New Touratech farkel: Touratech Companero

[levain]

Originally Posted by Terence FFM

Well, I dropped by Tom's Motorrad Shop again on Friday. Lots and lots of boxes still only the one Stadler hanging on the wall. The Stadler - Touratech affiliation must be rubbing off, because without saying so much, there must be some delays with the new product. "Try middle of April," was the latest reply.

On the plus side, they had some Armas stuff on display. Nice, but for 950 Euro (jacket) and 700 Euro (pants), I don't it's the right suit for my needs. That is a LOT of money and for 1650 Euro, I except to make fewer concessions than the Armas would force me to make.

That means I have two more months to save up my Euro Pennies in case the Stadler is right. If not, I think I will be taking a long hard look at the Klim Adventure pants and maybe pairing them up with a different manufacturer's jacket since the Adventure jacket is overkill for me.

Looks to be the same suit, just gray without the touratech logos. Might save a couple bucks on that alone

http://www.stadler-bekleidung.de/ind...ils.html?id=44

[hardwaregrrl]

I've lived in Atlanta since '95. Been wearing gore-tex for about 8 years (aerostich/klim) and one thing I can say about humidity...it doesn't care if you have mesh/kevlar or gore-tex. It sucks both ways. Mesh makes no difference down here contrary to what people believe. But one thing it does do is dehydrates you quicker, as the hot, humid air passes through your gear it removes the sweat on your body, causing you to sweat more. And so on and so forth, till you become dehydrated. I've had a motorport suit and it didn't make long days in august any better. Get an evap vest (http://www.denniskirk.com/jsp/produc...utm_medium=cse) and a camel bak and prepare to suffer.
Man, sorry to sound so dark. It's really not that bad and you get used to it.

Originally Posted by Reverse

No disrespect, but... you live in BC, not exactly a hot humid climate like the southern US for instance. I used to live in cooler, more northern climes, and never felt the need for mesh and other ventilation, but since moving to Georgia I definitely do

Venting in a GoreTex (or similar membrane) suit doesn't penetrate the membrane. Separate rainproof layer makes more sense here (like Olympia's X-Moto), so you get max venting. I am really not bothered by separate rainproof layer I need to put on over or under my existing suit. Now, if I lived in Oregon or Washington state, I might feel different :-)

[soph9]

what we did on our trip last summer was take our undergarment's advise...LDComfort says in HHH weaether, wet the sleeves of our base layer and only open the vents on the arms of our jackets(at the time Revit Cayenne Pro)...repeat as necessary and believe it or not with hydrating ourselves we were able to still ride 8-10 hrs in that dreaded heat wave you all had last summer. Now we were not overly comfortable but we stayed alert and hydrated. Mesh in really hot and humid weather dehydrates you faster hence shorter days for sure. We even used ice in our shirts...if we were to go on another trip where it was HHH we might invest in a cooling vest but for now...we will see how our KLIM Traverse does in the summer.

Bottom line like hardwaregrrl says...sux riding in HHH...and I rather ride in cold.

[VintageThumper]

I'm definitely one who supports the idea of riding gear with a separate, outer wind/rain layer. So after reading about the Companero on this thread, I called Touratech U.S.A. to find out more. I spoke with Derek Pederson, and here's what he had to say...

At this time, Touratech U.S.A. does not plan to keep an inventory of the Companero system. But they expect to receive a measuring kit in about 2 weeks, and with that, will begin taking orders. The jacket and/or pants will be special ordered on a case by case basis. The expected turnaround time from order to delivery is about 3 weeks. The jacket system will run $1495 and the pants will be $995.

Here's a link Derek sent with more info and photos. He said the the light gray jacket/pants are the inner layer, and the dark gray jacket/pants are the outer layer.

http://www.touratech.com/shops/001/p...0cc0426e2a7c07

[soph9]

wow this suit is even more than the KLIM Adventure rally....over $2500

[VintageThumper]

Yea, I was bummed to hear the price on this gear. While it may well be worth the price, it's well beyond my budget.

But I sure think these guys are onto a great concept. A system with the rain layer under the jacket leads to a soaked jacket and all the drawbacks related to that, such as dripping your way around the store or restaurant, or dealing with it in your tent at the end of the day. And an all-in-one system with the rain protection in the jacket shell will stop the rain at the jacket's surface, but these jackets tend to have a limited ability to flow enough air to the rider's torso when it's hot out, especially at slower speeds while riding off-road.

