So I just turned a quick trip for boots into a $325 trip...
Since my fiancee goes to Ohio State and lives in Columbus, and IronPony is having these huge sales, I decided to go get my first riding boot. I was initially looking at both the
SMX-5s and the
Web Gore-tex ones. I tried them both on, and for me I had to go down a full size on both. I wear Nike Shock type shoes size 9 and I ended up buying a 42 (size 8) of the Web Gore-tex ones. I have no want to ever go to the track and they were super comfortable, light, and looked good under my jeans. I'll be commuting about 40 miles one way to class next year, so I didn't want to have to take a separate pair of shoes with me. Also, the waterproof factor was pretty big for me due to being in Ohio, where we can have all 4 seasons in one day. The SMX-5's looked real good, but a little too track/racebike look for me and the lack of any water resistance at all blew.
Motorcycle Superstore:$239.95
IronPony: $129.99
I have a HJC CS-R1 helmet, and every time I come to a stop when its cold out, it fogs up. I didn't want a breathbox, so I bought an anti-fog smoke shield. That was a little more expensive at $35, but I was already at the store so I got it.
Since my fiancee was there with me, we went over to check out the girls jackets. Low and behold, they had an
Alpinestars GP Plus Air Jacket. It fit her great and had CE rated shoulder and elbow pads in it. We got the black on black one. This was an unintended purchase, but for the price I couldn't walk out without it when she needed one soon anyway.
Motorcycle Superstore: $219.95
Ironpony: $89.00 (yes this is correct)
I've been wanting warmer gloves, so I stayed in the Alpinestars sale section (roughly the size of half a Dollar General) and browsed around. Found a pair of
Apex Drystar gloves that looked and fit great. Really soft and warm too.
Motorcycle Superstore:$89.95
IronPony: $44.95
I also asked the sales associate why they were selling all this stuff dirt cheap, and he told me that apparently Yamaha ordered a bunch of stuff and then cancelled it, so they bought it mad cheap to sell as closeouts. I confirmed this when I looked at the sticker on the back of my gloves that said Yamaha and had a separate barcode.
Overall, I saved over $290 on stuff that I was planning on buying anyway (just not all at the same time). Oh, and if they are out of your size of boot, check their ebay store or call and see if they have a pair on the floor. When I was there, they had any size on sale even though my size wasn't listed online.