Olympia AirGlide 2 Overpants

[JimLor]

I currently have FG Mesh Tex 2 jacket and trou for warm/hot weather riding. I've seen a couple of Olympia jackets and they look like good pieces of gear. The FG stuff is ok, but I'd rather not wear black trou in the heat, the Olympia trou mentioned come in silver and I think would be cooler in the heat. They also have an insulated/waterproof liner you can wear alone or in the trou. Any comments with experience with this gear would be appreciated to include sizing. Info says they're "overpants" but I'd be wearing them alone. I have size 36 in the FG and they fit fine, but they're not "overpants" and I'm wondering if going to a 34 would be a better move.

Thanks.

Subject Trou

 

[Shane Stump]

I currently have FG Mesh Tex 2 jacket and trou for warm/hot weather riding. I've seen a couple of Olympia jackets and they look like good pieces of gear. The FG stuff is ok, but I'd rather not wear black trou in the heat, the Olympia trou mentioned come in silver and I think would be cooler in the heat. They also have an insulated/waterproof liner you can wear alone or in the trou. Any comments with experience with this gear would be appreciated to include sizing. Info says they're "overpants" but I'd be wearing them alone. I have size 36 in the FG and they fit fine, but they're not "overpants" and I'm wondering if going to a 34 would be a better move.Thanks.

Subject Trou

Jim,

I have been considering the Olympia AirGlide 2 Pants also because of the silver color (black gets hot in Texas if any SUN is out)!

Unless something comes up, I am planning on riding on to Dallas this weekend and looking @ a pair of the Olympia pants + Fieldsheer's Four Season Pants in silver. I am 5'11" and about 180 pounds so it sounds like our waistlines are about the same.

If the Olympia fits well, I will purchase a pair this weekend and report back.

Best Regards,

Shane

 

[JimLor]

Thanks Shane, I'd appreciate that. They "look" like pretty decent pants. Morton's BMW in Fredericksburg (VA not TX) carries some Olympia stuff, but haven't seen pants there yet. I'll take a gander at the FieldSheer stuff too.

Thanks!

Just looked at the Fieldsheer trou and they look pretty good too!

Fieldsheer Trou

 

[jwilly]

I'm also considering the Fieldsheer Silver overpants to get away from the Hot Black material. Does anyone have any experience with online retailers that carry Fieldsheer? One that I have found is RideGear.com but I don't have any experience with them.

Thanks,

JW

 

[FJrider1]

I have the airglides, I suggest trying them on if your not wearing them as overpants.

I wear a 36 and they are loose. With the liner in they just fit. Liner is a little bulky.

They do let a lot of air threw even on the FJR!

 

[Shane Stump]

I'm also considering the Fieldsheer Silver overpants to get away from the Hot Black material. Does anyone have any experience with online retailers that carry Fieldsheer? One that I have found is RideGear.com but I don't have any experience with them.
Thanks,

JW

JW,

I haven't ordered from the company, but the best price I have found on the Fieldsheer's are

https://store.dsrpowersports.com/fosemepa.html

Price is ~$135 including free shipping.

Best regards,

Shane

 

[DrBunsen]

I've got the pants as well as the jacket. I wore them all last Summer in the Dallas, TX heat, including one instance of stop/creep/stop/creep for 15 minutes when the air temp indicator was showing 111F while on a new section of black asphalt. Not exactly pleasant, but I'm paranoid enough about road rash that if I had to do it again I'd still wear the gear. They definitely let some air through, but it's still hell if you're basically standing still.

My only complaint is that I wish the leg length was about 2" longer. I've thought about trying to get my wife to sew on some extension fabric of some sort so that when I'm riding I won't have that "high water" look. My inseam is 34". If they offered them in a longer cut I'd buy them again with little hesitation. But if not then I'll at least look at other options before re-buying.

<edit>

I just went to the site and found this about the pants:

"Our pants are cut with generous inseams to accommodate various riding positions. Our EZ hem bottoms (six inches of adjustability) and adjustable knee armor help riders achieve a custom fit."

