Petite Women's Motorcycle Gear for Winter

Hi Joanne, Been following you for a while and love your site! I'm from Australia (living in Canberra) and wanted your advice on, believe or not, some gear :). The winters in Canberra can be quite chilly (down to 0-4 degrees celsius in winter) and I'm looking for a good winter jacket. I have some Rev'it gear - Ignition 2 for spring/summer/fall) and the Siren (predecessor of the Indigo for fall/winter). Wondering if you have any suggestions? I've been looking at the Rev'it Sand (looks quite bulky), Dainese Elysse (not sure what this is like other than reading on the internet). Are there any favourites of yours for winter?  For Canberra winter mornings can be as low as -3C (26F) degrees to about 7C (44F) degrees. In Sydney, which is 280km away, their mornings are probably 9 degrees and they will consider that cold!

Thanks so much and might I add again that I love your site! :) 

Cheers, Kathleen.

We went back and forth a few emails, so I won't bore you with those details. After getting Kathleen's sizing/measurements, I was able to give her a few ideas. Kathleen rides a Ninja 300 and is on the petite side, (5'3", 119lbs).

In general, I recommend anything with Gore-Gex because it offers the best waterproof/windproof layer, and for breathability.  As far as cold weather gear, it depends on your body type. I only make recommendations based on what fits you! I need to know your height, weight, chest (over the bust), hips, inseam measurements to give you some ideas. Believe it or not, the Revit Sand suit is the lightest year round suit, because the shell is ultralight. It would probably be the least warm for this reason.

I think a Dainese Jacket would work well for you. I would also highly recommend a heated jacket liner such as this one:

Firstgear Womens Heated Liner, size XS http://www.revzilla.com/product/firstgear-womens-heated-jacket-liner

You would substitute the thermal layer in the jacket for the Firstgear liner. I also have a review of the previous version of this jacket (made by WarmnSafe) including installation here.

Given the temperatures you're attempting to ride in, you'll need it! If you're like most women, you're colder on top vs. bottom. I think this outfit would be awesome since it's GoreTex (which provides the best waterproof/windproof liner!):

• Dainese Zima Gore-Tex Jacket: Size 40; Unfortunately Revzilla only shows color Black/Dawn Blue. I have no idea what that color is. I can't find any samples online! You would need a 40 since your chest measurement is 35.5. This combined with your weight of 54kg/119lbs, you'll need the smallest size available. The nice thing about the Zima is it's waterproof on the outside, only the thermal liner is removable. I've tried it on and it's awesome! Here's a link to some pics of me in it.
• Dainese Travelguard Gore-Tex pants: Size 40; Again, Gore-Tex is such a great windwall and fully waterproof. It only has a removable thermal liner. I like the fact that there is hip armor and adjustable knees! I never see adjustable knee armor on Dainese pants.

Of course, these are higher on the budget but given what you need and the size that you are, I think these are the best option. A heavyweight winter baselayer like this or this is perfect too.

UPDATE 6/6/2014:

Kathleen emailed me back to let me know what she found!

Hi Joanne,

Wanted to say thank you, thank you, thank you!

I bought the Zima - actually found in a store in Sydney, tried on the 40 and bought it. I absolutely love it - it fits really well.

Haven't got the heated liner yet, as I've only had the Zima for a few days so wanted to see what the fit was like, etc. Next on the shopping list is the heated liner and some new pants.

Loved your advice so thank you again.

Budget ADV Gear for Men

We've chatted before on Twitter and I listen to your Podcast from time to time. I know you are an expert on motorcycle gear so I thought I'd ask you for some advice.  

A friend of mine was looking for some good ADV pants on a budget and I thought you might be a good person to ask that question. 

Thanks, Rob

Hi Rob!

Thanks for your email. I'm thrilled to answer anyone's questions, regardless of gender :)

As far as ADV pants on a budget, how about these various Klim pants on sale? The nice thing about Klim is the construction, Cordura. For less than $100 you can't go wrong with any of these. Hopefully there's something left in his size:

Klim Revolt - $55.38 ; however only sizes 28-30ish are left, these are vented but you can close them if need be. these are designed to be worn over the boots

Klim Mojave - $93.49; only a few sizes left, these are permanently vented for summer riding only, these are designed to be worn over the boots

Klim Chinook - $93.49; again, only a few sizes left, these also have adjustable vents and are designed to wear inside the boots

Olympia Dakar - $189.99; also Cordura construction, which zip away above the knees to turn into shorts!

New Rider, Very Petite

Hi there, great website! I am just starting to learn to ride a motorbike so currently looking at some gear. I am also petite, 5'0 & 49kgs (108lbs). I was wondering if you'd ever tried Held motorcycle gear? Looking online, I have found that some of their jackets go down to size 34 but I am unable to find a women's size chart guide for their products! Keep up the good work.

Cheers, Elisa (Melbourne, Australia)

Hi Elisa,

I haven't tried Held recently, but from what I know, I'm guessing the 34 would work. Revit 34 is also a good bet.  If you can find older Revit gear (~5 years ago) the fitments on 34s were very narrow and smaller than current 34s. Longer arms though. I don't know if you're looking at the Xena in a 34, but that might fit you, it seems to run fairly small.

Women's Gore-Tex Motorcycle Pants for Summer? Fall?

 

The Travelguard Gore-Tex pants are one of the newest options for women from Dainese. Could these work in warm, wet summers? 

$379.95 MSRP, Sizes 38-54 (~US 0 - 16), Revzilla.com

I really like the features they offer including adjustable knee armor (haven't inspected in person but that's what the description says!) and the ProShape armor in the hips. I also dig the thigh vents. For this reason, I think they might work in summer/spring too. Especially if you're living in a wet summer climate like I am.

AND they're available in 38!! Euro 38 is basically a US 0. The smallest possible size for petite women. If you've been searching for extremely petite ladies pants, these are one of the best options aside from any of Revit's Size 34 pants. The Euro 54 is approximately a 16, which is definitely a difficult size to find in women's Dainese gear.

I've never had to deal with warm, wet summers before. I have my Revit GoreTex suit, so I'm hoping it won't suffocate me with the heat/humidity I'm going to be dealing with. We'll see.

If you like the idea of a slim fit pant v. a bootleg pant, then I would suggest any of the pants that Dainese has to offer.

As far as what else you could wear if it's hot and humid and raining, I would also recommend something like the Olympia Airglide Jacket and Pants (for a fuller, curvier cut) or the Revit Sand Pants and Jacket (for a more slender, athletic cut) or any Gore-Tex suit like this one or Klim's Altitude for the dual sport crowd.  For a brief overview of these outfits, check out the links from this blog post back in February.