Clothing manufacturers Hall of Shame

Hein Geiricke will be first on the list: Ive had my leather jacket just over a year and already the main zip is broken and inner lining seams have all started to tear.

 

Go back to HG and demand a new one then?

 

HG are budget gear, at best. They're 'okay' but no more than that, most of their market probably only use the clothing about 4 times a year, you're too hardcore, honey!

 

I've got an HG Voyager II jacket and trousers I use daily for work, brought back in 1999 and still going strong, not to mention none of the zips or tags have ever broken either which is amazing! Will be replacing it with an HG again.

 

Hmmm, the jacket cost the same as whatever brand Id bought 10 years before, 250 quid so I thought it would last as long.

 

Next on my hitlist: Buffalo gloves, supposed to be thermal and rain proof, they are definitely neither and after 7 months of owning them, already a hole in the finger inner !

 

They (HG) may have upped their game since I last went to them (It was about 10 years ago) but I wasn't taken by them.
Buffalo again, used to be at least a pretty budget brand in terms of quality for cost. Although my info is way out of date, when I worked for Harpers although we stocked Buffalo we would steer people away from it wherever possible.

 

I borrowed some Buffalo gloves about 10 years ago, never again after getting them wet...my hands came out black and it was a nightmare to get off!

 

i have a buffalo textile jacket and trousers and they have weathered all weather riding for the past 3 years.. started leaking abit around 3 months ago.. they survived me coming off the bike aswell.. agree on the gloves though . i have some buffalo "winter " gloves that are about as warm as a polar bear's .......

 

I have a buffallo short jacket (textile) and its not very warm, the wind seems to get through the wind flaps.. and does leak in very hard rain and its not even a year old

 

Like BlackHornet, I've got an Oxford 'Bone Dry' Hybrid jacket (part leather, part textile - cheap @ £100ish) which I wore when I rode the Triumph Tiger. Granted, it's comfortable and appears well made but the 'Bone Dry' nomicle is more than a little ironic. I wore it once in the rain on my way into work... and will never wear it again. I unfortunately found that it offers very little protection from the rain or cold. My shirt got ruined and it took an age to dry the jacket. In fact it remained cold, damp and uncomfortable for my ride home some hours later, even though by this time the skies had cleared. The leather never fully recovered and it now constantly emits a white 'bloom' despite being cleaned & fed. Utter tosh and now only really fit for wearing in the garden.

 

Sorry to resurrect an old thread...

First set of clothing for me was Lewis (aka cheap end of Frank Thomas). Waterproof to the end, but sweaty as hell in summer

Replaced with Richa sky jacket and Frank Thomas XTI trousers. Trousers great but still not breathable, waterproof after 2 years. Richa jacket soaked up water like a sponge, leaked everywhere, pockets were saturated and full of water, and the sleeve zip gave up just out of guarantee. Dealer and Richa didn't want to know.

Now all replaced with HG tourist gore tex gear about a month ago. Initial reports are fantastic dry, breathable, good fit.

I have a set of buffalo leather winter gloves which I inherited when I bought a bike about 5 years back...just starting to let in water but warm as hell...nothing a bit of scotchgard can't cure!

Best buy for me was a pair of duchinni gloves. £29 and 2 years on have only just started to let in water and are still warm. Again, a bit of scotchgard and they'll be good as new!

As for boots, used a pair of Spada boots for a year or so and they were so-so. You gets what you pay for I suppose, but they weren't very waterproof or protective. Now using the Sidi B2...dry? Yes. Breathable? Yes. Warm? No! Cold as Elvis...but that's to do with the steel shank, and when I decided to drop the bike on my right foot they certainly saved my ankle from pins and surgery, so I can live with cold toes in order to still have them attached to my foot

 

Most my regular gear is leather purchased from ebay. The leather is good quality, comfortable and warm, but ive had 2 metal zips on the trousers break, fly + ankle vent and one on the sleeve of the jacket. Whilst the gear was very reasonably priced, the zips going is a pain but easily and cheaply repaired. Boots are imported Harley Davidson which i wear on the CB and Sportster. They are sollid and well made like the bike.

 

Arnlen Ness Boots - the toe sliders always come loose as the bolts holding them on are far to short even locktite does not hod scree in thread