So, maybe I just need to buy my wife something nice and ask her to give them a look-see.

</edit>

<edit#2>

Hmmm - just stared at the pants and I think that what they mean is that they can come up 6". No additional fabric in there that I can see to make them longer (sigh...).

</edit#2>

<edit#3>

I sent an email to Olympia and the owner replied back to me within an hour saying that they'd be happy to send out additional fabric to allow me to lengthen my pants. A quick toll-free call later and I'll apparently have an option to get rid of my "flood pants". Hopefully a year's worth of wearing hasn't changed the color much....

</edit#3>

 

[squeezer]

I'm also considering the Fieldsheer Silver overpants to get away from the Hot Black material. Does anyone have any experience with online retailers that carry Fieldsheer? One that I have found is RideGear.com but I don't have any experience with them.
Thanks,

JW

I ordered the Fieldsheer 4 Seasons overpants from motorcycleclosouts.com. You'll find them in their "mesh" section. Their price, with shipping, puts them between drpowersports and ridegear. It's a good service -- I've ordered a few other things from them and never had a problem. It took about two weeks to get them with ground shipping. The only downside with is that they don't do refunds, only exchanges. No restocking fee if you exchange, though.

I went for the black, by the way. I didn't think I could keep the silver clean. They have both in stock, though.

 

[jwilly]

Thanks for the feedback guys!

JimLor: Sorry I didn't mean to hijack your thread over to Fieldsheer/Vendors.

Looks like the 2 pants are similiar in color and design.

JW

 

[JimLor]

No problem JW - glad to see there is at least one other choice for "not black" trou. Both look pretty good.

 

[twowheelnut]

Got 'em. Love 'em. Would buy them again. One reservation though and I knew this going in: The liner is the WP element of this pant and as such, sudden rain might mean you are caught without the liner in hot weather and, if you have them in in hot weather when rain is predicted, you swelter. For this reason, in hot weather, I bring my snow ski WP over pant, which is just a shell, if I expect rain.

Edit: These are an over pant, but can be used with a pant liner or shorts. They are not see through so I suppose you could wear them with just your skivvies. Notice also that the pant has belt loops on the outside which means you need a belt to hold them up. I like this feature as I hate 'spenders.

 

[JimLor]

Shane - I beat you to it! Morton's BMW in Fredericksburg VA had their Om pah pah day today and had $20 off of the Olympia trou. Lorie told me to get them, great wife! Came home, she went to our niece's and I went for a ride in the rain. Great trou and I like em. As nutman said, they're overpants but they seem to be cut less baggy then most. I intend to wear them w/shorts or nada in the summer. Today I put the liner in and that's all. Very nice - they seem to be well made. They have an "easy hem." Only have 1 length is each size, but the zipper doesn't go all the way to the bottom. From where it ends downward the flap closes with velcro. That way you can cut and hem them to your length w/o having to mess with the zipper. Or, you let 'em bag!

My FG Mesh Tex 2 jacket's zipper does fit, but it's shorter and zips backwards. But, the Olympia trou come with a matching zipper and enought material to sew it on your jacket, nice touch.

By the by, you can also wear the liner as a pair of trou if you'd ever want to. Even have their own pockets.

All in all I'm glad I bought these - and got $20 off for om pah pah day!

And I stayed dry, even when initially sitting on a seat full of water.

 

[Shane Stump]

Shane - I beat you to it! Morton's BMW in Fredericksburg VA had their Om pah pah day today and had $20 off of the Olympia trou. Lorie told me to get them, great wife! Came home, she went to our niece's and I went for a ride in the rain. Great trou and I like em. As nutman said, they're overpants but they seem to be cut less baggy then most. I intend to wear them w/shorts or nada in the summer. Today I put the liner in and that's all. Very nice - they seem to be well made. They have an "easy hem." Only have 1 length is each size, but the zipper doesn't go all the way to the bottom. From where it ends downward the flap closes with velcro. That way you can cut and hem them to your length w/o having to mess with the zipper. Or, you let 'em bag!
My FG Mesh Tex 2 jacket's zipper does fit, but it's shorter and zips backwards. But, the Olympia trou come with a matching zipper and enought material to sew it on your jacket, nice touch.

