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Rusty P. from California
July 24, 2008
This is a picture of the beautiful dark silver metallic the finish of my Scorpion EXO-700. I couldn't find a single picture of it, so I decided to take one myself. I know it's not a picture of me, but I thought this was more useful. ------------------------------------- I've heard great things about New Enough and decided to order from here. It's been over a month since I got my stuff, and so far it's all great! The service was wonderful, and everything arrived quick - even the stuff that shipped from the New Enough warehouse all the way in Texas (I'm in California). I promise to send pictures when I get back home next week (I'm on family vacation in Oregon, without my bike!) FirstGear HT Air 2.0 Overpants & Hiprotec Armor: Love the full length zipper from top to bottom. I can zip open from the bottom to get my boots on, and zip open from the top for the times I forget my keys in my jeans. The pants vent REALLY well, too - they do a great job keeping me cool in the 90+ degree weather we've been having. The included knee and hip armor (made of perforated foam) seems too soft and too small, but I feel a bit safer with the Hiprotec armor. I figure the extra safety is worth the extra money. I was able to fit the Hiprotec armor and the original perforated foam together into the hip armor pocket for a significantly more protected feeling. The Hiprotec armor is actually thinner than the foam, but it's made of a stronger/denser rubber material. The combination of the two actually feels perfect, but I wish they covered more area than the currently do, but they will protect the hip bones at least (which I suppose is what they're for - they're not hip+thigh protectors) Scorpion EXO-700 Helmet: First the good (there's a lot!)... This helmet feels just as good as my dad's Arai that I borrowed while learning to ride, but this is a fraction of the cost! The padding is soft and comfy and has molded to fit my head even better. The moisture wicking feature works well - I've never pulled out by head with it drenched in sweat. It worries me that the padding has started to fold/dent where the straps are - probably from pulling the helmet on with the straps, pinching the padding against the shell. The visor is wonderful - it cleans up easily, and I dropped it in a parking lot once (just the visor, which is simple enough to remove/replace), and it didn't get a single scratch except for a little dent on the tab where you open it from. I think I got lucky with the way it fell though. The anti-fog works great too - the helmet resists fogging for a lot longer than my dad's helmet. After a while, the visor starts getting cloudy with larger droplets of water. By the time you reach that point, it would have been impossible to see through any other helmet anyway. The breath guard (the rubber thing that covers your nose) not only looks cool - like a fighter pilot - it really does help keep your breath off the visor, further improving the helmet's anti-fog capabilities. Most of the venting in the helmet seems to come from underneath. The top vents are a bit noisy at speed, but I wear earplugs and I don't really notice it. There seems to be a few vents aimed at the inside of visor, and there are a bunch of vent holes in the top liner of the helmet. You can feel the air coming down at certain points on your head (mainly one point a couple inches above the forehead), but it's not a very big flow. I always keep the back vents open, but I close the front vents unless it's really hot to help keep the noise down (it's there, even though it's not bad). I ordered my EXO-700 in the dark silver color, and am VERY happy with the finish. The deep shiny gloss seems to be quite durable, and the paint is a beautiful dark metallic silver. After a few weeks I decided to wax it (with Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax - great stuff), which really brought out a mirror-like shine over the metallic silver paint. By the way, the helmet came shipped in a nice little bag too. The inside is made of soft cloth that you can use to clean the helmet if you're in a pinch. Now for complaints... I seem to get a lot of dust in my eyes, even with the visor closed. Tons of air gets in the helmet from underneath (which helps with cooling), and I'm placing an order for the aero skirt soon. It seems like this will help a lot with both noise (which isn't really that bad in the first place) and excess wind in my face. You can simulate it by blocking your chin with your hand while you're riding. You'll see the difference. I'm also a bit fat, and I realized I couldn't quite close my jaw without biting my cheeks. Probably not good in a crash. I have an XXL helmet, which comes with 15mm cheek pads. Hopefully the 10mm cheek pads will do the trick for me. The front vents are a little tough to open. They're easy to find with your gloves on and all, but you need to use a bit of force to open/close them. The ratcheting open/close system for the visor could really have used another click for just cracking it open. The first click is kinda far away from closed. It's also