SquidBusters Archive - Vanson Road & Track Custom Suit

Pages: 1

Vanson Road & Track Custom Suit
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: VonKujo

So I turned to the companies that do custom garments (i.e. Aerostich, Vanson, and BB). Aerostich told me that they could not make a suit to fit me so I had to move on. I spoke with BB and Vanson, they both told me that a custom garment would be no problem. So I after looking at styles and what I wanted the suit to do, Vanson fit a little better for my needs. I picked a Vanson Road & Track custom suit with a Mark2 jacket and Technical Riding pants.

The process starts by filling out a bunch of forms and taking A LOT of measurements! They have a nice formula that you put all of your measurements in and you can verify that they are correct. You then fax over the 6 or so pages of forms and you are ready to go. Vanson gave me a call and we went over the endless amount of options. Some of the options I put on my suit are, standard street pads in every location possible, knee pucks, leather patches to go over knee Velcro when not using pucks, and heavy duty suspenders for wearing the pants with other jackets (I will do this a lot on those 80+ degree days).

At this point the waiting began and went on for some time. I was expecting this because it was prime season and I am sure they had a lot of orders. I just wish they were more up front about how long it was going to take. They told me 6 – 8 weeks but it turned out to be about 10 – 12 weeks. The customer service at Vanson is second to none. Every employee talks to you as if you were their best friend and they make sure that they do everything possible to make the customer happy. The only thing I didn’t like was the wait but with days like they are now at 95+ degrees. I didn’t mind it taking longer and I didn’t want to pressure them. I wanted this suit to fit like a glove.

So they came in yesterday and I didn’t hesitate to rip open the box and tried on the jack. This thing was 100% made for me! It fit perfect but is very stiff. It feels like it will take many rides to soften the leather. But when it does get soft I will not want to ride with anything else. So when I got home I laid everything out and got some photos. I tried the pants on and they fit as well as the jacket did.

I went for a ride with R1 last night and took the suit out for its first ride. I rode the SV last night because I wanted to make sure the suit was ok when riding the tight ergos. The sleeves are a bit stiff right now and make it a little more work to move around on the bike. The legs are the big problem right now. The leather is so stiff in the legs that I could not put both legs up on the pegs at the same time. I had to get one up and then get the other up when I started moving. This problem will go away once the leather in the knees stretches a bit.

So to close up this review I must say I am very pleased with the whole process and the garment itself. Vanson is truly one of the best and you can’t ask for anymore. If you are bigger person like myself and want some nice gear look into Vanson and I am sure you will be please also. But be prepared to pay for what you get. My final bill was $1700, about $400 more then BB.

Here are some pics:

http://www.kujosplace.com/vanson.htm

Posted by: RookWV

I wore my suits around the house to help in breaking them in....

Nice suit!

Posted by: Oxi-Rider

Take er out and ride in er this saturday, sweat it up for a couple hours...immediately broke in!

Posted by: Falcn

Let us know how well the perfs work.

Posted by: VonKujo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Falcn

Let us know how well the perfs work.

They work very well. On both sides of the breast inside are these panels you can unzip to allow more air flow (about a 10x10 square). There are also zipper vents on the sleeves and back.

Does anyone know if these suits are rain resistant? Something I never asked but I got stuck in the rain the other day in my mesh. I got real wet and it brought that question up in my head.

Eric

Posted by: schultzy

i have vanson jacket/pants that zip together and im in the ball park same size as you. i had the same one leg up issue at first but they broke in sooner than i thought. just had to go out and sweat in them a little. dont do any serious twisty riding until you can move around on the bike in them, they tend to restrict movement until they soften up.

cool suit, money well spent!

Posted by: VonKujo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oxi-Rider

Take er out and ride in er this saturday, sweat it up for a couple hours...immediately broke in!

I will be riding on Saturday with the pants at least. It is supposed to be 95+ here on Saturday, so I think I will be going with a leather/mesh combo.

Eric

Posted by: schultzy

not water proof or resistant, need rain gear over if you get stuck in the rain wearing them.

here is my fat butt sweating it up yesterday at beaverun....and no, that is not a black leather bean bag chair sitting on the back of an R1...

Posted by: VonKujo

Quote:

Originally Posted by schultzy

not water proof or resistant, need rain gear over if you get stuck in the rain wearing them.

here is my fat butt sweating it up yesterday at beaverun....and no, that is not a black leather bean bag chair sitting on the back of an R1...

Thanks man, it looks like we are just about the same size... I had a few other pics of me in the suit but I couldn't post them. I was in a small room and it just made me look that much bigger.

Posted by: mangeldbug

VERY NICE! Congrats Von!

