[WeaponZero]

So, being the cost conscious shopper I am, I went and bought a ton of new gear during the winter while everything was on sale for ridiculously low prices. It sounds like a good idea in theory, until you start to consider that I didn’t actually get to try any of it out until March when I took my bike out of winter storage. Some of the gear ended up having to be returned but because of the length of time that passed, I was unable to return it. Knowing what I know now from this little experience, I will never do that again and will gladly pay the extra money to buy it at regular price if it means having the option to return defective merchandise, or merchandise I am otherwise unsatisfied with.

[Ben]

Ouch, that sucks WeaponZero! I’m surprised you didn’t try it on when you first got it. I know you are more of a veteren, but when I first started riding I wore my gear around the house for a bit before I even got my motorcycle lol.

Ben

[WeaponZero]

The problems I’m talking about are ones you can only discover while riding. Things such as helmet airflow issues, etc.

[eon]

Can you return a helmet after wearing it on the bike?
I thought the reason they all have the visor covered with a large sticker was that as soon as you take it off, it’s yours! I seriously thought about returning my Arai as soon as I started wearing it due to fogging. I’m glad I kept it now as I have worked around that issue but at the time I may have returned it if that option was still open to me.

[IBA270]

Online sales can be very, very tempting…but before you do, make sure you can live with the return policy. I’ve found over the years that order less and less online in the way of gear, and more and more from local dealers where I’ve forged relationships and get AWESOME service AND discounts. I don’t even ask for them. I usually end up paying much less than the “tag” price + tax. When they can’t do that on some items with skinny margins? They throw something in the bag for free like high performance socks, or something. One time they “found” a $50 off coupon on a chest protector that they insisted I dropped on the way into the store.

Ok, sorry for the rant. Support your local guys if you have them and can. If really DOES pay off.

[Sean_D]

… I returned a helmet after taking the sticker off. I just stuck it back on. Heck, they were taking them off in the store to allow me to try various helmets on and then slapping the stickers back on. So, you have to figure, if they do it in the store they can’t argue someone else doing it right?

But of course one stores practices may vary from another, but it definitely worth asking about. The policy at the store I purchased from is “as long as you don’t wear it out on the road.” Asking how they could tell if it was worn on the road, they said from minor scratches and pitting from road debris. I am thinking you have to wear it on the road from more than one test drive for them to really see any signs of that. But in any case I never wore it more than around the house before returning it.

[Sean_D]

… if you live in an area with a definite winter “no riding” season. Luckily we have fairly moderate temps for the most part in Denver. Sure we get our cold spells and snow spells, but we get spells of sunny weather in the mid-40’s and higher all throughout as well. I think maybe 10 days due to a heavy snow around Christmas was the longest I had to go without riding. The main streets were fine, but they don’t plow our streets

But anyway, purchased a lot of gear over the winter. Everything fit well and functioned well so no problems knock on wood.

[Jeff in Kentucky]

If you buy a new helmet and it has a “hot spot” that bothers you, take a big metal or plastic soup spoon and press on this area to compress it slightly- a sixteenth or eighth inch deeper will probably not hurt, but pushing this area down a quarter inch or deeper might make the helmet less safe in a crash, when the foam is designed to compress up to about an inch to protect your brain and skull.

[Author]

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