I bought a new jacket, pants, gloves and helmet from leatherup.com the other day.  My friend has a jacket that is the same brand and it protected him very well in a high side collision when a car pulled out in front of him.  Xelement seems like it's by far the best bargain gear out there as far as form and function.

Jacket - https://www.leatherup.com/site/product?pid=42541
Pants - https://www.leatherup.com/site/product?pid=54776
Gloves - https://www.leatherup.com/site/product?pid=51537
Helmet - https://www.leatherup.com/site/product?pid=95059

Full review in this thread when I get it all and get a chance to use them (hopefully I won't be really using the armor).

I love leatherup.  I bought my first jacket from them as well.  I got a modular helmet from them too.  Good prices and good customer service.

- Porkchop

Nice gear. I bought my first helmet through leatherup. But it was to big so I just bought a helmet from Motorcyclesuperstore.com. Im not happy with there customer service. I had to email them about the fact that I didnt get my helmet on the day it was supposed to be there and then got an email two hours later saying my helmet was going to ship that day and would be another week. Should be here today!

bought the Same gloves from the same site last year.

Still wearing them now with No complaints.

they actually saved my right hand in a spill in the gravel last year.
got a little scratched up but not enough where they broke through the material and needed replacing.

Quote from: Tombstones81 on April 04, 2012, 08:52:58 AM
bought the Same gloves from the same site last year.

Still wearing them now with No complaints.

they actually saved my right hand in a spill in the gravel last year.
got a little scratched up but not enough where they broke through the material and needed replacing.

Yep, I saw your comment on those gloves in another thread and that helped me choose them.  I like that they have hard knuckle gaurds too.

Quote from: kyleGS500 on April 04, 2012, 08:20:02 AM
Nice gear. I bought my first helmet through leatherup. But it was to big so I just bought a helmet from Motorcyclesuperstore.com. Im not happy with there customer service. I had to email them about the fact that I didnt get my helmet on the day it was supposed to be there and then got an email two hours later saying my helmet was going to ship that day and would be another week. Should be here today!

Really?  I've ordered from them several times with no issues at all.  Fantastic Customer Service through both email and phone.   

I personally like cycle gear. Got a kicking pair of Bilt boots on sale a couple of months ago and they are awesome. For $79 and waterproof couldn't ask for more. They are comfortable to walk around in too!

Mary

ive been contemplating some boots from XElement, but i'm kinda wary on the quality. I'll be anxious to see how your gear fairs....

Quote from: ninjeff on April 04, 2012, 09:12:20 PM
ive been contemplating some boots from XElement, but i'm kinda wary on the quality. I'll be anxious to see how your gear fairs....

I almost bought the same jacket as bomb, in orange and white to match my helmet, but ended up getting a Shift Avenger for the same price instead.  I, too, was wary of the quality.  If it turns out good, I may purchase one anyway.

So far these Bilt boots are good quality and I'm liking them better than my Frank Thomas ones. They've got them on sale this month just be wary they are for more narrow feet and run small!

Mary

Quote from: shonole on April 04, 2012, 09:17:22 PM

Quote from: ninjeff on April 04, 2012, 09:12:20 PM
ive been contemplating some boots from XElement, but i'm kinda wary on the quality. I'll be anxious to see how your gear fairs....

I almost bought the same jacket as bomb, in orange and white to match my helmet, but ended up getting a Shift Avenger for the same price instead.  I, too, was wary of the quality.  If it turns out good, I may purchase one anyway.

The Shift Avenger Jacket is what im rocking now too.
I will say, my girlfriend just got an Icon jacket delivered last night and i must say they've made some GIGANTIC leaps in quality the past few years. I was really impressed.

Quote from: ninjeff on April 05, 2012, 05:32:04 AM

Quote from: shonole on April 04, 2012, 09:17:22 PM

Quote from: ninjeff on April 04, 2012, 09:12:20 PM
ive been contemplating some boots from XElement, but i'm kinda wary on the quality. I'll be anxious to see how your gear fairs....

I almost bought the same jacket as bomb, in orange and white to match my helmet, but ended up getting a Shift Avenger for the same price instead.  I, too, was wary of the quality.  If it turns out good, I may purchase one anyway.

The Shift Avenger Jacket is what im rocking now too.
I will say, my girlfriend just got an Icon jacket delivered last night and i must say they've made some GIGANTIC leaps in quality the past few years. I was really impressed.

Yeah, they've definitely stepped up their game.

