Gear

I am not too proud to admit that I am a bit of a deal seeker when it comes to purchasing gear. Let's be honest... Brand label typically adds more to the cost of gear than actual performance/protection ability. When I need a new piece of gear, I typically scour the classified ads on various web forums, and/or see what's on clearance or closeout at the myriad online moto gear retailers. I will even admit that I own a few adventure jackets that are labeled "womens". The way I see it, the extra room in the chest allows for my pressure suit armor to fit underneath if ever needed. So let's rundown the gear that I use that I am most happy with.

Helmet: The most important piece of protective gear? Arguably so I would think. But still... I never saw the need to shell out $500 on a helmet that is undoubtedly going to get abused. I use the AFX-39 Dual Sport Helmet, and have since 2010 or so. It's around $100 and it's pretty hard to beat the value of this helmet. The fit is good, and visor distortion is very very minimal. I've worn this helmet for 12 hours a day on several week long (or more) trips, and I can honestly say I've gotten my money's worth!

Pressure Suit (Body Armor): Or, the "Turtle Shell" as I like to call it. A pressure suit really helps to add to the "Mad Max" look that you are almost undoubtedly trying to achieve. I use the Thor Rig (version 1 I believe).

But in all seriousness, a pressure suit is a great way to off full upper body protection without the use of a jacket. This is especially important for slower trail riding in hot/humid conditions. Of course, it's not a bad idea to be able to fit your adventure jacket over your pressure suit for extended pavement riding, or for some protection from the elements - should the weather turn ugly.

Jacket: I have a couple of different jackets I use depending on what kind of riding I will be doing. Both are made by FirstGear, and both were purchased off closeout. For my dual sport riding, where I would typically be wearing my pressure suit for armor, I use my old faithful Kilimanjaro Jacket. I removed the armor from the jacket, and it fits nicely over my pressure suit. This jacket just also happens to be labeled as "womens", but hey, the price was right.

For on-road/Adventure riding, I wear my FirstGear Monarch. It is a newish version of the jacket with d30 armor.


Riding Pants: This is maybe where you can get into the discussion of whether or not Klim gear is over-rated, or worth the price tag the brand commands. I'm not sure where I stand on this... I suppose it would depend on which Klim product we're talking about. I think the adventure suits they offer have a ridiculous price tag, but the lower end technical riding pants seem to be a fair price, and decent quality (although lots of thread popping with the klim gear my riding buddies and I own). For 90% of the riding I do, I wear the Klim Dakar Pants. They have some decent venting for when it gets hot, and will keep you warm enough in the cooler temps with the vents closed. For wet weather riding or super cold riding, I have a pair of the Klim Traverse Pants. The pants fit kinda funny, but they are no doubt waterproof. They do have some venting, but I imagine you would be roasting in temps over 80.

Boots: You may say that I've learned my lesson here. Used to rock the Gaerne Blance Oiled boots. They offered very little off-road protection, and I found that out first hand as I broke my ankle wearing these boots a couple of years ago. Now, this is not to say that there is a magical pair of boots out there that can keep your ankle from snapping, but in my case, I feel as though had I been wearing almost any mx boot, then I would have come out of my ordeal no worse for wear. So, after I healed up from my incident, I purchase a pair of Sidi Crossfire TA boots from the "flea market" classifieds over on advrider.com. These boots offer some serious protection, while still allowing you to pivot your foot because of the hinged cuff at the ankle. These boots are not waterproof, and are not advertised as such, but will surprisingly keep your feet dry through a lot of water crossings.

Gloves: As with most things involving Dual Sport and Adventure Riding, there are always trade-offs, or compromises. I think this is really obvious when you look for a good dual purpose gloves. Dirt bike gloves offer very little in the way of protection if you were to have a slide on the pavement, and on-road gloves are often too bulky, and you lose the "feel" on the controls that you have with dirt bike gloves. I (and most of the dudes that I ride with) have settled on the Fox Bomber Gloves. These gloves have some built in armor across the knuckles, and the palm has enough meat on them to protect you against a little pavement slide (although never tested).