Review: Dainese Misano 2 D-air one piece suit
The Dainese Misano 2 D-air one piece is no motorcycle suit you ‘just’ buy because you like it. It takes quite a big chunk out of your savings with its price tag of over 2.000 euros. Some inside info about how this one piece fits, and whether it is worth your money could be good to know.
When making an expensive purchase it can be nice to know how others feel about the product. How it fits, and whether it is truly worth every penny. I know I would have liked that before I bought the Dainese Misano 2 D-air one piece suit for women.
DAINESE MISANO 2 D-AIR ONE PIECE
TRYING ONE ON CAN BE A CHALLENGE
Let me point one thing out; trying this suit on in a motorcycle clothing store seems practically impossible. Finding one is quite a challenge. Most motorcycle clothing stores don’t have that many leather one piece suits in their collection. And certainly not for women.
I visited multiple motorcycle clothing stores in my search for a one piece racing suit. I asked them whether I could order one to try it on. “You would have to buy it too”, was the answer I heard everywhere. So in case the suit didn’t fit well, I’d still have to buy it. That didn’t do it for me. So I made a choice; I will buy a one piece suit online.
BUYING A MOTORCYCLE SUIT ONLINE
QUITE SCARY
Buying a motorcycle suit online is quite scary, if you ask me. You just rather try it on in a motorcycle clothing store to be sure it fits well. And which size do you have to order? And what if you have to return it? That last factor is not such an issue, actually. It’s exactly the same as returning a pair of shoes or a T-shirt. The box is just a big (or a lot) bigger, so it requires a bit more effort. But I took that chance for granted. So my online quest began.
WHY THE DAINESE MISANO 2 D-AIR ONE PIECE SUIT?
QUALITY AND DESIGN
Why this suit? I started to realise how vulnerable we are, after one of my best friends got into a very heavy motorcycle accident. And I decided to not save money on my safety. And wanted a motorcycle suit with an airbag. Since I have a preference for riding around in a leather suit and also ride on track, a leather one piece suit with airbag seemed to be the best choice. After spending some time on Google, I found that there isn’t that much choice for women. I fell in love when I saw the Misano D-air suit.
And can you blame me? Just be honest.. the Dainese design team did an outstanding job at designing this suit. Which they do quite often, honestly. Of course function comes before form, but I get even happier when something is both functional and good looking. I ended up at FC Moto, after some hours of searching online. They had a bit of a sale, so the suit was 1.800 euros. I am and always will be a Dutchie and go for the best price, sorry! So the quest went on and the search for the right size started.
FIT OF DAINESE SUITS
NO UNKNOWN TERRITORY
I already own a Dainese suit, the Dainese Avro D2 two piece suit. So I am familiar with the brand and the fit. Dainese falls quite small. The Italian brand honours her roots on that matter. An advantage for the tiny riders among us!
My two piece suit was a size 40. The fit of a one piece suit is a little bit different from a two piece suit. A racing suit is often a bit less tight around the waist. This due to the absence of a zipper that keeps the pants and the jacket together. In a two piece suit, you’ve the just mentioned zipper and one zipper to close the jacket and another zipper to close the pants. This all requires space and limits your freedom of movement. So I turned to the size charts for help.
SIZE CHARTS ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND
WHEN BUYING THE DAINESE MISANO 2 D-AIR ONE PIECE SUIT
I was already familiar with FC Moto. I regularly encountered this Germany shop, during the endless hours of browsing, filling shopping baskets and often not taking the step to actually buy it all (please say you recognize this..?). The webshop is a bit messy, but they do offer an impressive amount of size charts. I compared the size charts for one piece suits with the ones for two piece suits. I ended up – again – with size 40.
After some deliberation, I decided to go for it. So I sold a kidnet (just kidding) and ordered the Dainese Misano 2 D-air one piece suit for women in size 40. It arrived safe and sound a few days later. The moment of truth.. will it fit?
