Step 2: The Gear, Part 4B - Custom Clothing
Due to COVID-19 my entire daily/weekly/monthly routine is in turmoil and I haven't been able to keep up with all the shenanigans of the prep so I need to back-date a few articles - including the saga about my new gear.
In late March I finally found a company that made custom gear for adventure riders: Rubber Side Down. Their pricing seemed reasonable and the style and features matched my style preferences so I banged out their online request form and submitted my details with a list of questions about the measurements and garment options. The company's owner was quick to respond and before you knew it I had most of my questions answered. The next step was to finalize my measurements - which turned out to be an adventure all its own! With the company's owner on speakerphone from Canada, me standing in my office in little more than my skivvies and with my wonderful wife wielding a garment tape-measure we were guided through about two-dozen measurements, each being called out and confirmed over the phone. It was all she could do to keep from bursting out laughing as we got to the middle of the list where nearly all measurements use your "bum" as a reference point. I never thought I'd hear that word so many times in a single phone call but alas, my trooper of a wife held it together as we called out the digits.
Once the measurements were finalized I needed to decide on a color pattern. Being a custom garment I could take my pick but the process was less-than-ideal. Unfortunately the company doesn't have a standard set of color swatches so selecting the shades was left as a verbal discussion. Have you ever tried to describe a color?!? To make matters worse they didn't have a pattern form either so my selections were made over the phone by describing what to change from their standard garment. In an effort to reduce confusion - and being the nerd that I am - I took a photo from their website and converted it to a wire-frame image which I could then load into MS Paint and create a series of custom color combinations. Since I am most certainly not a designer I opted to solicit feedback from my wife and numerous friends to determine what looked best (or least-worst). Below is a photo of the final rendering. Let's see how close they come to my vision!
Since there was still some ambiguity regarding exactly which portions of the gear were to be which colors I also created a color mapping chart, complete with sample color patches for reference. We'll see what comes back!!
In addition to the jacket and pants I also opted for a new set of waterproof gloves and, once again, my lanky dimensions meant that an off-the-shelf item would leave much room for improvement (or rather not enough room...). This process once again warranted another late-night conference call with the company's proprietor as he guided me through what measurements to take. This resulted in a trace of my mit (which BARELY fit on an 8.5x11" sheet of paper) to be scanned and emailed along with the other forms, patterns, colors and descriptions of what I wanted done. With all the paperwork submitted the final step (for me) was to make my payment. Here too chaos ensues as the company doesn't have online bill payment setup so we revert to an other-the-phone credit card payment which immediately gets blocked by my banks fraud protection rules. (Can anyone say sketchy!) We work through several attempts and the next day I get final payment confirmation. The whole process was rather tedious and the timeline may also be tight - he needs 8 weeks to make and ship the new gear and I have only 9 until we leave! Fingers crossed the seamstress is speedy!!!
The final piece of gear needed - and yet to be acquired - are boots. (I've been known to be a bit of a procrastinator so this final step doesn't take place until about a week before our launch.) While I do have a few pairs already they are well worn and without waterproofing so I whip out my worthy web browser and get to work. Having already done some research on these months ago it doesn't take long before a new pair of Forma Adventure boots are at my doorstep and not a moment too soon. Being that I put this off until the last minute I only have about 48 hours to test these so I gear up and hit the road for a quick shake-down test. Overall these are VERY comfortable but do have an achilles heel, both mine and one of their own: the top rim has zero padding so the stitching and leather uppers chafe badly against my calf and shins. Being no stranger to a similar experience I improvise by cutting the toes from a thick sock which then turns into a leg-warmer-looking chafing guard. The athstetics may be sad but it's certainly functional and it is comfortable so I'll make a pair of these to take with me on the trip.
If they all get delivered in time this should be everything I need for protective gear. Here's hoping!
In late March I finally found a company that made custom gear for adventure riders: Rubber Side Down. Their pricing seemed reasonable and the style and features matched my style preferences so I banged out their online request form and submitted my details with a list of questions about the measurements and garment options. The company's owner was quick to respond and before you knew it I had most of my questions answered. The next step was to finalize my measurements - which turned out to be an adventure all its own! With the company's owner on speakerphone from Canada, me standing in my office in little more than my skivvies and with my wonderful wife wielding a garment tape-measure we were guided through about two-dozen measurements, each being called out and confirmed over the phone. It was all she could do to keep from bursting out laughing as we got to the middle of the list where nearly all measurements use your "bum" as a reference point. I never thought I'd hear that word so many times in a single phone call but alas, my trooper of a wife held it together as we called out the digits.
Once the measurements were finalized I needed to decide on a color pattern. Being a custom garment I could take my pick but the process was less-than-ideal. Unfortunately the company doesn't have a standard set of color swatches so selecting the shades was left as a verbal discussion. Have you ever tried to describe a color?!? To make matters worse they didn't have a pattern form either so my selections were made over the phone by describing what to change from their standard garment. In an effort to reduce confusion - and being the nerd that I am - I took a photo from their website and converted it to a wire-frame image which I could then load into MS Paint and create a series of custom color combinations. Since I am most certainly not a designer I opted to solicit feedback from my wife and numerous friends to determine what looked best (or least-worst). Below is a photo of the final rendering. Let's see how close they come to my vision!
Since there was still some ambiguity regarding exactly which portions of the gear were to be which colors I also created a color mapping chart, complete with sample color patches for reference. We'll see what comes back!!
In addition to the jacket and pants I also opted for a new set of waterproof gloves and, once again, my lanky dimensions meant that an off-the-shelf item would leave much room for improvement (or rather not enough room...). This process once again warranted another late-night conference call with the company's proprietor as he guided me through what measurements to take. This resulted in a trace of my mit (which BARELY fit on an 8.5x11" sheet of paper) to be scanned and emailed along with the other forms, patterns, colors and descriptions of what I wanted done. With all the paperwork submitted the final step (for me) was to make my payment. Here too chaos ensues as the company doesn't have online bill payment setup so we revert to an other-the-phone credit card payment which immediately gets blocked by my banks fraud protection rules. (Can anyone say sketchy!) We work through several attempts and the next day I get final payment confirmation. The whole process was rather tedious and the timeline may also be tight - he needs 8 weeks to make and ship the new gear and I have only 9 until we leave! Fingers crossed the seamstress is speedy!!!
The final piece of gear needed - and yet to be acquired - are boots. (I've been known to be a bit of a procrastinator so this final step doesn't take place until about a week before our launch.) While I do have a few pairs already they are well worn and without waterproofing so I whip out my worthy web browser and get to work. Having already done some research on these months ago it doesn't take long before a new pair of Forma Adventure boots are at my doorstep and not a moment too soon. Being that I put this off until the last minute I only have about 48 hours to test these so I gear up and hit the road for a quick shake-down test. Overall these are VERY comfortable but do have an achilles heel, both mine and one of their own: the top rim has zero padding so the stitching and leather uppers chafe badly against my calf and shins. Being no stranger to a similar experience I improvise by cutting the toes from a thick sock which then turns into a leg-warmer-looking chafing guard. The athstetics may be sad but it's certainly functional and it is comfortable so I'll make a pair of these to take with me on the trip.If they all get delivered in time this should be everything I need for protective gear. Here's hoping!
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