Choosing the right riding gear isn’t just about looks — it’s about staying alive. From full-face helmets to back & neck protectors, Kevlar reinforced pants & jackets and reinforced gloves, choosing the right riding gear is your lifeline against the unexpected.

Whether you’re ripping canyons, cruising the coast, or maneuvering a packed high-speed highway, the right gear does more than turn heads — it protects your body from impact, road rash, and the elements. When your choice in ride gear incorporates performance, protection, and style — That’s when you riding right.

Full-Face Helmets: Maximum Protection

If you’re only buying one piece of riding gear, make it a full-face helmet. It covers your skull, jaw, and face — and when the sh*t goes sideways, that’s your only hope of walking away. DOT and SNELL rated? Mandatory. No helmet law in your state? Doesn’t matter. Riding without a helmet isn’t cool — it’s straight foolish.

Modular ∙ Open-Face ∙ Half-Helmets:

• Modular helmets are versatile but come with more moving (potentially breakable) parts.

• Open-face and half helmets offer airflow, but leave your face, chin and jaw exposed.

While all three styles are popular, it's not uncommon for modular riders to enjoy the airflow so much they forget to lock down the face shield before a ride, and half-helmets offer minimal protection, they should be considered a last resort — not your first pick.

Helmet Lenses: Clear or Tinted

Smoked, mirrored, or iridium-tinted lenses look killer and are a must for cutting daytime glare — but every sunny ride ends in the dark. Riding at night with a dark lense is flat-out dangerous. Most helmets come with an extra clear shield for a reason. Stash it in your bag or saddlebag so you can swap it out when the sun sets. Clear vision = safe riding.

Helmet Fit

Your helmet should hug your head like it means it — snug, but never painful. Pressure points? Wrong fit. And a S - L in one helmet does not always transfer across all helmet brands to fit the same — they usually don’t.

At Route 101, we use a simple test to confirm helmet fit: once your helmet’s on, turn your head left to right rapidly three times. If the helmet stays centered with your chin, you’ve got the right fit. If it shifts, the fit isn't right — try a smaller size. Fit matters.

Helmet Life

We recommend replacing your helmet every five years — or immediately if it’s been dropped hard or involved in any kind of a crash where it sustained an impact. Your life’s worth more than an old helmet or damaged shell.

Leather vs. Textile

Not all jackets are created equal. Leather is the OG — unmatched abrasion resistance and built to take a beating. With care, it’ll last decades and save your skin in a slide. Textile (Kevlar, Cordura, Nylon, etc.) jackets step in with versatility: waterproofing, breathability, and armor — perfect for longer trips or unpredictable weather.

Bottom line? If it doesn’t protect you must reject! That's a 90's OJ Simpson reference — You might not get our humor but we think we're funny!

Fit Matters

Your body armor only works if it stays in place. Your jacket should fit close to the body, move with you, and not have extra room for the road to grab and rip off in a rider vs. ground accident. Elbow & shoulder pads, and back protectors should stay locked in place when you ride so there's no shifting, no sliding on impact. Snug, secure, no pressure points — So you have room to ride your ride.

Author's Note: If you ride at night, be seen. Reflective panels, stripes, or piping might be the one thing that gets you home.

Why Gloves Are Essential

When you go down on a motorcycle — and this isn’t an if, it’s a when — your hands take the hit first. You’ll throw them out to break your fall or instinctively plant them into the pavement trying to stop the slide. Take it from us: you don’t want to learn what happens when you use your hands as brakes.

Riding without gloves is like swimming with sharks — you might survive a few times, but when the sh*t goes down (and it will), you’re gonna wish you had gloves on. Your hands deserve better. Go full-fingered, layer-reinforced, palm-padded — and trust us, you’ll thank us one day.

All-Weather Options

Gloves aren’t just gear — they’re a year-round commitment. Leather gives you unmatched durability. Textile options keep your hands breathing when the temps rise. Cordura waterproof gloves are your winter best friend. Cold hands can’t grip tight, and wet palms don’t mix with throttle control. Match your gloves to the weather, or risk more than frostbite.

Motorcycle Boots: Why They Matter

Your feet hover inches from hot pipes, rolling pavement, and flying road debris. Real riding boots aren’t optional — they’re the difference between a close call and crushed feet. Get boots with reinforced soles, ankle armor, and grip that laughs at oil slicks. Because when the unexpected hits, your boots better be ready.

Height & Fit

Over-ankle is the gold standard. It locks in protection without locking out movement. Boots should hug your ankle just enough to keep everything in place, while still giving you room to flex your ankle on the pegs, and when shifting. Loose laces? That’s an bad accident waiting to happen. Keep them tight. Use double knots. Keep it smart.

Riding gear isn’t a cost—it’s an investment in staying alive. Whether you’re cruising PCH, crossing state lines, or just learning the ropes, start your journey right. Ride smart. Gear up. Ride again.