guess I've had good luck picking my HJC helmets. they fit my head well, and have held up very well, no problem with the visor or padding and they have protected my head in a couple crashes.

that KBC I had fit very well for a month or so then it started tearing up. none of my HJC's have fallen apart as fast. I had a shoei that I didn't like too but I ended up with one that is one size too big that is more quiet than any helmet I have ever worn.

Joe rocket mesh jackets have also served me well. I've slid about 30 foot on asphalt, the jacket did it's job.

for gloves I have tested my technics a couple times. they have held up very good. I've got a pair of MotoGP that I like and a pair of Icon TIMax. I like the Icon's but one hand doesn't feel quite right. I've worn others that both felt good.

Yep,Icon's gloves have historically had severe qc problems,as in on glove being visibly larger than the other,etc.

Did you know you can call KBC direct and they'll replace anything that's broken at no charge? The snap on the strap broke on one of mine. I called about it and they offered to send me a box and a call tag, replace it, and send it back to me at no charge. Unfortunately I never got to do it since I had to replace the helmet shortly anyway. I've had no real problems out of the KBC's I've had. The only reason I recently purchased another KBC is because it no longer fit me well. I lost alot of weight last year after I got it and lost some in my face (I was kind of baby faced) which caused the helmet not to fit correctly. It's still a great helmet. It fits my daughter well so I gave it to her. The new one is my third KBC helmet.

Like you I had no problems with my first HJC (CL-14). I think they're good helmets. I replaced my HJC with a KBC because it fit me better and the price was right.

I imagine my JR mesh would have done well in a 30-50 foot slide. But the crash I was in, sliding around 200 feet on pavement, not to mention doing some tumbling and rolling...I doubt it would have held up to that type of abuse. Especially not as well as the MotoGP did. The mesh weave on the MotoGP is much better constructed...it's tighter and appears to be made of a different material than the JR mesh, yet still very breathable.

I also have/had a TourMaster textile jacket that I slid about 30 feet in. The only evidence of the slide in that jacket was a little black mark on the shoulder where I hit the pavement and it came off with a little scrubbing.

The Icon gloves I had are the old Hooligan gloves. Those were some bad ass looking gloves. They fit me well, which was surprising, especially since I have tiny hands and have problems fitting any gear well. They're also really warm. What I didn't like about them was the padding in the palms was extremely thick and I couldn't feel the throttle response well in them. I tried and tried to break them in. Wetting them and wearing them, trying to stretch them out, but no matter what I did, my throttle response continued to be jerky because I couldn't feel what I was doing. I eventually gave up trying to wear them while riding and gave them away.

no, I wasn't aware of that. I got it because it was on clearance from TR when I was working in a shop. the parts manager didn't tell me about that. I didn't have a second helmet till I got another HJC anyway, by that time it was so bad (just a few months of wear) that there was no way I would have done that anyway.

I always messed with people that bought KBC before I had that experience because they looked cheap, afterwords I knew the quality and wouldn't ever recommend them.

Yea gear brands are like car brands or bike brands,everyone has a horror story or praise story for them. Okay I'm gonna blaspheme here but I've had two Dainese jackets,when I crashed my 'Busa my Dainese jacket fell apart where the different pieces of leather were attached together. Not a problem with my Icon jacket because they started with "solid" jacket and layered the other colors on top. Also,I had an accident involving A* GP+ gloves where the non-floating knuckle design allowed the knuckle armor to actually act as a "chisel" and break all four of my fingers when pressure was applied. Not a problem for my Icon gloves that had "full floating" armor (an Icon idea I believe) and "sloped" armor without an "edge" like my A*s had. I honestly believe that Icon like all companies has some great gear and some not so great gear.

troof. Floating armor makes my dickbeaters look huge though :lmao:

I have an Icon Jacket that's stood up very well through the test of time. I haven't crash tested it but it's been through all sorts of weather and held up very well. Sizing is perfect and nothing on it is even fraying. :idk:

I also have 2 sets of Icon gloves that have both held up very well as well.

I guess it's just your personal experience.

Joe Rocket women's jackets are crap imo.

joe rocket atomic 2 jacket
after three seasons the stichting is coming undone
then again paying 70 bucks for it and it lasting 36,000 miles isnt too bad i guess
:idk:

Had an HJC CL-14 that fit like a dream. Replaced it with a CL-15 and the wind noise is about to drive me nuts. May have to try a AC model.

Love the Joe Rocket mesh, held up well on a high side and slide. Am going to get a Reactor to replace it with.

LOVE my ICON TiMax gloves. These are the ones with the titanium knuckles, have had them for 4 years. Found a place online to buy more when these die.

timax gloves are the shit. Bout to put mine on in a minute when i get off the train lol