Anyone tried BMW tourshell vs comfortshell?

[cliffy109]

I've been drooling over the Tourshell for a few weeks now. I love everything about it except for one little thing... the colors. The choices are black (and not the Cool Black that reflects heat) or pavement color. Really? No red or blue? How about gray with dayglo green? How about anything except super-hot or urban camo?

[Keppelj]

Seabiker, you might ask a dealer whether the Tourshell pants zip to the Comfortshell jacket. Ride West? I would hesitate to buy onlne though. I found that the fit for Comfort shell jacket and pants took some swapping around. I bought both finally and am very happy with them. The Tourshell is slightly heavier fabric apparently.

[ninepeaks9]

I bought the Tourshell jacket in Seattle in July and rode across US to my home in DC. Sales guy explained that the special fabric is temperature sensitive and would allow venting in hot weather and close up the pores in the cold and rain. Temps in Montana and South Dakota were in 95 - 105 degree range when I rode through and jacket did pretty well providing adequate ventilation to keep me cool. I was impressed. Fast forward, I rode to Knoxville TN and back 3 weeks ago in 32- 45 degree range with subfreezing windchill during the night on return trip, the jacket did a fantastic job of blocking out any cold air. I was pretty warm with my Gerbing heated jacket liner inside the Tourshell. I did not purchase the Tourshell pants as I wasn't sure what occasions I would wear it or how comfortable they would be, but I'm considering a purchase now. Either BMW Tourshell or Klim Bandlands. Need to do some more reading up on them, but would appreciate any comments from folks that have these pants.

[chewnaut]

First, I bought this off eBay for $320!! THIS JACKET IS NOT WORTH THE FULL PRICE, EVEN AT $320 IT'S QUESTIONABLE!!!

I'll give the succinct version first:

Good- Fit, Looks, Beathability/Ventilation, Protection, Collar height, Scarf, Waterproofness, Room for layers

Bad- Velcro at neck, Velcro at wrists, Price, FRONT ZIPPER, Insulation

Elaborating on the Good:
-Fit-I usually wear a 44L and bought the Tourshell in a 42R. It fits me nicely, sleeves are long enough, room for layers but not baggy. I can cinch it up nicely at the bottom and it stays put. I like the height of the collar, it's semi tall but doesn't interfere when I look down.
-Looks- mine is black and looks sleek IMO. there are no big logos or other colors, just some reflective material on the lower deltoid area.
-Ventiliation- The ventilation zippers are large (on chest and back) and a good amount of air runs through the jacket to cool you. I've been in the 90 s and was not hot riding around town. The arms open up wide at the front to effectively "scoop" air through your sleeves, works well.
-Protection- The armor flexes well in the heat, conforms to your body. Even in cold weather (<45F) your body heat will warm it enough for it to become malleable. The armor on the back is huge, but doesn't interfere with my helmet (I have a long neck though). The wrist and forearm protection has good coverage. All the armor is removable.
-Scarf- I saw this and laughed! it's even labeled "SCARF" on the collar where it tucks into the back protector for storage, it even is zipped in ( about 2 inches of zipper). It works! it doesn't insulate but keeps the cold air off my neck and chin. it's basically a tube of elastic wind breaker material that functions well and stays snug. when tucked away its unnoticeable.
-Waterproof- I wasn't riding in a tsunami, but enough rain to prove that at 80 mph the jacket sheds water. take into account I'm behind a GS Adveture windshield and touratech extension.
-Room for Layers- Very important to me cuz I ride year round. I can comfortably ride with a long sleeve Smartwool shirt and a Canada Goose "Lodge" Down Hoody under my Tourshell. With all these layers I still have adequate range of motion. I don't use the supplied Thinsulate liner in the winter cuz it just takes up space that the down hoody utilizes more effectively.

Elaborating on Bad: (also I would not recommend buying this jacket and here is where I'll explain)

-Velcro at Neck- Quite simply, it doesn't stay connected when riding. when the jacket is zipped open the male end of the Velcro sticks straight out and often scrapes your face. I modified mine by gluing a female square of Velcro inside the collar to fold away the angry male end. YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TO MODIFY A $700 JACKET!!!
-Velcro at Wrists- Quite simply, again, they don't stay connected when riding. A very poor design. The female Velcro is in patches stitched around the wrists, it should be just a solid piece of female Velcro, allowing more contact opportunities. the elastic band (that wraps around the wrist) with the male Velcro doesn't have enough Velcro area to grab the female counterpart and hold on. IT'S ANNOYING!!!!!!
-Price- With tax, new, it's north of $700! bahahahaha. DON'T BUY IT FOR THIS PRICE!!!!
-ZIPPER- in the first two weeks it detached from the bottom and unzipped the wrong way multiple times. The zipper is small and was a PITA to correct. In result the zipper is fairly trashed by now from all the reverse unzipping. I got fairly frustrated when it regularly was doing this . SERIOUSLY BMW?!?! YOU CAN'T PUT A FUNCTIONAL ZIPPER ON YOUR GROSSLY PRICED APPAREL?!?!
-Insulation- it's ok. It buttons in nicely but wasn't very warm. I rode in sub freezing temps (down to the high teens) and had to remove it for a down layer, perhaps this is understandable. Warning, the Thinsulate sweater is thin. Maybe good for weather above 50F.

I think I covered it all, hope this helps