HOT weather - your gear solution - comfort, protection, or skip the ride?

[BigRat]

In my neck of the woods, it gets 90-100+ degrees in the long summer months. I tried full leathers once in 100dg heat (for a short ride), just to see what it was like and my conclusion was NO GDAMN WAY! The heat made it dangerous - heat stroke IS a concern.

I will use ATG as often as I can - for me that's FF Helmet, Jacket, gloves, boots, canvas pants and knee/shin guards underneath. But all that junk in 95-100? Hell no.

When it is HOT I will try and use a leather vest and wear my Thor elbow guards, and a FF helmet if I can stand it, otherwise 1/2 helmet.

Recently I have gone for a few rides wearing a 1/2 Helmet, and even as little as jeans and a t-shirt. And it was WONDERFUL. Even took a quick ride in shorts, tennis shoes and t-shirt and it was the BEST.

Reminds me of the 80s when I was not even aware of ATGATT and enjoyed the hell out of all my rides.

I have two buddies that ride w/ no helmet or gear of any kind, and they have a blast and don't give a damn what other riders preach about gear. I admire the carefree attitude. The BEST rides I have had lately were with almost NO gear and I can only imagine how nice it must be with no helmet at all. When I asked my buddy why he doesn't care about a helmet he said, "If I get in a wreck, I'd rather die than be a vegetable" and I totally agree with that. And the two buddies I have lost to MC wrecks in the last couple of years were geared-up, but it wouldn't have helped them anyway.

So are you a strict follower of the church of ATGATT? Do you opt for comfort or safety?

This is not a thread for arguing (if it can be helped). And it really pisses me off when someone says how stupid someone else is for not wearing this or that. I assume we are adults and still have the right to choose.

And please don't use the excuse that someone else wrecking affects your insurance - if it does, we need to fix it so it doesn't and retain the right to choose.

I am just curious if you will only ride in full gear, or if you are comfortable riding sans-gear?