I hope jacket systems such as the Companero catch on and become available from other, more affordable brands. The idea of having a jacket that's comfortable and airy in the heat, yet can be sealed up from cold temps and rain by simply tossing on an outer layer, IMHO is the way to go. An added bonus to this type of system is that the jacket can be sized to fit the rider more closely (keeping the armor more firmly in place) because extra room for an inside rain layer is no longer necessary.

[MANXMAN]

Originally Posted by soph9

I don't think we have this here in Canada yet....or even if we will.

Touratech Canada has this suit priced at $3514. Although I really wanted to get my wife a top quality jacket and pants, this is more than we will pay. Too bad, because it looks like a great quality suit that will actually fit a woman properly.

The search continues. Maybe Rukka.

[levain]

Originally Posted by MANXMAN

Touratech Canada has this suit priced at $3514. Although I really wanted to get my wife a top quality jacket and pants, this is more than we will pay. Too bad, because it looks like a great quality suit that will actually fit a woman properly.

The search continues. Maybe Rukka.

Seriously, this appears to be the exact same suit in different colors, minus the touratech logo. My guess is your spending around $500 on the logo. Just a guess. Stadler is expensive, and its what those who usually wear Rukka upgrade to

http://www.stadler-bekleidung.de/ind...ils.html?id=44

[Barbarin]

... One of those suits are more or less 30% of the cost of my motorcycle.

This guy on his third hand, 17 year old Transalp 600, started an 80 countries, three years, 300000 km trip with 2200 € on his pocket.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMuQPKFVrEU

[Terence FFM]

Originally Posted by MANXMAN

Touratech Canada has this suit priced at $3514.

Well, finally something that is even more over priced in N. America than it is here in Europe. Touratech Canada must still be doing their CAN$ / Euro conversion with a factor 1.65 like it was about 5 years ago before the Euro tanked.

Also, another poster replied that the Stadler version of the suit will likely be cheaper than the Touratech version is correct. I think the difference in Germany is 100 Euro less for the Stadler jacket and the same or slightly less for the pants.

The Touratech version does come with few features (other than the Tourtech logo) which may or may not justify the higher price: the pants have leg openings which open wider and the jacket has a few extra pockets on the sleeves. On the other hand, for a surcharge, Stadler will make your suit in custom colors whereas the rather bold colors from Touratech might not be everyone's cup of tea.

[CanadianBacon]

I was in Germany last month and pulled the trigger on a Companero. Coming out of a BMW Rally 3 suit, I must say that the TT suit is a big + over the Rally 3... better ventilation and when it rains or gets colder it takes a whole 3 minutes to put on the outer shell on. I'm really happy with it, best suit i've owned so far.

[Ko]

This Companero looks good...I gather that the "rain shell" offers the same abrasion resistance as the base layer, with the armour being in the base layer. That's interesting...

What I don't like that much is that the pant clips, glasses holder, and other bits are in places that usually contact the ground when one goes down... I do like the pant folding design, it must be nice to be able to put them in/over based on the type of boots or maybe just mood.

Now, given the price, and the protective nature of this suit, where's the damn test to let people know how much better/equal/worse this is compared to other products? I know tests are expensive, but c'mon, they're not that expensive... I'd put the money down for expensive, umm, super-expensive in this case gear if I knew it protects better. Safety is more important to me than appearance- I do understand how comfort is part of it though


.

[Spinalcracker]

This looks very good. I’m saving up to get one.

Finally a suit designed to keep the rain off of you instead of letting it soak your outer layer adding weight.Then it stops raining and you still have a wet jacket. Plus having to take off your outer layer then put on the liner then put on the jacket...

Makes more sense to just slip the rain gear on over. Coming from a outdoor, hiking, backpacking, mountaineering back ground , I never understood why an “adventure suit” would not have a waterproof outer layer. to keep you dry .I have the BMW Rally 2 suit and have always gotten wet in the rain .

Makes more sense to just slip the rain gear on over.

[levain]

The companero is a tweaked concept minus the bling and the extra pockets the previous poster mentioned.

812€ shipped from stadler

http://www.stadler-bekleidung.de/ind...ils.html?id=44

[levain]

Originally Posted by CanadianBacon

I was in Germany last month and pulled the trigger on a Companero. Coming out of a BMW Rally 3 suit, I must say that the TT suit is a big + over the Rally 3... better ventilation and when it rains or gets colder it takes a whole 3 minutes to put on the outer shell on. I'm really happy with it, best suit i've owned so far.

How about a detailed review/pictures? I'm curious where the AFT is on the summer suit? What armor is in the suit and does it get hard in the cold?