I forget who asked me at the Pie run, but here is the review:

Last week I finally decided to break down and buy some cold/wet weather gear. I already had Aerostitch Darian pants which are top-notch when layered, but I lacked a reallly good jacket.

What I really wanted was the matching Darian jacket, but at $500, I just couldn't do it. Research led me to the Killimanjaro. Already owning and liking FirstGear products, I was curious. I went down to Lone Star BMW and tried on all their 3/4 length jackets with liners and once again, ended up liking it best.

That brings us to Saturday. 45 degrees, drizzle and 250 miles round trip. Thinking it was going to get near 60 degrees, I wore a t-shirt underneath. My impressions? By itself it is not a true cold weather jacket. I was on the lower edge of being comfortable, but in truth, a set of skiing silks (top and bottom) would have made me comfortable without any more bulk. My winter gloves instead of my track ready gloves would have helped too.

Back to the coat. I was completely dry, reasonably warm in the torso, the collar keeps the wind out, it has more pockets and vents (unused that day) than the law should allow. The zip out liner could be thicker, but I could easily put a polar-tec pull-over under the jacket and ride into the mid 20's. All-in-all, a well designed comfortable and reasonably priced jacket.

FistGear Killimanjaro Jacket (http://www.newenough.com/firstgear_kilimanjaro_jacket_page.htm)

Thanks for the info Kurt. Goo to know as after yeasterday, I am now seriously in the market for a warmer jacket.

I'be been wearing Kilimanjaro jackets for about 5yrs now, first one started to leak on a shoulder after 3yrs and 70k+ miles, new one seems to be holding up just as well, have also been wearing the matching overpants...I like being able to remove the liners now, but they ended up being really thin..could use them being thicker.

I have looked at the Kilimanjaro Jacket. I currently have a Cyclecloack and it is by far the best 3 season jacket I own. I ride everyday no matter the weather and it performs well and was under $200.00.

Howdy Bear, welcome to the site!

Adios,

Five years on Kili jacket & pants also. Love 'em! :-D

:-D Thanks Tourmeister, nice site, good to be read.

How do the First Gear sizes run in pants, I tried some Frank Thomas stuff on at Cyclegear and XL wasn't even close and that was without a pair of sweats on.

I have the Meshtex pants and they sized by waist size. I found the waist to size to be close to accurate for me, but I do wish I had bought the talls since I am on the border (34" inseam) between tall and regular. I plan on getting the HT Overpants in the tall size.

New Enough (http://www.newenough.com/index2.htm) has descriptions of how items fit and how they are sized.

I'm fairly satisfied with my Kilimanjaro jacket. The zipper on the fleece liner broke, as did the zipper on the matching pants, so I have some concerns about the quality of the zippers that First Gear uses.

:-D Thanks Tourmeister, nice site, good to be read.

How do the First Gear sizes run in pants, I tried some Frank Thomas stuff on at Cyclegear and XL wasn't even close and that was without a pair of sweats on.

The Frank Thomas gear has good fit and finnish, but sizing is always an issue when I try it on. I have owned some good and poor Firstgear stuff, but see a lot of inconcistency in all these products.
When you find a piece that works....GRAB IT !

What kind of armor in the Frank Thomas stuff?

What kind of armor in the Frank Thomas stuff?

Krupp steel? :-P

I have a Frank Thomas jacket and it has shoulder and elbow inserts but I don't know what they are made of... They are semi-hard, but light...

OK - Sam has (had) the same jacket - I peeked thru the skid holes in the left sleeve - looks like some kind of mesh-covered foam stuff.

Only thing I can say is the dang thang worked...