textile/winter gear

[*spikey*]

Ok so there's a few posts on the 1200 section on kit but as we're in this here place I thought it better to pick the brains of those around me... My previous kit (Dainese, now 5 years old) lasted all of 15minutes on sunday before getting me wet where a grown man shouldn't be I'm setting myself a budget of £400 - £450 absolute tops so a lot of recommended kit is immediately out of bounds (Rukka, BMW, HG Master, Cayenne Pro)...
A recent review in Ride rates Arc-on for its waterproofing and at £280 for the suit it looks like great value (http://www.arc-on.co.uk/all-products/jackets/beyond-cordura.html), but looking a bit deeper there seems to be a decent choice on Halvarssons/Lindstrom kit (and a dealer in Coleraine). Anybody tried Richa Adventure kit?
I will be riding throughout the winter, daily, varied mileage...

Ta
Phil

 

[Ravenbyrne]

Purchased a Richa adventure suit last Sunday from Xtreme 45, 30% discount so it only cost €380, not bad for a waterproof suit. Nice suit very comfy shoulder, elbow and back protector,plenty of pockets on the jacket, knee and hip protectors. Now I need an opportunity to try it out but work is getting in the way.

 

[Padge]

I've a Hein Gericke Master 4 and it's fantastic in the rain.

Make sure you go for Goretex (or maybe that new fance BMW stuff if your budget allows). It'll come with a guarantee of waterproofness.
Don't listen to salesman sh1te about other superior breathable materials. The material may be good, but goretex ensure all the seams are done right too.

A storm collar is also a must have.. Comes on a lot of the Hein Gericke range and stops drips down the back of your neck and under your chin.

Some of the midrange HG stuff is good value for money and great service from Newry.

 

[davidgibson999]

Bought Halvarsson suit but after a day in pissing rain coming back from Donington two years ago I got wet nuts and got shot of it. Having said that my mate has a Halvarsson suit and never gets leaks.... Unhelpful post?
However my suit had the short jacket rather than one which comes down over your hips so maybe that caused the leak....
The suits are good value and used by scandinavian police forces (according to the marketing blurb). My wife has a suit too and has never had leaks.
And Lawrence in motoplus Coleraine will sort you out...

 

[frank1200]

have a bmw streetguard suit and find it totally waterproof not the warmest in winter but layers help,recommend it anyway and very popular with the guys from here

 

[*spikey*]

Purchased a Richa adventure suit last Sunday from Xtreme 45, 30% discount so it only cost €380, not bad for a waterproof suit. Nice suit very comfy shoulder, elbow and back protector,plenty of pockets on the jacket, knee and hip protectors. Now I need an opportunity to try it out but work is getting in the way.

Thanks Ravenbyrne, can get a great deal from topgearsuperstore and a ukgsers discount again... so get out there and let me know how it fares in our lovely weather!

I've a Hein Gericke Master 4 and it's fantastic in the rain.

Make sure you go for Goretex (or maybe that new fance BMW stuff if your budget allows). It'll come with a guarantee of waterproofness.
Don't listen to salesman sh1te about other superior breathable materials. The material may be good, but goretex ensure all the seams are done right too.

A storm collar is also a must have.. Comes on a lot of the Hein Gericke range and stops drips down the back of your neck and under your chin.

Some of the midrange HG stuff is good value for money and great service from Newry.

Thanks Padge - budget is where it's at... and yes, goretex preferable. HG Journey suit seems to fall into the right area budget wise; anybody out there got one to pass comment?

Have spotted a couple of BMW suits for sale from a member in the UK section at the right price, just waiting for a response...

Bought Halvarsson suit but after a day in pissing rain coming back from Donington two years ago I got wet nuts and got shot of it. Having said that my mate has a Halvarsson suit and never gets leaks.... Unhelpful post?
However my suit had the short jacket rather than one which comes down over your hips so maybe that caused the leak....
The suits are good value and used by scandinavian police forces (according to the marketing blurb). My wife has a suit too and has never had leaks.
And Lawrence in motoplus Coleraine will sort you out...

Thanks David, not unhelpful at all - it's good to get the pros and cons It's funny, but I threw a Held basic waterproof suit over my leathers on a trip to france two years ago and it didn't leak once; was on a 10r at the time. Wore it to the northwest and the trousers leaked from the outset. Maybe the different position on the GS was forcing the seams apart? Think I'll try to get a run up to Lawrence for a look...

have a bmw streetguard suit and find it totally waterproof not the warmest in winter but layers help,recommend it anyway and very popular with the guys from here

Thanks Frank, am looking at one in the for sale section, just need to go try sizes to make sure the fit is good. They do seem to get the thumbs up by practically everyone

 

[freeloader]

HG Journey suit seems to fall into the right area budget wise; anybody out there got one to pass comment?

