New Jacket / Trouser combo for touring & off road riding

[cjdad76]

When I moved form road riding to road and off road riding, I bought a relatively cheap Akita Desert jacket and trouser set to replace my road biased textile gear. Thought it would do me while I figured out if I liked getting muddy or not.

5 years later(!) having commuted, toured France & Spain, green laned, Cambrian Rallied, ridden around Morocco and through the Sahara............ my trusty gear is now worn out!!

My only complaints with the kit was that the knee pads never stayed over my knees and needed constant re-positioning to avoid them turning into shin pads. Other than that the removable waterproof & thermal liners were a godsend and they have done everything I have ever asked of them.

It has come to the time that I need a new set and have no idea what to go for. Guess my budget would be about £500 for the set, but could be swayed to spend more if deserved.

Looking for suggestions of the best 'dual sport' gear - giving the flexibility to ride in all conditions all year round. Got to be waterproof / have removable thermal liners and be good for mud, sand and water.

 

[hank]

Have a look at the RST Adventure jacket and trousers. I have had the jacket for 5 months now and no complaints. If you want bang for bucks this one is hard to beat. http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=297574&highlight=adventure+jacket

 

[oblertone]

Do a search ...

... for Halvarssons, good gear at good prices

 

[Flipfly]

Best I can see at the moment is the Klim gear sold by The Adventure Bike Warehouse.

The Traverse is great value for money. No liners (they are Goretex), waterproof but isn't a sweaty plastic bag.

Worth the extra few pounds imho

 

[GS TRV]

Have a look at the RST Adventure jacket and trousers. I have had the jacket for 5 months now and no complaints. If you want bang for bucks this one is hard to beat. http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=297574&highlight=adventure+jacket

+1

 

[RobGreaves]

Jacket and trouser

Can give a thumbs up for the klim traverse kitbag- I use mine both on and off road - never leaks and with plenty of waterproof zip vents good in the summer. With some decent merino skiing underwear great in the colder weather too. A big thumbs up from me

 

[tanneman]

Something like this comes with matching pants. More at Jofama.

 

[Robbla]

If you can stretch to spend a bit extra have a look at the KLIM Badlands Pro
Jacket and trousers combination. Best biking gear i have had, and in my opinion it is money well spent

http://http://www.adventure-spec.com/default/adventure-race-motorcycle-clothing-klim-badlands-pro-jacket.html

Rob.......

 

[cjdad76]

Thanks for the input.

Although the Klim Badlands Pro looks amazing - at £1400 for the set, it's way more than I realistically want to spend.

Having looked at the new RST Adventure set and read a few reviews, I'm definitely leaning this way. Like the look of it and it seems to tick all the boxes. The £380 price for jacket and trousers is better than I'd hoped too!

With the Dirt Bike Show (Stoneleigh) coming up in a couple of weeks, will have a look and see if I get some discount, or see anything else that grabs me!

Thanks all - will let you know what I end up with!

 

[Element_6]

have a look at the Rev'it range. I have the sand Jacket and Trousers.

I am riding around Cambodia in these in temps of 85 and as long as I am moving the jacket ventillation is fine and keeps me cool. Any kind of trousers here make you sweat and these are no different (even my chinos make me sweat) but bearable.

They have great reviews in Revzilla and have waterproof and thermal liners which have been reviewed as working really well (need the waterproof one here but not the thermal.....)

Quality is top notch and loads of great details. I am really happy with them. They do have some other items in the range too

 

[Big Den]

When i look for a jacket these days (and i am currently) i make sure that the external layer of the jacket stops water before it comes in not lets it in then stops it with a removable liner.
Learned my lesson with a Rukka after 15.5 hr ride from Scotland in not stop monsoon, jacket worked brilliant as a fridge

 

[cjdad76]

Well, so much for Stoneleigh being the place to look for adventure gear. Seems only MotoX sellers were present, must have changed since I went 2 or 3 years back - very disappointing.

Anyway, tried on the RST Adventure stuff @ Motorcycle Live (NEC). It was ok, but not overly convinced by some of the detailing and the liners pulled up and down the sleeves when putting on & taking off. This would drive me mad!

Now looking at the Revit Sand jacket / trousers combo - any experiences out there?

Going to try some this weekend.

Have to say that I was hoping to go Goretex and do away with the annoying liners completely, but seems this isn't possible within my budget of 5 or £600.

 

[CuzGS]

Second hand Rukka, good option maybe ??

 

[original_concept]

Try HG with their 40% discount that's available at the moment?

 

[wozalldisden]

Second hand Rukka, good option maybe ??

Try www.rawbiker.com

I've bought several suits over the last year or two and always been impressed with the quality.

Personally i use a permanently waterproof Rukka goretex suit for UK climate but I wouldn't want one for warmer climates. I have a Alpinestars suit with removable goretex and thermal liners which sounds like your Akito suit for France, Spain N. africa etc

 

[rudiemoto]

Best I can see at the moment is the Klim gear sold by The Adventure Bike Warehouse.

The Traverse is great value for money. No liners (they are Goretex), waterproof but isn't a sweaty plastic bag.

Worth the extra few pounds imho

we test and use all our kit
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sometimes not bike related

 

[Timpo]

.....having commuted, toured France & Spain, green laned, Cambrian Rallied, ridden around Morocco and through the Sahara............ my trusty gear is now worn out!!

If you are continuing to do the same riding as listed, I give you another Klim vote.
And the need for a removable lining ain't required as the outer shell is the protection, so as long as you have a good baselayer when in the cold climates, during summer the thin jacket construction is just the ticket.
There are plenty of zip-vents so even riding in rain in warmer countries, you can have cooling air around your trunk but keep the rain out.