Zona Star?

[sleemanj]

Anybody have any experience with "Zona Star" [Pakistani outfit making various gear largely for wholesale export], or know if anybody in NZ is bringing gear produced by them in rebadged?

They've quoted me a landed retail price on a single pair of made to order textile pants (see my other thread here) which isn't bad, but the majority of links about the company on the web are all wholesale.

NB: If any dealer happens to be bringing this stuff under their own name but doesn't want to say, feel free to quietly drop me a private message in strict confidence, I'd far prefer to deal with you than international.

[ital916]

Anybody have any experience with "Zona Star" [Pakistani outfit making various gear largely for wholesale export], or know if anybody in NZ is bringing gear produced by them in rebadged?

They've quoted me a landed retail price on a single pair of made to order textile pants (see my other thread here) which isn't bad, but the majority of links about the company on the web are all wholesale.

NB: If any dealer happens to be bringing this stuff under their own name but doesn't want to say, feel free to quietly drop me a private message in strict confidence, I'd far prefer to deal with you than international.

Hmm why would you land a single pair of custom made textile pants from pakistan? There is plenty to choose from in NZ, in sizes that will fit all but the most skinny or morbidly obese person, and they are mainly of excellent quality. There is a huge range of brands in NZ. Shop around and have a good look before you decide to import.

Will save a a lot of hassle if something goes wrong etc.

Mind you, if you have your heart set on em.

[sleemanj]

Hmm why would you land a single pair of custom made textile pants from pakistan?

Yea, if I can find a pair here, I would. But pants with ankle to above the knee zips seem to be almost a creature of myth and legend here.

I've only seen one pair of AlpineStar's which would come close, as in, ONE pair, which wasn't the right size.

[ital916]

Yea, if I can find a pair here, I would. But pants with ankle to above the knee zips seem to be almost a creature of myth and legend here.

I've only seen one pair of AlpineStar's which would come close, as in, ONE pair, which wasn't the right size.

why do you need ankle to above knee zips?

[YellowDog]

Yea, if I can find a pair here, I would. But pants with ankle to above the knee zips seem to be almost a creature of myth and legend here.

I've only seen one pair of AlpineStar's which would come close, as in, ONE pair, which wasn't the right size.
You have no idea of the quality you will be getting and the chances of the garment fitting properly must be no better than 50/50.

It's not like you can easily send it back or chew someones ear off on the phone.

If you search KB, you will find that there are guys out there who will hand make anything at all for you. They will also use quality zips that will last more than a couple of months.

I used the lady in in the city and she was cheaper than the stuff I saw on ebay.

Why are you takeing such a risk on an important piece of kit like this?

[sleemanj]

why do you need ankle to above knee zips?

Because I'm lazy.

[sleemanj]

Why are you takeing such a risk on an important piece of kit like this?

Because I'm cheap.

[ital916]

Because I'm cheap.
:rolleyes:
then get out of motorcycling while you can.

[sleemanj]

For the sake of any future Googlers stumbling across this thread.

In the end I got Zona Star to make me up a set of pants, it cost $150 US including shipping from Pakistan, made to measure.

I supplied these measurements - waist (frontside, backside), hip (frontside, backside), thigh (frontside, backside), knee (frontside, backside), foot (frontside, backside), foot to mid-point of knee (to get correct armour placement), outseam and inseam.

I requested that they have zips from the foot up the inseam to a point in the high inner thigh (to make it easier to get them on and off over jeans/boots etc).

About 3 weeks later they arrived at my door step.

Fit is very good, I haven't taken measurements but it seems like it's all basically what I specified, I could have gone a cm or 2 more in the outseam but it's not a show stopping issue.

Build quality is good (not that I know jack about clothes manufacturing). Armour is your basic non-descript-CE-foam-stuff, but it's in the usual velcro'd pockets so easily replaceable if it comes to that.

The only complaint I have is that the liner is not removable, which might make it a bit hot to wear over jeans in the summer.

The process dealing with the company was fine, "Umer" had no trouble understanding what I was on about, with the aid of a couple of drawings.

I rode with them today and they proved to be fairly comfortable over my jeans. I expect that the waterproofness won't be so great because of the long zips, that's to be expected though really if you're having long zips and I have little desire for wet weather riding. I'm not used to riding in much else than jeans so it feels a bit weird, slippery and "disconnected" from the bike but I'll adapt to that.

I've attached some pictures, these are ones they sent me before shipping. It looks a bit weird and short in the photos, that's partly because they are not good photos and partly because I have surprisingly stubby wee legs.

So to recap, these are the reasons I had these done...
1. I wanted overpants, pants you wear over your street clothes without having to get undressed or even take off your boots. These are pretty rare in NZ (but more common in the states). I don't know why, the utility of this is pretty good. Today I'd say it took me maybe a minute either end to get in and out, no taking off boots etc, just unzip the legs and step in, more or less.
2. I have shorter legs than average, meaning that knee armour was probably going to be in the wrong place on off-the-rack products.
3. I wanted something different than the ubiquitous black or camo.
4. I'm so tight that I squeak when I walk, ergo $150 US including getting them here wasn't a bad price for a custom tailored job, especially since it got in without attracting a GST bill from customs.