And I love my Avenger!  Such a great jacket (especially for the price).  Really, the only thing I wish it had was zippered vents, but I really haven't needed them yet anyway.  I've worn it in 40 degree weather (with the liner) and 90 (without) and have zero complaints.

Just wondering if you had a chance to try the jacket out? How does it fit with the zip out liner removed. I just got a Fulmer FiretrackII jacket and it fit good until I removed the liner. Then the elbow armor pads just kind of flop of my elbows (does not have adjustable straps). I'm looking for something to use on the cold days and hot ones.

Yep.  I got my gear on Tuesday.  I haven't had a chance to do anything but try it on so far.  It looks and fits great.  I got an XL and I'm 6'1' 190lbs with long arms.  I normally wear a large, but was advised to order one size up.  With the liner in, this jacket would be very warm I think.  With it out, I think it would be very tolerable with the vents unzipped as long as you are moving.  The elbows have armor and kevlar outer coating on the sleaves, and yes they do have elbow retaining straps that are adjustable as well.  They also have velcro cuffs which are nice.

I would say that there is a bit of a quality issue.  The stitching of the little things, like the loops for the straps that retain the liner, are very fragile.  I ripped through one of the loops on the pants almost right away when I was just handling the pants.  I also ripped the retaining strap off one of the gloves without much pulling.  I will just sew these back in with a double stitch and they will be fine, but it was a little annoying.  The zipper also feels a bit cheap, with a coarse feeling when you zip, but it is very secure that way.

I ordered size 38 pants.  I normally wear 34'x34' jeans and the pants fit perfectly over a pair of jeans, both width and length.  They are also very warm with the liner in.

This gear looks great, and I don't question the effectiveness of the material and the armor.  The only thing I don't like about this stuff is the finishing touches as I mentioned.  I think it works well though for what I need, and you can't beat the price.

Looks           5/5
Function       4/5
Protection  4.5/5
Comfort        4/5
Quality         3/5
Value           5/5
Overall         4/5

Pics to come later.

that sucks about the stitchings.

as for the gloves, I guess you got unlucky with that one.

Been wearing mine since May of last year and the only thing wrong with them is the Slight rash on the right palm from a spill.

I'd love to punch someone in the face tho with the plastic knuckle guards! hahahaha

Yeah I love the gloves otherwise.  They look and feel awesome.  I will get that strap stitched up.

Quote from: Tombstones81 on April 12, 2012, 03:34:28 PM
that sucks about the stitchings.

as for the gloves, I guess you got unlucky with that one.

Been wearing mine since May of last year and the only thing wrong with them is the Slight rash on the right palm from a spill.

I'd love to punch someone in the face tho with the plastic knuckle guards! hahahaha

Yeah. And if you don't take your helmet off...you'll be nearly invincible!

I'm resurrecting this topic for an update on the gear that I bought.  Thankfully, I still haven't wrecked and really tested out the gear, but I'm too the point where I just don't feel safe enough in this cheaper set of gear.  I've done a lot more research, and it tend to indicate to me that the higher priced products provide features and quality which will in fact provide a much higher degree of protection in case of accident.  To me, it's worth it to upgrade at this point for piece of mind.  (Maybe it has something to do with becoming a dad.  Who knows?)

As to the issues I've had with the gear reviewed in this thread, here goes:

1. The main zipper on the jacket is a pain to get up and down, and has actually destroyed some of the fabric behind it because it would constantly get caught up.
2. The zipper on one of the pockets tore halfway out of the jacket when I gave it firm tug attempting to stuff something in there.  Not very confidence inspiring on the quality of stitching.
3. The "armor" provided is all just foam padding, and it is very loose while wearing the jacket.  The looseness is partially because I probably ordered a size bigger than I should have, but also partially due to the quality.  I will feel better about having CE approved armor.
4. The zipper to attach the pants to the jacket was actually backwards of what it should have been.  Yeah...seriously.  So I had to get someone to take out and reverse the zipper on the pants.  The zipper for the pants lining actually got destroyed in the process (whoops!).
5. The general feel of the the leather and the fabric on this jacket just doesn't seem like it would hold up in a crash situation.

All this is not to say that I didn't get what I paid for.  In fact I paid a fraction of what my new gear cost, and I'm sure it would have provided some protection in the case of an accident.  If this gear is all you can afford, then it might be justified.  But I would definitely be saving for new gear as a priority.  Save for gear instead of the next cool mod or next bike.

Updating my ratings of this gear:

Looks           4/5
Function       3/5
Protection     3/5
Comfort        4/5
Quality         2/5
Value           3/5
Overall         3/5

Here's a link to the thread with the new gear I bought: http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=63169