still stiff even after a month's use, and the helmet starts to push up on my head before the visor opens. It's also a little weird that the left/right don't move in sync, even though it doesn't cause an issue - Since the visor handle/tab is on the left side, the left moves up/down first, and the right side follows. Also, the visor smacks closed a little hard, making a loud noise if you don't have earplugs on (why aren't you wearing plugs!). All of these visor issues are really minor annoyances. At least some of my complaints about this helmet have possible fixes. Even if I have to spend $20 extra, I'm still a few hundred dollars cheaper than those other helmets! Alpinestars T-Breeze Air-Flo Mesh Jacket: I have to admit I didn't buy this from New Enough, just because I happened to be in a store that was having a sale (and I would have ordered the wrong size if I hadn't tried it on first!). Actually, I was surprised I needed a XXXL - I've never worn that size of ANYTHING in my life. The concerns about the armpit area in "Paul's Comments" do apply - I'm not getting pinched or anything, but I have to reach into the jacket and pull my t-shirt sleeves into the jacket sleeves, otherwise it feels weird and uncomfortable. The liner makes the sleeve more slidey, which helps fix the problem for me. This jacket has excellent venting and visibility - My dad says the reflective white really stands out. On cold mornings, the removable liner is good for keeping the wind out, and I just remove the liner for the ride home from work. There's a zipper for the body and 2 snaps for each sleeve. It's possible to get the sleeve twisted while you insert the liner, so be careful about that. The elbow protection feels great - hard and sturdy for tough impacts. There's also a couple of chest protectors (they mainly cover your pectorals). I'll probably order the RC Back Protector for this jacket, since the included back protector is more soft perforated foam (why is this so common? When I first started riding, I was expecting more of an exo-skeleton/armor suit than this stuff!) There are a few pockets inside the jacket which also exist in the same place on the liner, and there is one inner chest pocket accessed near the zipper. My wallet and blackberry (phone) fill up the chest pocket, but I usually just throw them in my topbox. I've never used the other pockets before so I can't really comment on them. My overall experience with New Enough was fantastic, and despite the risk of not test-fitting, everything worked out well in the end, and I'll be back soon to order gloves, boots, and other accessories!
This is a picture of the beautiful dark silver metallic the finish of my Scorpion EXO-700. I couldn't find a single picture of it, so I decided to take one myself. I know it's not a picture of me, but I thought this was more useful. ------------------------------------- I've heard great things about New Enough and decided to order from here. It's been over a month since I got my stuff, and so far it's all great! The service was wonderful, and everything arrived quick - even the stuff that shipped from the New Enough warehouse all the way in Texas (I'm in California). I promise to send pictures when I get back home next week (I'm on family vacation in Oregon, without my bike!) FirstGear HT Air 2.0 Overpants & Hiprotec Armor: Love the full length zipper from top to bottom. I can zip open from the bottom to get my boots on, and zip open from the top for the times I forget my keys in my jeans. The pants vent REALLY well, too - they do a great job keeping me cool in the 90+ degree weather we've been having. The included knee and hip armor (made of perforated foam) seems too soft and too small, but I feel a bit safer with the Hiprotec armor. I figure the extra safety is worth the extra money. I was able to fit the Hiprotec armor and the original perforated foam together into the hip armor pocket for a significantly more protected feeling. The Hiprotec armor is actually thinner than the foam, but it's made of a stronger/denser rubber material. The combination of the two actually feels perfect, but I wish they covered more area than the currently do, but they will protect the hip bones at least (which I suppose is what they're for - they're not hip+thigh protectors) Scorpion EXO-700 Helmet: First the good (there's a lot!)... This helmet feels just as good as my dad's Arai that I borrowed while learning to ride, but this is a fraction of the cost! The padding is soft and comfy and has molded to fit my head even better. The moisture wicking feature works well - I've never pulled out by head with it drenched in sweat. It worries me that the padding has started to fold/dent where the straps are - probably from pulling the helmet on with the straps, pinching the padding against the shell. The visor is wonderful - it cleans up easily, and I dropped it in a parking lot once (just the visor, which is simple enough to remove/replace), and it didn't get a single scratch except for a little dent on the tab where you open it from. I think I got lucky with the way it fell though. The anti-fog works great too - the helmet resists fogging for a lot longer