One piece suit or jacket and pants?

[Hank]

I have the hi viz one piece from Olympia. I wear it if I am just going for a ride. Children think I am a power ranger. I feel much safer in it than a two piece.

If I am going to run errands and get off the bike I would rather wear my Klim jeans and a leather jacket, or mesh pants and jacket. I have spent a good bit of money on all this gear.

I also have a high viz motoair airbag vest. It is kind of a hassle, but the only time I have hit the ground I was wearing full gear and all that hurt was a sore rib, so the vest should help with that and the spine.

 

[Wildfire]

I went for my first ride of the spring the other day wearing the Olympia one piece suit. There is no doubt that it isn't the most comfortable setup off the bike but once I was on and riding I was quite happy. It was about 14˚C and I started with all the vents open and closed the arm vents after only about 5km. I was quite comfortable with the chest and back vents open though felt that my legs would probably get warm if the temperature was >20˚C.

It was also reassuring to know that I was wearing bright yellow suit that would make me more visible to other motorists as well as having some protection if I somehow found myself sliding on the pavement. It was a definite improvement over the snowmobile gear I was wearing in the fall.

When I bought the suit I was acting under the assumption that I was going to be essentially living at work so commuting would not be an issue but I would be using the bike mostly for 500+ km rides. I now think that the one piece suit was definitely was the right choice for that, but I just accepted a new job and a new place to live giving me a nice 6km commute. It might still be the right tool for that job as well but I'm not so sure. I guess we will see. My new job starts monday.

 

[TN Thunder]

Two piece suit. Trying to get in and out of a one piece suit is a dong especially if it's warm and you may be a bit sweaty. Also if you want to walk around you have to drop the top of the one piece and tie it around your waist which then makes the bottom half of you get hotter. Two piece is much more flexible as stated in some of the above posts.

 

[drstimpy]

I have a roadcrafter and my dads Darien. I use the roadcrafter more. It's so easy on and off that there is no sense leaving it on for meal stops. The Darien is better in really heavy rain as the roadcrafter still gets a little wet in the crotch if it's nuking rain.


Some must watch while others must sleep

 

[Wildfire]

OK after a week of commuting, and a 2 day 800km round trip I am a fan of the one piece suit. There is no temptation to just put on half of it for a short ride and it doesn't take all that long to put on or take off. Keeping a wool sweater in the frunk for cold mornings makes the one piece pretty versatile.

I find I don't really mind walking around a store looking like a power ranger either.

 

[Hank]

Someone said once that you cannot be shy if you ride a grom.
That applies to high viz one piece suits as well.