I cannot count the number of hours I’ve spent leafing through the Aerostitch catalog or browsing the RevZilla website lusting after this or that piece of gear. There are so many gear manufactures in the market these days that we as riders are truly spoiled for choice. It’s been my experience that most of the gear I see online is pretty pricey. Generally it can cost $1000 – $2000 to purchase an entire riding kit (jackets, pants, gloves, helmet, and boots) and that’s for moderately priced gear, you can spend significantly more. So where can a rider go to get quality gear at a more reasonable price? I’ve been taking a hard look at CycleGear’s house brand BILT for a few months trying to determine if the gear they offer is just low priced or cheap. My search online found, like most things online, deeply divided opinions regarding this question
Well I’ve decided to give BILT a try. I’m neither a new rider nor a poor rider but I am tired of shelling out thousands of dollars on gear and am hopeful that the BILT will be a viable alternative. I purchased the following BILT items that arrived today:
Explorer H2O Waterproof Adventure Jacket
Explorer H2O Waterproof Adventure Pants
Explorer Adventure Helmet
Explorer Urban Rider Adventure Gloves
Explorer H2O Waterproof Adventure Boots
The jacket, pants, helmet and gloves where a promotion package that cost $499.99, and the boots where $79.99. Shipping was free and after taxes the whole kit came to $503. Not bad for a full set of riding gear. I plan to use the gear all summer and write up my thoughts on each item. Look for an initial impression coming soon and then a long term review as I use it this year. I hope that this experiment turns out to be a positive experience because finding a reasonable source for gear would be a benefit to all of us riders.
7acesmotolog 
Brian P
March 8, 2013 at 6:10 pm
Excellent idea… I think everyone in the motorcycle universe has had the same sticker shock!
twotiretirade
March 8, 2013 at 9:18 pm
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
I have found some great riding gear in April and May at Snowmobile Retail Outlets. In April and May the gear is at a CloseOUT Price. Its warm, tough, waterproof and is build to protect as well. Some of the stuff is just to warm but I have found some other great riding gear using my theory.
nwroadrat
March 9, 2013 at 12:22 am
I think what you’ll find is a lot of the Bilt gear offers similar protection. I can’t say the same because I haven’t done any crash tests. (-: And I don’t want too. I find the fit occasionally isn’t as good as lets say Nolan, BMW, IIcon and similar gear, but the expensive gear better fit perfect! Bilt gear is better than no gear and frankly, I found gear with a lot less qualify so I’m pretty confident in the Cycle Gear chain of stores and what they offer. They also have the easiest return policy if something just isn’t working out. Look forward to your experience.
Tonya Thompson
March 9, 2013 at 11:33 am
Let me know how the new gear works out. Having to buy gear for two here in the next few months and definitely not looking forward to the prices.
7acesmotolog
March 10, 2013 at 9:23 am
It’s nice to see that I’m not the only one looking for good priced gear that is decent quality. Cros your fingers. So far the gear looks good. I’ll have first impressions up soon. Have a few fit issues I need to deal with … mail order and all … you know how it is.
Tonya Thompson
March 10, 2013 at 2:37 pm
It’s especially hard for women, since so few things are sized to fit a smaller frame. And when you DO find it, it’s accented with pink or powder blue flowers. wth???