Akito Desert + body armour?

[DavidJames]

I want to get a cheap suit to wear off-road and have been looking at the Akito stuff. Does anyone wear it with body armour underneath? I have an original BMW Rallye suit which is too tight around the elbows with the vents done up, so wanted to check before buying. I cannot find any local stores that stock them - does anybody know anywhere near Reading?

David

 

[Uinneag]

Go a size up from your usual they are a neat fit

I bought Akito gear my usual size, but ended up giving it to the missus as tight round the arms

 

[DavidJames]

Go a size up from your usual they are a neat fit

I bought Akito gear my usual size, but ended up giving it to the missus as tight round the arms

What size did you go for and what are you in Euro sizes?

My Rukka is size 52, so do you think this would be Large? and therefore I need XL to go over armour?

 

[Uinneag]

What size did you go for and what are you in Euro sizes?

My Rukka is size 52, so do you think this would be Large? and therefore I need XL to go over armour?

If your an L go for an XL

 

[DavidJames]

If your an L go for an XL

Thanks!!!

 

[Ringbolt]

I want to get a cheap suit to wear off-road and have been looking at the Akito stuff. Does anyone wear it with body armour underneath? I have an original BMW Rallye suit which is too tight around the elbows with the vents done up, so wanted to check before buying. I cannot find any local stores that stock them - does anybody know anywhere near Reading?

David

I bought the Alpinestars Bionic 2 body armour and find it excellent. The main problem as you point out is the size of the elbow guards which I could just force into my Frank Thomas X terrain jacket in Large (L) without the cold weather lining in. Decided to go up a size and spent some time in Hein Gericke trying on the Touareg with the armour underneath. The store were helpful and the manager spent ages removing the fitted stuff for me. Result was that I needed to go up one size from L to XL. Unfortunately they didn't have the non Gore-Tex in stock and no way could I afford the expensive stuff, plus I needed the kit for that weekend.

Next stop was Mark Philips just outside Lincoln. (http://www.mpmcc.co.uk/). Sorry no where near Reading But what a great place. Really friendly and helpful with more stock than you can shake a stick at. Tried the Akito Desert without the Bionic underneath and found I needed to go for XL rather than L, one size bigger than FT or HG. With the Bionic underneath I found that XXL was a better fit (2 sizes up). Once again the staff were keen to get the right fit and happily dismantled at least 3 different sets of jackets and trousers of armour and lining to make sure of the fit in all weathers. Purchased desert jacket and trousers from Mark and am happy with them so far, especially for the price. As for service I couldn't get better. All in all I spent almost 2 hours dismantling and trying on and nothing but encouragement and help from the staff.

With Akito I found the standard sizing a little small in the first place. You may want to consider 2 sizes above.

 

[DavidJames]

I bought the Alpinestars Bionic 2 body armour and find it excellent. The main problem as you point out is the size of the elbow guards which I could just force into my Frank Thomas X terrain jacket in Large (L) without the cold weather lining in. Decided to go up a size and spent some time in Hein Gericke trying on the Touareg with the armour underneath. The store were helpful and the manager spent ages removing the fitted stuff for me. Result was that I needed to go up one size from L to XL. Unfortunately they didn't have the non Gore-Tex in stock and no way could I afford the expensive stuff, plus I needed the kit for that weekend.

Next stop was Mark Philips just outside Lincoln. (http://www.mpmcc.co.uk/). Sorry no where near Reading But what a great place. Really friendly and helpful with more stock than you can shake a stick at. Tried the Akito Desert without the Bionic underneath and found I needed to go for XL rather than L, one size bigger than FT or HG. With the Bionic underneath I found that XXL was a better fit (2 sizes up). Once again the staff were keen to get the right fit and happily dismantled at least 3 different sets of jackets and trousers of armour and lining to make sure of the fit in all weathers. Purchased desert jacket and trousers from Mark and am happy with them so far, especially for the price. As for service I couldn't get better. All in all I spent almost 2 hours dismantling and trying on and nothing but encouragement and help from the staff.

With Akito I found the standard sizing a little small in the first place. You may want to consider 2 sizes above.

Thanks for the advice - have found a place not too far from me with stock so will be going down to try some on next week.

 

[BOBAD]

The Akito Desert jacket is very cheap to buy and the old maxim "you get what you pay for " applies here......The main zip broke on mine after the second time I wore it and both the retailer (Ghostbikes in Preston) and the main supplier (in Cumbria) refused to repair it under warranty because I had lost the receipt.........admittedly it was my own fault for losing the receipt but the jacket was obviously unworn and their only excuse was "You might have bought it abroad!.." .......So if you only want a jacket to last you 2 trips then buy this one; if you expect a jacket to last longer than 2 trips then spend the extra and buy a proper jacket from a quality company............spending more on good quality clothing is far cheaper in the long run..........My experience with an Akito Desert jacket has not been a happy one.......and I gave it a 1 star rating only because I was unable to give it a zero......