Aerostich Roadcrafter
Roadcrafter Two-Piece Riding Suit
Reviewed by pbx
Introduction
For many riders the Aerostich Roadcrafter suit needs no real introduction — it’s the standard by which other suits are judged. But it’s a crowded marketplace and so here’s a review of the suit’s strong (and weak) points for all-around riders.
One Piece or Two?
Rider Wearhouse sells the suit in one-piece and two-piece configurations, and they also sell several other two-piece suit models (Darien, Darien Light, Falstaff). I chose the Roadcrafter over the others primarily because it’s beefier. I actually like the purpose-built look as opposed to the more civilian styling of the Darien et al. If your touring regimen includes hours of rain-riding at a stretch, you may want the Darien, which offers the best downpour protection of all the suits.
Two-piece advantages: You can wear the jacket alone (some may disapprove). It’s easier to customize (you can replace/alter just the jacket or the pants; you can add the ellipse as a zip-in). Easier to stow if you don’t have a bag that will hold the whole suit.
One-piece advantages: Faster to get on and off. Less bulky. Front pockets positioned lower (better for my arms anyway).
My suit’s two halves are slightly different sizes, not “customized” officially but giving a fit I couldn’t have gotten with the one-piece. If you need to stretch forward into a sportriding position, get the ellipse. Keep in mind that the cut is sometimes a little weird for normal upright hominid posture, so after you install it don’t write it off until you’ve actually ridden around a bit.
Another two-piece Aerostich tip: For a long time it bugged me that the zipper joining the top and bottom of my suit tended to work its way open after a few days of donning and doffing. My solution was to slip the zipper pulls over the little cord-locks on the pants’ elastic cord. Another small win over the forces of entropy.
Accessories
After a couple years, I bought the optional back protector for my stich. It’s the familiar TF2 foam, with a couple layers of hard 2” wide plastic up the spine. It’s completely comfortable and flexible, and is warm in cool weather. That’s good. It’s also warm in warm weather. That’s not so good, but as with most safety gear upgrades, once you get it it’s hard to imagine not wearing it.
The foam on the original pads is starting to break down a bit after seven years, and I will probably want to replace them soonish. But they've held up quite well given how many times they've been in and out of the suit (during washing -- see below).
Snowsports
I’ve snowboarded in both my suit and a friend’s one-piece; the two-piece with the ellipse is a little better for bending over and adjusting bindings, but ice accumulates on the velcro under the jacket tail. Either one will keep you dry all day, though, even in slushy spring conditions.
When on the slopes I didn’t have a single person ask me about the suit, which I guess means either a) it doesn’t look much weirder than other ski clothing or b) it looked a lot weirder and people just didn’t want to know!
Daily Use
In the course of my commuting season in New England I see temperatures from 90+ degrees down to 40 (I'll go lower when I get an electric vest!), in clear skies, rain, sunshine, wind. The suit makes my time on the road comfortable, and knowing that I've got excellent physical protection makes it easier to concentrate on what's going on around me. The ease of getting the suit on and off, over my work clothes, and being able to easily store and retrieve keys, wallet, etc. make commuting more pleasant as well. Having a good dose of reflective Scotchlite on the back, legs, and front pocket flap is also reassuring when the workday goes past daylight hours.
The Cordura doesn’t exactly break in like leather, but it does get a bit more comfortable with wear. If you buy a 'stich, it's going to feel a little odd the first time you put it on even if it's a perfect fit. Walk around, ride around, give it some time. The gray of my suit has faded slightly to a gray-green over the years, but it's still one of the more colorfast options. Speaking from freinds' experience, the "high-viz" yellow is a dirt magnet and I don't recommend it unless you don't care about grime or you mostly ride indoors.
Cleaning the suit isn't too hard, though you do have to remove all the armor. Powdered detergent and wash-in waterproofing treatment, Nikwax or similar, are recommended. I once got motor oil all over the upper half of my suit (always remember to replace the dipstick on your F650ST after checking the oil!) -- I figured it would be permanently stained, but after two or three washings it looked fine.
Summary
This suit has a lot more competition on the market than it once did, but is still a strong contender. I’m fairly sure that whenever this one needs to be retired its replacement will be another Roadcrafter.
