I was wearing the waterproof boots too. Ground down the toe where it was trapped between the bike and road and ended up breaking my big toe in two places. Back on the bike and still wearing those boots. Even before the mishap found that the boots were NOT waterproof. Seemed to get wet either low through the zipper or through the upper and sole seam. Got some gortex socks and the problem solved. I find the boots comfy and easy to put on/off. I went back to CG to get new gear. Bought the same jacket, a pair of the pants and the exporer helmet. The helmet fits real nice and is fairly quiet. It replaced my AFX-39 that was trashed in the mishap. Two complaints: The ear cups are really not deep enough for my scala rider speakers. I really got used to that cam helmet strap that AFX uses. Much easier to secure the helmet than the standard buckle on the Bilt. I tried on that brown/tan explorer gear and loved the look and features but it just didn't fit right. Seems that all of the different models of gear fit differently. Probably different manufacturers. Bottom line is the price is good, they have a huge selection so I could try on multiple sizes and styles of gear. I'm also losing weight so I didn't want to invest heavily in gear that might end up too big. The jacket passed the crash test in my book and the gear seems as adequate as other Olympia, Tourmaster, and Firstgear stuff I have. Just my two cents.

VAC

[BaileyAZ]

Stopped by CG today to check out the Adventure (or Explorer, I cant remember) Helmet for $69. They tried to sell me on the the whole set for $399.99 as previously stated. I felt like I was at a car dealership. Probably would have picked up the helmet for $69, but was turned off by the hight pressure sales. The helmet was not the best quality and the fit was fine. It would probably be a fine helmet until you really needed it to do it's job. Just my $.02.

[Hikertrash]

Originally Posted by Stromtrooper246

Troll?

Honestly though, CG is running this special through the end of the month,

From now until 1/30/2013, buy the BILT Explorer Adventure Jacket at regular price and get the BILT Explorer Adventure Pants, BILT Explorer Urban Rider Adventure Gloves, and the BILT Explorer Adventure Helmet free! Call 1-800-CYCLEGEAR (1-800-292-5343) to take advantage of this great deal!

For this price you couldn't go wrong if it only last a few seasons.

As far as comparing it to Klim... The difference in the protection is immense, Bilt uses memory foam in the back and basic CE armor in the shoulders and elbows while Klim uses their D30 armor. Certainly an upgrade.

CG has fold-over pockets and Klim uses true waterproof zippers.... Then there is the material and the use of Gore fabrics.

Again, you get what you pay for.

Is the Klim worth $900? I honestly don't know but seriously doubt it. That being said, I am still giving it and the pants serious consideration.

But for $399 to get jacket, pants, helmet, and gloves??? I may buy it just to write the review.

I was being sarcastic towards the poster above me saying Bilt was so great that Klim and BMW is a rip off. You can't compare the 2, they're totally different leagues and quality. The CG deal is a fantastic deal for those just getting into the sport. Personally, I would rather buy better quality gear used, than cheap gear new, but I still don't think you could buy a jacket, pants, helmet and gloves for that price used. I do find the promotional video amusing though. Like a guy who drops $25K on a GSA is gonna settle for a $400 complete Cycle Gear riding outfit.

[Stromtrooper246]

Sarcasm? Oh now I see!

I figured as much and I tend to agree with you. For the money, this may be a good set for the wife.

The more time I spend researching this the more I'm leaning to the Badlands set.

[Stromtrooper246]

So I went ahead and got the Air jacket and Explorer pants/helmet/gloves for the wife today. The Air jacket uses two zip in liners, one being quilted and the other, I'm assuming, is a waterproof liner.

The construction looks to be okay but certainly not the same as Aerostich or Klim. She was able to fit into the off the rack stuff they had in stock which was a plus.

For the amount of time she will spend on her bike I'm sure this gear will be fine. We have a trip planned later this month so we will see how it works out.

[travisn000]

I just bought the air jacket, water pant, and helmet.. here is my thoughts after 2 1/2 hours in light rain, 40 +/- degrees, mixed pavement, gravel, and mud, followed the next day by two hours on a highway commute:

Air jacket: I really like the jacket.. it fits well, seems pretty well built, and well designed. With the inner layers removed it feels very light and well ventilated, but plenty warm and dry with layers in. My biggest complaint here is that they should have put more velcro on the wrist and waist; I would like to be able to snug it up a bit more, but there isn't enough velcro. My other complaint is that shoulder and elbow armor seems a little wimpy, but then again, the borrowed Thor jacket I was wearing didn't have any...

