New riding season, new pants

Kathmandu Pants – old on the left, newer on the right.

The Firstgear Kathmandu riding pants that I bought in the summer of 2011 for a mere $125, are showing their age and mileage. My chief complaint is that the fly zipper is tearing away from the surrounding fabric, making the zipper prone to jamming.

A jammed zipper is a bad think when nature is calling loudly and clearly.

I was prepared to soldier on with them for another riding season until I noticed that MotorcycleGear.com, which deals in out-of-date old stock, was advertising the 2012 edition of the Kathmandu pants for $260.95.

I ordinarily would hesitate to spring for pants that expensive, but the Kathmandu pants are waterproof and reasonably comfortable in a wide range of conditions. And, the newer version has pockets! That was one thing I detested about the old version – no pockets. And the waist closure looks to be better designed and more robust.

The only problem was the size I need – 40 short – is out of stock at MotorcycleGear.com. It was promised for mid-April, so I’ve been waiting impatiently. When I checked the web site today, I found the date has been pushed back to “late May.”

Crap. I really wanted them in time for the European Riders Rally in five weeks.

So I put Google to work, searching for “Kathmandu pants 40 short.” I found several other vendors offering them at the same price as MotorcycleGear.com, but they, too, were out of stock.

Finally, I found Raging Moto, a vendor on Amazon.com, has 40 short Kathmandu pants in stock for the same price as MotorcycleGear.com and also with free shipping.

One mouse click and the deal was done. Woo-freaking-hoo!