The Roadcrafter, 1 year later...

EX Winger · May 28, 2012

Hi Dee & otheres, My Teiz Navigator fits very well, may have a little less pocket space than my darrionBUTT the arms,neck, legs , torso etc fit perfectly, I carry a Sig P-238 in a lower outer pocket at this time, it fits comfortably and does not foot print at all. Intime I wil be adding a pitol pocket to the jacket with leather linning similar to a Langlitz set up. I may change out the pant leg zippers for some that are longer than the ones from Teiz which are knee length I would put in longer ones tha come to upper thigh area. as far as comfort is concerned this suit FITS as well as My Langlitz did in 1970 wehn I had it custom built. I will agree with a previous poste about buying american built ec, BUT onlyu when Andy and company want to build to my personal measurements. I don't particularly care about COST as compared to FIT, BUTT I want it BUILT for ME not for a generic idea that everyone is of the same dimensions. If Teiz makes a few more changes to thier existing suit it will be head and shoulders over Stich, as it is right now it is my choice, I have about 2,000 miles on mine so far and I am satisfied. I suggest going to thier website and read it all. On thier Navigator and its equal quality one piece suit they do not make any claim of water proofand recomend thayou have a rain suit to put on when needed. Their lombard does come with a rain linner availible that you can put on under the outer suit, I may consider one of hem in the future as well. That will depend entirley on IF & WHEN ANDY & CO. SEE's THE LIGHT and wants to BUILD to FIT funny shapes.

larrylarry75 · May 28, 2012

Dee G said:
The Teiz is an interesting suit. I like the vents, but how is it on pocket space? Need room for some of the girly stuff that I would normally carry in a purse (wallet, brush, phone, Ruger .380, etc). I'm looking to get a lighter weight summer/commute suit, but if it can't compare with my 'stich on the carrying capacity.......

Hi Dee,

I just returned from a 4000 mile ride down south which served as the maiden voyage for my new HiViz Darien Light outfit. I can honestly say I like it a lot more than the one-piece Roadcrafter; it seems to provide a wider range of control over temperature shifts plus it's a great rain suit. So far I'm still learning which pockets serve best for different applications but it doesn't lack for space. Most of my stuff has transferred directly from the 'stich without any loss in convenience.

Being able to remove the jacket at coffee stops, etc., has really added a lot to my enjoyment of touring. In fact it just occurred to me the difference in convenience between a one-piece 'stich and the Darien Light might well compare to that of a flip-up helmet versus a full-coverage model.

I'm going to continue riding with it this summer and if I'm still happy with it when the weather turns cold I'll start the painful process of ofting my no-longer-needed gear. Good luck with your quest in finding the best solution for your needs, we've all been there.

LL75

kjiliff · Jun 5, 2012

My altered Roadcrafter is on its way back to me, delivery expected tomorrow. Can't wait to see how it fits. Hope I'm not disappointed.

kjiliff · Jun 21, 2012

I got my Roadcrafter back a couple weeks ago, but I haven't been able to ride due to travel and my bike being in the shop for repairs. So I haven't ridden in the altered Roadcrafter yet, but I have been wearing it around the house some (right now in fact) to see how it fits. After $300 in alterations, it's a lot better, but it still doesn't fit right. It still binds some in the shoulders, still a little too short through the torso. The main zipper is still hard to get started. And, they forgot to add the snaps to the collar that I requested, so I requested that they refund the $10 they charged for that. I am very disappointed they missed that small detail.

I have about $1100 total invested in this suit. It is very functional, but on the comfort side the best I can say is that it is now bearable. After spending that much money, I was hoping for better than that, but it is what it is. So I'll keep wearing it and make the best of it.

Kevin

Phil Tarman · Jun 21, 2012

Well, phooey. Too bad.

EX Winger · Jun 21, 2012

Kevin,
I am sure sorry to hear this report. It makes me even happier with my total comfort TEIZ. I had hoped that you would have a very good fit with the amount of money you spent on the modifications.I rally think I would attempt to contact Andy himselfe in a one on one meeting and let him know exacltly how poor a job his represenitives have done and see if he won't make it right! I was initially going to go to Duluth and get all the measurements built into a new suit but recieved very good advise about even going there could be a dissapointment , thanks Katherine, especially for pointing me to a much better alternate that builds to fit.

eldon

kjiliff · Jun 27, 2012

One more update. I probably should have waited until I actually rode in it before I made my previous post. I was able to ride about 500 miles in it last weekend, and it is a lot better. Not perfect, but pretty good. One thing I noticed was that I don't feel any neck strain any more, which was probably due to the constant pressure on my shoulders.

I'm done complaining now, let's ride.

Hope you all have a great day, and thanks for all the helpful comments on this thread.

Kevin

Phil Tarman · Jun 27, 2012

Kevin, I'm glad to hear it's working better for you. Maybe as it continues to break in there'll be more improvement.