Shankle
06-21-2005, 04:03 PM
I purchased the Joe Rocket Ballistic 4.0 Jacket and 5.0 Pants as a set from our local Suzuki shop in town.
Paid @ $380 for the set. The MSRP is @ $150-170 for the 5.0 Pants and @ $200-220 for the 4.0 Jacket. I probably could've saved a little buy purchasing the set online, but I am believer in supporting the local shop as they all help when needed re: service and gear, which sometimes comes at a small cost or no cost. I had to get the 3x size, so I paid a little more for that as well. Also, for me, diffient items 'fit' in different ways. And I wasnt sure if the size I ordered would fit correctly. So, by ordering through the local shop, they had a distributor they could return items to w/o any problems. Had I ordered on-line, then I would've had to shipping and handling routine to go through if the items didnt fit correctly. So this was the best method for me to purchase these items. Now, I also will order some stuff on-line, such as luggage, engine guards, which I'll do a review on later.
I am not the type to wear flashy/bold stuff. I like my gear 'basic' colors. I prefer black usually and do not prefer the large labels/logos from the manufacturer all over my stuff. But, I also want the reflective material/stripping on the products, which the Jacket and Pants both have.
Ballistic 4.0 Jacket
The Jacket is awesome IMHO. It is a 3/4 Jacket. Mainly for cold to very cold weather. Joe Rocket says it is water proof and it is water proof. I live in South MS. And the weather does get rather cold for us, which I have riden in temps @ 30-35. Now some of you are gonna say that aint cold, but for me that is cold. I only use this jacket when the temp is cold due to it's insulation. It comes with a removable liner. I have worn this Jacket with the liner and just a t-shirt on cold days and it does the trick. Now, I have only ridden 40 minutes to an hour in this environment. This jacket also has zippered openings on the sleeves and back for extra ventilation if one is gonna wear in not so cold days to allow for some air flow. I do not use this feature much, but have experimented with it some. I found the air flow to be very minimum and the air flow can be felt on the arms right where the zipper openings are, but not much airflow throughout the jacket. For me, if it is that warm, then I would wear a another jacket; such as the Joe Rocket Phoenix 3.0, which I will write a review on later.
This jacket also has the 8 inch zipper to attach to your pants, which works well. This jacket has padding in the elbows, shoulders and back, which are all removeable and replaceable. The back area, along with the removeable padding, also has non-removeable padding. I understand that some people remove the padding, but to me, that kinda defeats the purpose of protection. I, unfortunately, have first hand testimony to the need for these pads in the jakcet. I crashed my DL1000 on 2/6/05. Resulted in a broken leg, had surgery, the whole nine yards. I drug on my left forearm and shoulder. I truly believe had I not been wearing a protective jacket with padding, I would have crushed my shoulder and possibly fractured my elbow and most definitely would have had 'road rash' on the fore arm area. I was wearing the liner during this crash. The jacket was torn completely about 3-4 inches through on the forearm area between the wrist and elbow, and I received a small, lite scratch. I can only imagine what permenant skin damage could have resulted with no protection. My left was 'banged-up', but not dislocated or broken. I couldnt move my left arm and shoulder w/o assistance from my right arm for the next week; the padded protection did it's job IMHO. The logos on the Jacket are at a minimum, which I prefer. The logos/markings that are present are all reflective. I purchased black/black color scheme.
Ballistic 5.0 pants
The Pants are also good IMHO. The Pants have the removable liner as well. The sides of the Pants have a zipper that go all the way up the leg, if needed. The pants have a velcro strap and the bottom to secure snugly around the boot. The Pants that I have, have suspenders. I believe the current version do not have suspenders. I like the suspenders, which are useful if you do not use the 8 inch zipper. The 8 inch zipper also works well with the above mentioned jacket. I probably use the suspenders more than the 8 inch zipper, my preference though. The Pants are waterproof, as advertised. There are padded knees, but only on the tops of the knees. I wasnt wearing these Pants during my crash, but I do not believe the padding would have preventing me from breaking my leg as the impact to my leg was on the left side. My Tib and Fib were thrown out from under my knee, dislocated; also had a complete facture on the Tib, which resulted in a plate in my leg. Anyway, I thought it over and over, I really dont think the padding provided wouldve benefited the situation. I primarily wear these Pants in cold, wet days. These Pants have extra padding on the hip and lower back areas, and the padding is not removeable. I have worn just spandex type shorts under these Pants in cold weather, and have been comfortable. The only feature the Pants do not have, that I desire, are stir-ups; the elastic straps at the bottom to place around the boot. Even without that feature, the bottoms of the Pants stay in place on there own with the natural assitance from gravity.
In reference to both the Jacket and Pants in very cold weather. I have only ridden about 45 minutes to an hour in very cold weather. Now, I probably got a little chilly after arriving to my destination, but I never ended up miserable. Keep in mind, I am a hot natured person. So everyone's temp tolerance is different. One would probably have to wear some thermal clothing under this combination if used in extremely cold climates and/or used over the time-frame that I have utilized these items.
In reference to wearing regular clothing under the Jacket and Pants, no problem there either. Of course, that depends on what size you order to allow for that extra room.
I would purchase this Jacket and Pants again. In fact, my insurance reimbursed me for my helmet and Jacket, since they were damaged in my crash. Insurance replaces protective gear, such as this. And I purchased the exact same Jacket above.
