“If you’re not first, you’re last” -Ricky Bobby
Product Review- First MFG Co. "Downside Vest"
Greetings MotoReaders and welcome back to another MotoReview! Today, we are talking about the "Downside Men's Motorcycle Vest", SKU FIM693QLT in size Large.
I bought this vest as an early retirement gift to myself... silly, I know, but it was sort of a symbolic gesture (I'll get into that later, in a separate post). I wasn't really in the market, but I got an email from FMC advertising a whopping 60% off sale, site wide. I was familiar with the brand, as I already have a couple of their lower-end vests for me and my wife, but for 60% off, I figured I could upgrade to a better, newer, one. The MSRP of the Downside is $309.99 (which is still lower priced than another vest I've been eyeing... which is listed for $350), but I'm cheap enough that I'll do without until the right deal comes up... and 60% off looked like the right deal. It shipped for free, so after taxes, my bank account was lighter by a mere $120! So what did I get for my money?
First Impressions
Supple leather, incredible stitch work and a fit that almost feels custom tailored. This vest is probably one of the finest pieces of leather gear that I own... and I own a few.
The first thing I noticed when it arrived, was that it was folded up, in a bag... I was more than a little worried that the leather would be creased or worse, be some cheap thin trash, instead. I was pleasantly surprised to open the package to the familiar and delightful odor of real leather. The vest has a nice weight to it, it's thick and the leather is supple... like buttery supple. It feels good to the touch. The satin liner is soft, smooth and seems to be a good weight of fabric. Some satin liners I've seen are simply too thin and they tear and fray at the seams, but this one feels good. The inside of the vest has a velcro closure pocket that I use for my glasses and it has a snap-closure gun pocket that is accessible only when the zipper and snaps are open. Speaking of the zipper, this vest has a unique design that none of my other leathers have- a zipper closure with a snap-closure wind flap. This feature is great, because in the cooler months, you can zip it closed and then snap the wind flap to keep the cold out, and in warmer weather, you can leave it unzipped and only use the snaps OR... you can get vest extenders and get max airflow. On the outside of the zipper, behind the flap, there is another snap-closure gun pocket. The outside of the vest has two slash pockets and two chest pockets, both with snap closures. I opted for the blue stitching and blue liner and it looks great. The stitching is extremely nice and I can't find any flaws at all.
The double diamond pattern covers the entire shoulder section- front and back, and the back panel is a solid, single piece of leather- which I prefer for looks and for protection. The vest is also perfectly designed for those who want to add patches to their vest, as the inner liner has several zippered openings to access the outer shell. It also has a well designed pocket for back armor, if that rings your bell. 
The Fit
As I said before, the fit of this vest is perfect. I used the size guide provided on their website, and ordered the recommended size (which is the size I normally wear, so the fit is true). One thing I hate, truly can't stand, is when you are wearing a jacket or vest that doesn't have a two-way zipper and it puffs out at the bottom while sitting on your motorcycle, making it look like you have a big, fat gut. I know, this may seem silly, but it's also uncomfortable, too... as the leather is being pushed up toward your neck. My favorite riding jacket, is the Harley-Davidson Badlander leather 3-in-1 from their 2009 collection, which is just a fancy way of saying that it's old (but I still love it). When sitting on my bike, I can adjust the bottom slide of the zipper to fit my lap so the jacket doesn't "poof" up. The First Downside vest does not have the two way zipper, so I was expecting it to disappoint me while sitting on the bike. As it turns out, FMC has figured out the right combination of zipper length to vest/snap length, because the zipper is shorter than, and offset from, the bottom of the vest by a few inches, which happens to be just enough to let the leather sit comfortably and naturally on the torso when the bottom snap is left unfastened. What's all this mean? It means that while I'm cruising along on the MotoWriter motorscooters, my vest isn't being pushed up into my neck... oh yeah, and I also look gooooood.
Did I mention the feel? Good grief... this is honestly the best feeling vest I've ever worn. Truly, you've got to feel this leather. The leather is between 1 and 1.1mm thick, which is a nice thickness considering most leather jackets from H-D and other suppliers are between 1.2 and 1.4mm thick. As much as I love my H-D Badlander jacket (which has removable sleeves to make it into a vest), the leather is stiff by comparison to the FMC. That's not a complaint, mind you, just an observation. As seen in the picture, the Downside vest is paired with my Go Fast Don't Die zip hoodie. This has been a perfect combination for the mild Southern weather lately.
The Cons
This is going to be short. I only started wearing this vest after I actually retired, so it's only been worn for the past 11 days, but... it's been on several rides already and I've put several hundred miles on it since the first of the year. So far, I haven't experienced any issues with quality, fit or comfort. It's still new, so if I do experience any issues in the future, I'll do a follow-up to this review.
Brand Ambassador Influence?
You may be wondering, since my last post about becoming a brand ambassador for First Mfg. Co, if my review is being influenced by this little detail. Well, in the interest of full disclosure and complete transparency- the answer is a resounding "NO." First Mfg. Co did not reach out to me about becoming an ambassador, I reached out to them. I applied to them, several months after I bought this vest. I didn't get a special ambassador discount and I didn't get the vest for free.
So why did I do it? Easy- I applied to be a brand ambassador for a couple of reasons- the first, I love this vest- the quality is outstanding and I fully believe in supporting businesses that offer great quality items for reasonable prices; and the second, as a brand ambassador, YOU get a discount using my code, so it's a win-win. This company sells a few extra pieces to help them keep the lights on and my MotoReaders get to save a few bucks off of good, quality, riding gear.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is this- if you're looking for a good quality vest, something that you can get with some customization (the Downside Vest is offered in several color options other than blue), you can't go wrong with First Mfg. Co. After seeing the quality of this vest, I saw that FMC was running another sale, so I recently bought my son a riding jacket since he didn't have any leathers (I'll do a review on that in a few months, after I've gotten some feedback from him).
Let me be clear, I don't like wasting money. I dislike it so much, that I often won't buy something that I really like, just because I think it costs too much. My H-D jacket is a great example of this frugality. I remember seeing that jacket in 2009, when I bought my very first Harley-Davidson motorcycle. I also remember that it was close to, or over, $550. Yeah, I wanted it, but I didn't "$550 dollars" want it. I literally waited until H-D discontinued it, found one on eBay a few years later and bought it second hand from a good, reputable seller. I paid less than half of what it was new. Like I said, I'm cheap like that. Would I have bought this vest at the MSRP of $309.99? Honestly, probably not, not without knowing the quality first. Now that I have it and have seen it, worn it and ridden with it, I can tell you that I believe it's worth every penny (but if you can get a discount... and you can by clicking here, it's even better). If you don't like the Downside Vest, fret not because they have several other pre-made styles, and if that doesn't suit you, you can even build a custom vest with your choice of materials, custom colors and custom details.
So go, my fellow MotoRiders... go get yourself something nice to start this new riding season with. Save a few bucks with the code Ride_Write_Repeat or just click here. As the weather warms up, look for me out on the road... I'll be the guy wearing a high quality, great looking, vest.