The Journey is what I have, and mine hasn't seen an awful lot of use, despite being about 2 years old now - I'd say around 10K miles of use, less than half of that in the wet.
Trousers leak despite having just had the full Nikwax treatment.
And there's no storm collar on the jacket, and only one outer pocket is waterproof, which has always seemed a bit daft, to me. It's not big enough for phone/cash/fags/and anything else I want to carry about and keep dry at the same time.

Good points: comfy to wear, quite windproof, relatively cheap, I suppose.

Bad: trouser lining too long for leg (not the detachable liner, the bit that's permanently attached) so it tends to drag on the ground, knee armour too low, some of the rubber bits on the press studs have disappeared, plus what I mentioned above.

Hope that helps!

 

[*spikey*]

The Journey is what I have, and mine hasn't seen an awful lot of use, despite being about 2 years old now - I'd say around 10K miles of use, less than half of that in the wet.
Trousers leak despite having just had the full Nikwax treatment.
And there's no storm collar on the jacket, and only one outer pocket is waterproof, which has always seemed a bit daft, to me. It's not big enough for phone/cash/fags/and anything else I want to carry about and keep dry at the same time.

Good points: comfy to wear, quite windproof, relatively cheap, I suppose.

Bad: trouser lining too long for leg (not the detachable liner, the bit that's permanently attached) so it tends to drag on the ground, knee armour too low, some of the rubber bits on the press studs have disappeared, plus what I mentioned above.

Hope that helps!

Thanks freeloader, given the fact you've just done the Nikwax treatment and the suit is comfy on, I'll presume you haven't been forcing the seams and it's just not the best out there. Appreciate the info

 

[davidgibson999]

I'm also in the market for a new suit for winter. The twat suit is too vented for our winters.
Want to try on HG Cruise/Journey and Dainese Gator (maybe a bit too many $$$$)

 

[ghost]

Trousers leak despite having just had the full Nikwax treatment.


am disapointed readin this, as ide jus decided on buyin these,though gore-tex is leak proof?

 

[freeloader]

Trousers leak despite having just had the full Nikwax treatment.


am disapointed readin this, as ide jus decided on buyin these,though gore-tex is leak proof?

1. I'm assuming I did the treatment correctly.

2. They might need another treatment, but I don't know if that would help.

3. Apparently, there's Goretex and then there's Goretex. HG do a range of Goretex suits in a range of prices, and I haven't investigated all the differences between them.

 

[ghost]

1. I'm assuming I did the treatment correctly.

2. They might need another treatment, but I don't know if that would help.

3. Apparently, there's Goretex and then there's Goretex. HG do a range of Goretex suits in a range of prices, and I haven't investigated all the differences between them.

its back to the drawin board for me.

 

[davidgibson999]

if goretex is leaking and it's a fault of the fabric there's a 5 year warranty...

 

[freeloader]

if goretex is leaking and it's a fault of the fabric there's a 5 year warranty...

[andy pipkin] Yeah I know [/andy pipkin], but muggins has lost the receipt. HG said they couldn't do anything about it without the receipt, although I haven't approached Gore. Didn't think their response would be much different (although I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try).

 

[Aidan1150]

Betty Swollocks has recently bought a Dane suit Spikey and apparently is quite happy with it. Stujw 70 has written a thorough review here.

Module Road and Race in Antrim stock these suits, but I see from reading the review that Lo-Iq on this site sells them too. Well worthy of consideration I'd say.

BTW, here is a link to the Dane website.

 

[Garryc]

....been wearing my Rukka kit every day for the 2+ years.

Some good online (German) sites which have very keen prices....its the best kit I've ever bought.

 

[*spikey*]

Thanks for the heads up Aidan, great review and nice looking kit but pushing the boundaries of the budget further again

 

[*spikey*]

....been wearing my Rukka kit every day for the 2+ years.

Some good online (German) sites which have very keen prices....its the best kit I've ever bought.

Yup, a couple of mates have Rukka kit and can't fault it. I've had a look at the German sites too on fleabay, but prices are still out of my league at the minute (it's been a sh*t year)

Thanks for the input anyway

 

[Aidan1150]

I have a HG Toureg suit myself Spikey for the past year and a half and am very happy with it I have to say. It has proven to be waterproof and is warm enough too. If you can negotiate a discount in HG Belfast or Newry you just might get it at your budget.

Good luck with your search.

 

[Daithi]

I've a Hein Gericke Master 4 and it's fantastic in the rain.

+1
I got mine in the FS&W Section of this forum and within your budget, bone dry and warm
with removable lining and the all important storm collar.