The Aerostitch Roadcrafter: 8 years and counting

Thanks to all who follow my blog and put up with the lack of content updates. I've got a few minutes away from diaper changes and lost sunny riding days to put something down on cyber-paper, so I thought I'd talk about my trademark black and yellow Aerostitch Roadcrafter.

Now there's a TON of on-line reviews and opinions on the 'ol stitch, so I'll spare everyone a breakdown of features and safety research that makes up the suit, but suffice to say that the roadcrafter still sets the bar, almost 30 years later!

Back in 2003, I had a get off that tore right through my jeans and put a nice gash in my knee that left me limping around for a few days. Up to this point in my very early riding career, I was under a common mistaken impression that "full gear" consisted of a helmet, boots, gloves and a riding jacket. It was about 30 seconds after my knee started bleeding that I felt like I should look into some better protection for the other 40% of my body.

Many hours of online shopping and research had netted me over $200 in purchases of various riding pant solutions. The fundamental flaw was that pants required me to make a clothing change at work, or work all day in bulky riding pants. Another bothering issue was the fact that the pants didn't really seem to work that well; the armor would float around my leg during normal use, so I seriously questioned the ability to protect my body in a crash.

So that brought me to the Roadcrafter. The one-piece design had some very nice advantages for my needs. First the suit is designed to fit over your normal clothing and easily comes off in a couple of seconds, so you don't have to change, or look like a astronaut all day. Also, the design incorporates all the armor into the garment, so the fit and function really worked; the crash worthiness has been proven though countless real life encounters.

So, I measured up my body, put in my order, and $1000 (optional hip and back armor) later I gleefully opened the box from Duluth Minnesota.

Fast forward 8 years and around 50,000 miles of use and my only regrets are wasting almost the same amount of money on gear that I never wore after the Aerostich arrived.

For the most part, the suit is just about as sound as new. I had to have the right hip zipper replaced (mostly because of use; its where my wallet is), and the main zipper pulls come off occasionally due to age. Fortunately, the zippers are made of metal and can be bent back into submission. I've replaced the internal armor pads, as they do degrade over time, and my pads were starting to fall apart ($60, i think).

Not to say the suit has been perfect; like many other riders, I wish there was a bit more venting in the summer. I wish that the zipper pulls would stay put and the collar would stay down when open. But overall, I feel like I've come out ahead in the deal; the wear I observed on my cheaper gear showed me that I would had to replace it all 3 times over in the same amount of time that my 'stich has soldiered on.

I honestly think about the eventual replacement of the suit from time to time, but after 8 years of pretty extensive use, I can't find a real reason to do so. I think that a trip back to Minnesota for a refresh of the zippers and Velcro may be in order, but other than that - I'm looking forward to the next 10 years!