RIDING KIT LONG-TERM REVIEW

Having spent the best part of a year putting the Tucano Urbano Gulliver Jacket, Skinsulator gloves, Urbis pant and Caberg Duke Helmet through their paces, now is a good time for an update and review. Starting with the helmet, I’ve got to say I was initially dubious regarding the internal sun visor positioning, as the lower edge ran right across my line of vision. Thankfully, as the helmet continued to bed in, this improved significantly and no longer became an issue. The external visor and vent switches are all easy to use with gloves on, and the chin opening mechanism works very well. I can’t say it’s a quiet helmet, because it isn’t, nor does it ooze the quality feel of the big brands such as Arai, Shoei or Shark… but then again, it’s a sub-£200 helmet and you get more than your money’s worth for the £189.99 RRP. It also fares extremely well in the SHARP safety testing, achieving a 5-star rating. On to the jacket and pant: they’re not a ‘complex’ or extremely technical jacket and trouser, but they do what they say on the tin. The thermal liner is more mid-weight than heavy-weight on both, and that sees the garments keep me comfortable on all but the most freezing of days. Waterproofing wasn’t an issue, even in the most torrential downpours (anyone travelling to/from Kelso this year will testify). The only negative on the jacket is that I didn’t like the positioning or size of the air-vent zips – trying to utilise them while riding was not easy. The jacket does have some nice safety features though; I particularly liked the fold-out reflective cuff strips and collar. At £224.99 it’s priced fairly for a jacket with good design, fit, safety features and D30 armour. The pant, I must say, was outstanding. A great fit, thoroughly waterproof, fififitted with knee armour and the best bit... full-length zips with storm flap on either side of the pant leg, making entry and exit very easy. For under £100 they were outstanding value. Lastly, the Skinsulator glove, which priced at £39.99 is at the cheaper end of the glove range, is actually a fairly comprehensive glove. With soft D30 palm insert, visor wiping insert, thermal lining and draughtproof inner cuff, they really did the job. I couldn’t fault the fit or the quality. For information visit www.tucanourbano.com