[WildKat]

well said !!!!

[soccersteve]

beer=basketball shoes and champaigne=alpinestars

thats great man. nice analogy. that may end up in someones signature.

[1BlueKat]

I buy what I can afford, I always thought something was better than nothing.

[WildKat]

beer=basketball shoes and champaigne=alpinestars

thats great man. nice analogy. that may end up in someones signature.

should send that to alpine stars..maybe they use it an ad, and ur rich !!

[GSX1100FL]

I try to buy the best as far as over all protection & durability but I also have to stick to what I can afford & what I can find that will fit me; 6'4" 320lbs.

[Matt]

Re: The best or not...

B.. You dont buy whats considered the best, because its just foolish spending when gear that is much less expensive will do the job as well.

I wouldn't buy a Jaguar any more than I'd buy a Yugo - and it ain't for the money reasons.

Any economist will tell you the sweet spot of the market lies between the extremes - and the extremes are usually just that - overboard in one way or another.

Then we have diminishing returns, which states (roughly) that although the price is twice as high, it doesn't mean the product offers twice the protection - which really comes to mind in regard to HELMETS.

So I look at the middle of the market and make sure there is no general feelings of discontent with a particular brand and I go from there.

[Owlman]

Like others I usually buy the best I can afford. My first helmet was a Shoei RF-1000. The Shoei was comfortable, but expensive and fogged up like crazy on early morning rides.


No longer sure of it's integrity after dropping it from 5 feet on to a rough cement floor (few deep chips), I went out and bought a KBC VR-1 helmet because I couldn't bring myself to spending another $500 (CDN) for a lid.

The KBC (Snell 2000 and DOT) has turned out to be as comfortable, rarely fogs up and was $200 cheaper than the Shoei. I'm sending Shoei my helmet so that they can inspect it but I'm extremely happy with the KBC.

Professional racers are often seen in HJC, KBC and other lines that are considered "cheaper". If the quality wasn't there, they wouldn't be using it, trust me. Quoting tzortn "Often the added cost is a result of the company's advertising budget".

So I say, buy conscientiously. Do your research and buy what you feel is the best product you can afford. And if you win the lottery one day, the same resonning applies -buy yourself the best you can afford..... but don't forget me! I'll take anything with a HEMI....

[ONYOUR6]

[quote="woobie"]Simply put I buy the best I can afford. It's a trade off, I'd love to have some high end stuff, but the kids and wife like to eat and live in a nice house lol.

I 2nd that

[SweetLou]

I try to buy the best as far as over all protection & durability but I also have to stick to what I can afford & what I can find that will fit me; 6'4" 320lbs.

Man, do I hear you on that!

[kwebbel]

I only buy the best considering safety, the difference in price isn't that big, the difference in safety often is...

[AHF]

We try to buy the stuff that has the best safety writeups on them. We look for first hand knowledge (AKA The Downed Rider) of how the gear holds up in the event of a crash. Let's be honest, the "good looking" part of your gear isn't what is going to save your a$$ in a crash, it's the quality. It just so happens the the gear that ends up on the top of the list usually ends up being names like Sidi, Arai, Vanson, etc. When either Kim or I see a piece of gear we like, the first thing we do is do a search for writeups or experiences on it. If I'm injured or sick, I'm not going to go into the doctor and say "give me the mid level priced treatment". No, I want the best because it's for me! I know many can't afford the best in gear, but if that's the case then I know they can't afforded to take a week off of work because they're in the hospital getting 2 lbs of road scrubbed out of them because their gear didn't hold up in the slide.