Thanks to this forum, with a tip of the padded elbows to Bohn
Since I came to motorcycling (a) late and (b) straight to the Spyder, I don't have years of history in terms of riding experience, best practices, favorite gear, etc., so I've absorbed a lot of insights, opinions, advice, random speculation, etc. from these forums, and I appreciate all of it.
Because of the above, I was resolved to be an ATGATT type from the get-go, but like many people here, that slams quickly into the wall of summer weather here in the south. Had the helmet, the gloves, decent shoes, and a couple of armored/padded jackets, but haven't been happy with the weight and heat of the latter, and south of the border was still going with just jeans or a barely tolerable pair of riding pants that didn't keep the padding where it needed to be anyway.
Thanks to the many posts on the topic, I finally decided being too tight with a buck to spend the money on good gear was a pretty poor piece of logic when faced with the cost of the downside possibilities, and purchased the Bohn Cool-Air mesh armored riding shirt and pants. I've had the gear on in my last three rides, including one during the day when we were in the 80s, and another at night in the 40s, and it was a delight to be comfortable and protected at both of those temperatures. I know 100+ degrees is a pretty long way from 80, but the Bohn gear gives me some options to keep it lighter and cooler. Real happy with that investment, and again, appreciate all of the varied input that helped me make up my own mind on which way to go.
