Top to toe
OUR REGULAR RIDING GEAR IN DETAIL
“It has plenty of adjustment and the finish is first-rate”
1 Helmet: Arai Tour-x 4 £499.99
www.whyarai.co.uk The Tour-x 4 is comfortable, light, really well vented and secures with a proper double D-ring strap. It has a peak that gives a bit of adjustability. You can take the visor off if you want to use goggles but I swap between clear and tinted visors (£62.99 for a different visor), though I’m not too impressed by the process as it means unscrewing the peak and visor with a 1p coin — quick-release visors are hardly a new idea, so why doesn’t this have one? The other drawbacks are that it’s reasonably loud and the peak can be deflected by the wind at high speed on the road. It is a good helmet but at this price, it should be a great one.
2 Jacket: Held Hakuna II £347.99
www.held.de Two-layer adventure jacket has a thick and warmly lined waterproof dropliner (not used in summer conditions). With that removed and the many vents opened, it’s nice and cool. It has good-sized pockets, plenty of adjustment to tailor the fit and finish is first rate. The shoulder and elbow armour is CE Level 1, not 2 and there’s no back protector — I took one out of another jacket. The outer was sufficiently showerproof to get through an afternoon’s gentle drizzle without leaking but a half-hour of heavy rain got through the arm-vent zips: should have put that warm liner in…
3 Bumbag: Kriega R3 £65
www.kriega.com I use this on every trip. Phone, wallet, passport, multitool and EDZ Inner Shell (£49.99, www. edzlayering.com) live in the waterproof inner pocket. Unobtrusive and convenient.
4 Trousers: Held Matata II £289.99
www.held.de Like the matching Hakuna II jacket, these nicely finished two-layer trousers have a too-warm-forsummer waterproof dropliner, with great vents and decent pockets. They come with a belt, which was great until I stood on its plastic clip and broke it. As well as having decent adjusters to tailor the fit, a long-legged cut ensures good comfort. The only drawback is a lack of hip armour (again, I took some from other trousers).
5 Gloves: Held Air n Dry £165
www.held.de These aren’t the right gloves for this kind of riding — I should be using short adventure-type ones, right? But these two-pocket gloves worked just fine. The vented palm side was cool in the heat and when working hard off-road but when it rained, I put my hands in the Gore-tex side and kept them dry. Properly armoured, really comfortable, totally flexible. Great gloves.
6 Boots: TCX Infinity Evo Gore-tex £279.99
www.nevis.uk.com They’re not as protective as my motocross boots, but these lighter off-road boots give more feel, are easier for walking and are more comfortable most of the time — though by the end of an hour-long stint standing on the pegs, I was missing the Mx-boots’ stiffer sole. Totally waterproof too.
7 Tailpack: Kriega US20 £89
www.kriega.com Another trusted piece of luggage: waterproof, easy to fit to the bike and with a shoulder strap for toting about like a man-bag when off the bike. Filled with a bottle of drinking water, a camera and the waterproof liners I should have fitted when it started raining. SIMON WEIR