than my dad's helmet. After a while, the visor starts getting cloudy with larger droplets of water. By the time you reach that point, it would have been impossible to see through any other helmet anyway. The breath guard (the rubber thing that covers your nose) not only looks cool - like a fighter pilot - it really does help keep your breath off the visor, further improving the helmet's anti-fog capabilities. Most of the venting in the helmet seems to come from underneath. The top vents are a bit noisy at speed, but I wear earplugs and I don't really notice it. There seems to be a few vents aimed at the inside of visor, and there are a bunch of vent holes in the top liner of the helmet. You can feel the air coming down at certain points on your head (mainly one point a couple inches above the forehead), but it's not a very big flow. I always keep the back vents open, but I close the front vents unless it's really hot to help keep the noise down (it's there, even though it's not bad). I ordered my EXO-700 in the dark silver color, and am VERY happy with the finish. The deep shiny gloss seems to be quite durable, and the paint is a beautiful dark metallic silver. After a few weeks I decided to wax it (with Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax - great stuff), which really brought out a mirror-like shine over the metallic silver paint. By the way, the helmet came shipped in a nice little bag too. The inside is made of soft cloth that you can use to clean the helmet if you're in a pinch. Now for complaints... I seem to get a lot of dust in my eyes, even with the visor closed. Tons of air gets in the helmet from underneath (which helps with cooling), and I'm placing an order for the aero skirt soon. It seems like this will help a lot with both noise (which isn't really that bad in the first place) and excess wind in my face. You can simulate it by blocking your chin with your hand while you're riding. You'll see the difference. I'm also a bit fat, and I realized I couldn't quite close my jaw without biting my cheeks. Probably not good in a crash. I have an XXL helmet, which comes with 15mm cheek pads. Hopefully the 10mm cheek pads will do the trick for me. The front vents are a little tough to open. They're easy to find with your gloves on and all, but you need to use a bit of force to open/close them. The ratcheting open/close system for the visor could really have used another click for just cracking it open. The first click is kinda far away from closed. It's also still stiff even after a month's use, and the helmet starts to push up on my head before the visor opens. It's also a little weird that the left/right don't move in sync, even though it doesn't cause an issue - Since the visor handle/tab is on the left side, the left moves up/down first, and the right side follows. Also, the visor smacks closed a little hard, making a loud noise if you don't have earplugs on (why aren't you wearing plugs!). All of these visor issues are really minor annoyances. At least some of my complaints about this helmet have possible fixes. Even if I have to spend $20 extra, I'm still a few hundred dollars cheaper than those other helmets! Alpinestars T-Breeze Air-Flo Mesh Jacket: I have to admit I didn't buy this from New Enough, just because I happened to be in a store that was having a sale (and I would have ordered the wrong size if I hadn't tried it on first!). Actually, I was surprised I needed a XXXL - I've never worn that size of ANYTHING in my life. The concerns about the armpit area in "Paul's Comments" do apply - I'm not getting pinched or anything, but I have to reach into the jacket and pull my t-shirt sleeves into the jacket sleeves, otherwise it feels weird and uncomfortable. The liner makes the sleeve more slidey, which helps fix the problem for me. This jacket has excellent venting and visibility - My dad says the reflective white really stands out. On cold mornings, the removable liner is good for keeping the wind out, and I just remove the liner for the ride home from work. There's a zipper for the body and 2 snaps for each sleeve. It's possible to get the sleeve twisted while you insert the liner, so be careful about that. The elbow protection feels great - hard and sturdy for tough impacts. There's also a couple of chest protectors (they mainly cover your pectorals). I'll probably order the RC Back Protector for this jacket, since the included back protector is more soft perforated foam (why is this so common? When I first started riding, I was expecting more of an exo-skeleton/armor suit than this stuff!) There are a few pockets inside the jacket which also exist in the same place on the liner, and there is one inner chest pocket accessed near the zipper. My wallet and blackberry (phone) fill up the chest pocket, but I usually just throw them in my topbox. I've never used the other pockets before so I can't really comment on them. My overall experience with New Enough was fantastic, and despite the risk of not test-fitting, everything worked out well in the end, and I'll be back soon to order gloves, boots, and other accessories!
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