So, is anyone interested in a slightly torn, but intact Jacket?
Hope this helps.................
:)
Paid @ $380 for the set. The MSRP is @ $150-170 for the 5.0 Pants and @ $200-220 for the 4.0 Jacket. I probably could've saved a little buy purchasing the set online, but I am believer in supporting the local shop as they all help when needed re: service and gear, which sometimes comes at a small cost or no cost. I had to get the 3x size, so I paid a little more for that as well. Also, for me, diffient items 'fit' in different ways. And I wasnt sure if the size I ordered would fit correctly. So, by ordering through the local shop, they had a distributor they could return items to w/o any problems. Had I ordered on-line, then I would've had to shipping and handling routine to go through if the items didnt fit correctly. So this was the best method for me to purchase these items. Now, I also will order some stuff on-line, such as luggage, engine guards, which I'll do a review on later.
I am not the type to wear flashy/bold stuff. I like my gear 'basic' colors. I prefer black usually and do not prefer the large labels/logos from the manufacturer all over my stuff. But, I also want the reflective material/stripping on the products, which the Jacket and Pants both have.
Ballistic 4.0 Jacket
The Jacket is awesome IMHO. It is a 3/4 Jacket. Mainly for cold to very cold weather. Joe Rocket says it is water proof and it is water proof. I live in South MS. And the weather does get rather cold for us, which I have riden in temps @ 30-35. Now some of you are gonna say that aint cold, but for me that is cold. I only use this jacket when the temp is cold due to it's insulation. It comes with a removable liner. I have worn this Jacket with the liner and just a t-shirt on cold days and it does the trick. Now, I have only ridden 40 minutes to an hour in this environment. This jacket also has zippered openings on the sleeves and back for extra ventilation if one is gonna wear in not so cold days to allow for some air flow. I do not use this feature much, but have experimented with it some. I found the air flow to be very minimum and the air flow can be felt on the arms right where the zipper openings are, but not much airflow throughout the jacket. For me, if it is that warm, then I would wear a another jacket; such as the Joe Rocket Phoenix 3.0, which I will write a review on later.
This jacket also has the 8 inch zipper to attach to your pants, which works well. This jacket has padding in the elbows, shoulders and back, which are all removeable and replaceable. The back area, along with the removeable padding, also has non-removeable padding. I understand that some people remove the padding, but to me, that kinda defeats the purpose of protection. I, unfortunately, have first hand testimony to the need for these pads in the jakcet. I crashed my DL1000 on 2/6/05. Resulted in a broken leg, had surgery, the whole nine yards. I drug on my left forearm and shoulder. I truly believe had I not been wearing a protective jacket with padding, I would have crushed my shoulder and possibly fractured my elbow and most definitely would have had 'road rash' on the fore arm area. I was wearing the liner during this crash. The jacket was torn completely about 3-4 inches through on the forearm area between the wrist and elbow, and I received a small, lite scratch. I can only imagine what permenant skin damage could have resulted with no protection. My left was 'banged-up', but not dislocated or broken. I couldnt move my left arm and shoulder w/o assistance from my right arm for the next week; the padded protection did it's job IMHO. The logos on the Jacket are at a minimum, which I prefer. The logos/markings that are present are all reflective. I purchased black/black color scheme.
Ballistic 5.0 pants
The Pants are also good IMHO. The Pants have the removable liner as well. The sides of the Pants have a zipper that go all the way up the leg, if needed. The pants have a velcro strap and the bottom to secure snugly around the boot. The Pants that I have, have suspenders. I believe the current version do not have suspenders. I like the suspenders, which are useful if you do not use the 8 inch zipper. The 8 inch zipper also works well with the above mentioned jacket. I probably use the suspenders more than the 8 inch zipper, my preference though. The Pants are waterproof, as advertised. There are padded knees, but only on the tops of the knees. I wasnt wearing these Pants during my crash, but I do not believe the padding would have preventing me from breaking my leg as the impact to my leg was on the left side. My Tib and Fib were thrown out from under my knee, dislocated; also had a complete facture on the Tib, which resulted in a plate in my leg. Anyway, I thought it over and over, I really dont think the padding provided wouldve benefited the situation. I primarily wear these Pants in cold, wet days. These Pants have extra padding on the hip and lower back areas, and the padding is not removeable. I have worn just spandex type shorts under these Pants in cold weather, and have been comfortable. The only feature the Pants do not have, that I desire, are stir-ups; the elastic straps at the bottom to place around the boot. Even without that feature, the bottoms of the Pants stay in place on there own with the natural assitance from gravity.
In reference to both the Jacket and Pants in very cold weather. I have only ridden about 45 minutes to an hour in very cold weather. Now, I probably got a little chilly after arriving to my destination, but I never ended up miserable. Keep in mind, I am a hot natured person. So everyone's temp tolerance is different. One would probably have to wear some thermal clothing under this combination if used in extremely cold climates and/or used over the time-frame that I have utilized these items.
In reference to wearing regular clothing under the Jacket and Pants, no problem there either. Of course, that depends on what size you order to allow for that extra room.
I would purchase this Jacket and Pants again. In fact, my insurance reimbursed me for my helmet and Jacket, since they were damaged in my crash. Insurance replaces protective gear, such as this. And I purchased the exact same Jacket above.
So, is anyone interested in a slightly torn, but intact Jacket?
Hope this helps.................
:)