Good to hear that your weeks (months?) of careful research and waiting paid off!!

Posted by: natrona848

Nice stuff Eric, good on ya.

Be careful about rain, just like leather gloves, if you get them soaked, they will be stiff again for a time. Check out the 1 piece rain suits from tourmaster or the like and carry it with you just in case.

Posted by: Steve

Awesome! Congrats on finally getting the suit in! Looks great...

Posted by: schultzy

"just like leather gloves, if you get them soaked, they will be stiff again for a time"

the O.J. Simpson prosecution team learned that one the hard way.

Posted by: natrona848

Posted by: mangeldbug

first time I got caught in the rain with my leather gloves, they actually got softer.

Posted by: natrona848

not my Astars, they got stiff as a brick.

Posted by: tzortn

The suit looks great. It was worth the wait. I tried on a Vanson jacket once. I loved everything about ti except for the price tag. I could have bought the jacket or paid my rent.

Posted by: VonKujo

Quote:

Originally Posted by tzortn

The suit looks great. It was worth the wait. I tried on a Vanson jacket once. I loved everything about ti except for the price tag. I could have bought the jacket or paid my rent.

Ya, rent is a bit important...

Posted by: BlackB12

Very nice suit.

Mike

Posted by: Tanstafl

FWIW, There is a product I use on all my horse tack (saddles, reins, halters, boots, chaps, gloves, etc.)called Lexol. Sweet stuff that (I think and so do a bunch of other horse people) is very effective in taking care of leather. Softens the leather up and keeps it supple. It's a glycerin based product that seems to help keep the water out longer than if untreated. If you see it around somewhere, I would say give it a try.

Posted by: VonKujo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tanstafl

FWIW, There is a product I use on all my horse tack (saddles, reins, halters, boots, chaps, gloves, etc.)called Lexol. Sweet stuff that (I think and so do a bunch of other horse people) is very effective in taking care of leather. Softens the leather up and keeps it supple. It's a glycerin based product that seems to help keep the water out longer than if untreated. If you see it around somewhere, I would say give it a try.

Thanks, good info...

Posted by: 87hurricane

Yeap. Lexol is definitely good stuff, I used to use it on the leather in my cars. I haven't seen it anywhere recently, maybe I'll have to check a Tack shop.

Posted by: Oxi-Rider

Lexol is good stuff for your leathers. It is pH balanced, which is the most important thing for the leathers...its skin you know. There is a light tan bottle of spray stuff at WalMart that is just as good, and is pretty cheap. One is a cleaner, the other is a treater. The most important thing for your leathers is to keep them oiled. Oil them maybe once a season, perfect weather. The sun will eventually dry them out. If you ride in the rain, no biggie. If you ride for 3 hours in a terrential downpour that soaks them through, they need reoiled soon. I am maniacal about keeping my leathers nice. I have a three year old set I beat the piss out of that are baby's butt soft, as is my car seats which have 110000 miles on them. Keep leather happy,. and it lasts forever. Don't, and thats when you see discoloration, and cracking.

Keith

Posted by: VonKujo

Well if Lexol is hard to find, does anyone have other products to recommend?

Oxi, any idea what the stuff from WalMart is called?

Posted by: paperairplane

You can find anywhere:

Saddle Soap - comes in a tin like shoe polishand will clean and condition leather.

Mink Oil - again, comes in a tin and will soften and make leather water resistant to a degree.

With both test for color fastness first.

I keep a tin of mink oil in the garage where I store my gear so when I come in from a ride I keep my gloves on and work it into the jacket and gloves at the same time(2 birds, 1 stone)...

Mink oil is also good for working in a new baseball glove.

Posted by: Tanstafl

Oh, and in a pinch, plain glycerin soap will do a good job as well, especially to just give leather a quick cleaning, just wet the bar of soap occasionally (to get some suds action) and sorta "scrub" your leathers

Posted by: VonKujo

I will be trying some mink oil very soon. I have been riding the last few weeks with my Vanson Jacket and the thing does not want to soften up. It is almost a chore to ride in! I have been riding with the pants ever since they came in and they are feeling really nice. Except for long rides the leather starts to bother my skin. I will be getting a set of under armor to fix that problem.

Posted by: Puffs

There are guys who have ridden for 2 years and their Vansons are still a little stiff.

They take a long time to break in, but once they do, it is like butter. (so I hear from friends)

Also, they last forever if you take good care of em.

Posted by: Falcn

Bump for a Vanson custom suit experience.

Posted by: FiremanBob

Vanson is local to me, and I've gotten to know the people there pretty well. They will do anything to make sure you are getting exactly the right, and right-fitting gear, and their quality is the top in the world.