By the by, you can also wear the liner as a pair of trou if you'd ever want to. Even have their own pockets.

All in all I'm glad I bought these - and got $20 off for om pah pah day!

And I stayed dry, even when initially sitting on a seat full of water.

Jim,

You beat me by a MILE! I was suppose to ride up to Dallas this morning and have lunch with a friend. Afterwards, I was going to ride over to MotoLiberty and buy a pair of either the Olympia or Fieldsheers. The problem is that we had a cold front move through and I decided to work today and ride Sunday / Monday.

Give a full report of how you like them! I am going to ride up to Dallas next Saturday and try again if the weather allows it !

Best Regards,

Shane

 

[JimLor]

Shane - I like 'em. Here are a couple of points

1. The "easy hem" - well, keeps Olympia from having to make various lengths for each waist size, but puts the onus on the buyer to either accept the long legs or pay to hem them up. Ok with me as I like the quality and it's worth it to me.

2. Liner - I'm actually sitting here - having just finished my taxes - in the "liners." Nice - they have a belt-loop, front and rear pockets, and you can wear them by themselves.

3. Size - These are "overpants," however, the size 36 I got are somewhat smaller than the First Gear size 36. Actually that's good for me as I want to use these as summer pants either by themselves or with shorts.

I didn't have the chance to compare these with the Fieldsheers which also look good.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[TheBlueStreak]

I have them and there great. I'm a 32" waist but have the 34" size. I use them over jeans but what works better for me is using them over lined jogging pants. The jogging pants are thin so when wearing the over pants there is more room in the legs. They are very warm with the liner in on cold days. They could be a little longer in the leg length are there is a little "high water" effect.

 

[Shane Stump]

I am going to try on both and buy one of the them next Saturday.

I like the concept of a single pair of pants for all seasons. I currently where the heck out of my Heine Gerick Mesh Overpants and while I like them very much, their BLACKNESS is HOT during the Texas summer especially when still in traffic.

I just got back from a 460 mile ride and the flowers in the Hill Country (especially the Texas BLUEBONNETS) and blooming beautifully :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: !

Best Regards,

Shane

 

[snikr]

I am thinking of getting some First Gear Air Overpants. Are the Airglides better?? I'd like anyones input here before I blow my money. TIA

Tom

 

[fjrpunch]

I am thinking of getting some First Gear Air Overpants. Are the Airglides better?? I'd like anyones input here before I blow my money. TIA
Tom

I just bought the firstgear overpants, not the air overpants. I almost bought the olympia wear until I tried them on. They are a quality product but Firstgear is definitely more user friendly! Much easier to get on and off.

 

[JimLor]

Have a little more experience with the Olympias - wore 'em today for the commute, roughly 40 degrees outside. I can tell immediately that they let more air into both the lower leg and thigh area. I've worn the FG HT Air overpants in temps in the low 20s (w/o liner) and been comfortable. At 40 degree the Olympias were much, much cooler.

I think the pockets are a huge improvement on the Olympias. The FG HT have fairly short horizontel zippered pockets in front (both the overpants and the air pants you wear alone) and I'm always scraping the back of my hand going in and out of those pockets. The olympias have long mostly verticle zippered pockets in front that are huge and very easy to use.

Fit - I bought the Olympias to wear alone or over shorts in the summer so what follows is good from my point of view. Both FG HT and Olympias are size 36. The Olympias are a "tighter" fit (good from my perspective). In fact, I think I'd have problems (would be pretty tight) wearing blue jeans, the liner, and the overpants (Olympia) at the same time. However, I've worn the Olympias and the liner by themselves and they fit great and I think that would work fine in colder wx. The Olympia liner is much thicker (quilted) than the FG overpants. I like 'em!