Pants: Before even riding in these, I had my reservations... the build quality did not seem too great.. many loose & sloppy seams, especially in the quilted liner. The seam on the rubber gripper on the waist belt is comming apart after just two rides.. I think I will be exchanging these soon; hopefully the next ones are better built, as I like the over-all fit and they did keep me mosltly dry and plenty warm (I had a small area just above my belt buckle that got wet after a few hours in light rain with a 50/50 mix of hiway speeds & slower gravel / dirt / mud road riding... the space between the coat and pant).

Helmet: This is my first helmet of this type, so i don't have much to compare it too.. in general I'm pretty happy with it; it has a great field of vision, but is slightly more noisy compared to my previous street helmet; I assume that a helmet of this style will have more wind noise, so this fit with my expectations. The snap for the chin strap is made from soft plastic and I expect that the first time I try and snap it with a little mud in it it will probably ruin the snap.. I hope that it is covered by the warranty! The "missing" lip for opening and closing the wind screen is really a non-issue.. there is an edge that is easy to open it with, even with heavier winter gloves. I wear glasses, and I do find it a little difficult to slip my glasses over my ears.. i prefer having to deal with this over having a helmet that is loose fitting, but it might be nice if there was a little more room in the padding for this.

Gloves.. I didn't need them, so my wife picked a pair that fit her...


In full disclosure, I am pretty new to all of this... I cannot compare these to better gear that costs 2-3x the price and my opinion is pretty un-educated in this regard...

[san1k]

I bought the gear around the beginning of December, and I've had no issues. I bought the air explorer tops and bottoms, no helmet. It's kept me warm up to 50 degrees and it's been completely water proof.

I haven't had any issues with the zippers or anything, I do feel the velcro could be a little longer on the wrists and I wish the pads were better and I hate how the pants feel baggy on me.

Really comfortable though, breathable, and a lot of pockets. I'm happy with it so far.

[G19Tony]

Originally Posted by san1k

I bought the gear around the beginning of December, and I've had no issues. I bought the air explorer tops and bottoms, no helmet. It's kept me warm up to 50 degrees and it's been completely water proof.

I haven't had any issues with the zippers or anything, I do feel the velcro could be a little longer on the wrists and I wish the pads were better and I hate how the pants feel baggy on me.

Really comfortable though, breathable, and a lot of pockets. I'm happy with it so far.

I bought the whole kit. Explorer Air jacket/pants. I had already purchased the tan gloves, so I got the black pair. I bought the Explorer helmet when it first came out. http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=830333 so, I got the Discover helmet and the deal was cheaper. I haven't had a chance to ride yet, but my initial impressions are that the jacket and pants both fit well. The only issue I can see right away is the velcro on the wrist and ankles. I may take them to the tailor shop on base and let the ladies replace the velcro with longer pieces. I was concerned about the zippers, but with the warranty CG has. I'll take the chance. I did notice the foam in the back. I wear a Hit Air vest on the street, so I'm ok with it. Just for grins though, I'm going to see if I can fit a hard backplate to it. It seems decent quality for the money. If I ruin them in a crash, and they protected me, they've done their job. I'll just get another set, and still be in for less money than the fancy name brands.

[KingOfFleece]

Their waterproof boots failed in 90 seconds-this months' RIDER magazine. 90 seconds.

[fullmetalscooter]

even tough I just bought there winter glove I understand your getting a cheapo product. 23 bucks with shipping. With So many sales of 2 year old top of line stuff being sold for around the same price why bother? Eg Iron pony got the Alpinestar boots for 100 bucks . I got my First gear TPG jacket for 200 and My mesh Tourmaster jacket for 50 bucks new. i ve not heard many reviews that say top product .Bilt . Rather allot of them saying ok , fair etc.

[DoWorkSon]

I checked out some of their stuff last weekend... I was looking at a new helmet so tried on the Bilt and compared it to the Shoei, Icon, and my Arai...

It's cheap and looks decent, but the low quality fit and finish is apparent. There was an ovious difference between the Shoei and the Bilt. Maybe not a big deal to some, but I would pay more for something better