THE FIT OF A ONE PIECE MOTORCYCLE SUIT
THE STRUGGLE OF GETTING IT ON
Are you new to one piece motorcycle suits? Then better prepare yourself for a struggle. If you thought getting yourself into your textile motorcycle suit or your leather two piece is a struggle, think again. To get a leather one piece motorcycle suit on is a challenge. Note; a leather motorcycle suit has to have a tight fit. Do you slide in like you’ve worn it for years? And do you have lots of space left to wear a hoodie underneath it? Then it is way too big. Leather will stretch over time, so it really has to have an almost uncomfortable tight fit.
HOW DO I LIKE THE
DAINESE MISANO 2 D-AIR ONE PIECE SUIT
After wrestling it a bit, I got the suit on. And it fits! I only have some space left at my stomach when I wear it on the bike. Do test it when sitting on your bike! Don’t immediately take it for a ride. Most shops won’t accept returns when worn on a ride. But get on your bike just to feel how the suit feels when seated.
It is clearly notable the suit lets you bend over a bit when standing upright. It gets you into that sporty racing position. That is okay and not strange for a one piece suit. Furthermore; it is a beautiful suit to behold when wearing it. Even when you’re not a fan of sporty riding, you look like you are! The quality of the leather feels very good. It is firm, yet flexible.
The suit keeps you sort of cool while riding, thanks to the perforations on the upper body and legs. The wind flows smoothly through it. A bit of rain along the way? No worries. You don’t get soaked instantly. Do they predict heavy rain? Then wear a rain overall over the suit. Airbag suits are no friends of rain. The battery etcetera doesn’t like it.
VERY GREAT FIT
AND A HIGH QUALITY AIRBAG
What else stands out? The pre formed knees are quite firm and hard. I had to get used to them. I’ve been wearing this suit for over a year now and finally, I’m getting used to it. You don’t really notice them on shorter rides. Are you about to go on track to race all day? Then it can become a bit annoying. Tip of the day; take off your suit during lunch break. The zippers at the lower legs also start to annoy a bit when I wear the suit for several hours. I blame my thick calves for that. Again, you hardly notice it while riding, but during the coffee break it can be a bit annoying as well.
Beside that, the Misano D-air suit fits like a glove. The zippers are good – which was an issue with my Dainese Avro D2 two piece suit – and run well. The battery of the airbag lasts long. You can ride several days before the battery runs out. Charge it over night and you are ready to go the next day. The input point for the charger is hidden on the inside of the suit, on the inside of the hump. Just gently push the lining aside to discover it. The charger cable isn’t that long, but it suffices.
LITTLE CON
THE INNER LINING
The lining of the Dainese Misano 2 D-air one piece suit seems to be of less quality than the rest of the suit. The advantage of having an inner lining; it contains an inner pocket on the left side. I use it to store my earplugs, drivers license, debit card and phone when I ride on the streets.
Will you only wear the suit on track? Then I personally would remove the lining. This is quite easy. It is attached to the suit with two zipper at the back. The rest goes with velcro. If I wouldn’t wear it while road riding I would have done so a long time ago. I often pull the lining with me when taking it off during coffee breaks. Might be bad luck, but I’d rather lose the damn thing.
CONCLUSION
I am very happy with the Dainese Misano 2 D-air one piece suit. I prefer it over my two piece suit. And think it is worth every penny. Yes, you almost have to sell a kidney to buy one. And I definitely didn’t enjoy spending all that money. But the suit fits really well and the quality is insanely high.
The airbag goes off within milliseconds. Want to read more about how this airbag works? You can read more about it in our article about motorcycle clothing with airbags. The leather is firm yet flexible and it can take a punch. I haven’t crashed with it on a dry track, luckily. But whenever I do, I will tell you how the suit handled it.
Sadly, I can not compare the suit to other one piece air bag suits of different brands. But I am very happy with this one so far. And will recommend the Dainese Misano 2 D-air one piece suit to anyone.
