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Old February 19th, 2018, 09:06 AM   #10
adouglas
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Name: Gort
Location: A secret lair which, being secret, has an undisclosed location
Join Date: May 2009

Motorcycle(s): Aprilia RS660

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MOTM - Jul '18, Nov '16, Aug '14, May '13
I think that when it comes to protective gear, protection is the only thing that matters.

Turn those suckers inside out and examine the stitching and materials carefully.

Doesn't matter one tiny bit if it looks just like a Taichi glove on superficial inspection. If it shreds on impact, you've just saved $150 so you can spend thousands on medical bills.

Back in the day I worked for a regional sporting goods chain called Herman's World of Sporting Goods (think Sports Authority/Dick's). They had this skeezy practice where they'd contract with a name brand manufacturer (Rossignol skis, for example) to build exclusive products just for the store.

They'd do graphics packages and model names that were very similar to the top-of-the-line model from the genuine name brand, but the private-label products were invariably crap. They'd sell for far more than they were worth but far less than the real deal.

Worked like a charm. They sold piles of this junk to people who thought that because it looked like the premium product, it was as good as the premium product. Lots of returns and unhappy customers, but it was still more profitable in the end.

That chain sank like the Titanic BTW.

Lessons:
1) There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
2) Do not be deceived by appearances. "Looks just like" does not mean "built just like" or "performs just like."
3) Most importantly: Do not skimp on quality for stuff that matters. Anything that I buy to protect my body matters.

I should note there that a mere name brand does not automatically mean quality. Those skis were still Rossignols.... Compare the bottom-of-the-line A* to a budget brand and they're pretty darned close... maybe even made in the same Chinese factory. Quality costs. No way around that.
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