My kit. What works, whats comfy and whats cool
Helmets
Arai: chaser V![]() I have to say that ever since I saw this paint scheme, I wanted one. This is my Davide Giugliano rep Chaser V helmet and in typical style, I picked this up in an end of the season sale. I was really impressed with my previous Chaser, and that was despite a slightly tighter fit. The Chaser V is no different, but despite this, once on, its actually very comfy indeed. The V benefits from a wider visor opening and a slightly different shell shape and isn't very noisy. I do wear ear plugs all the time so this may negate some of that. The build quality is excellent, the matt finish is deep and the helmet superb, but there is a downside. The helmet came with two visors, the standard clear one and the silly Pro-shade one, which I immediately didn't like, so I had to get a official replacement dark visor. As I wanted a silver Iridium visor with a pinlock, it cost me over £90, which is a third of the cost of the lid. Yes that's not the helmets fault, but it was still annoying.
Arai: Chaser![]() This is my trackday helmet and I've never seen this design on anybody else. I'm not sure if the pattern is trademarked as I may try and get this design painted on other helmets. Its a good tight fit, but never hurts when riding. The vents are excellent, but as a result make the helmet noisy, so earplugs are a must. This is secured with a double D ring strap and has a pinlock fitted, which is excellent and I've never had any problems with it.
http://www.araihelmet-europe.com/2010/ I regret to say, that this helmet was killed in my crash at Brands Hatch on July 13th 2013. It did its job, keeping me concious all the time and saving me from any serious injury. |
HJC RPHA 10 Plus![]() If you look directly below this review, you will see my review of my previous HJC. At the time of writing I wasnt too keen and further into the helmets life, those niggles persisted. Rain getting into the visor ruined the pinlock for example, leaving little scratches where grit followed the water in. I kept it as it was really comfy and as the shell was still sound, I was looking for a new clear visor. When visiting Lids Direct, I spotted that these Ben Spies reps were still on offer (I nearly bought one a week before I picked up my Chaser V). My friend Dom had just got one and when I checked, they had them up at £165 I think, but I also had a 20% discount code, making it £135, so I couldn't say no. Delivery was quick and first impressions are good. The fit is excellent and there are a few improvements on the previous model. The visor now uses the Max vision pinlock and this is secured much better in the helmet. You still get the two visors (that's £80 right there) and the front vent is more substantial. I already really love this lid.
HRC: RPHA 10![]() I saw this in my local shop and did the thoroughly un-gentlemanly thing and searched for it cheaper online. With an RRP of over £300,when I saw it on sale at on the web for half that at http://www.lidsdirect.co.uk/ who are based in Watford, a mere twenty mins in the car away, I thought I'd go and have a look. This is now my daily helmet as it's supremely light. Again, a little on the noisy side and this also has a pinlock fitted, but when its really cold, its mists up in the top centre and no matter how much fiddling, I cant get it to work. The main ventilation comes from the two top vents, but these are a bit flimsy and one has broken in its housing. This is secured via a double D ring strap and is overall, a good helmet. Would I buy another one? i'd have to think about it if it were £300, but for £150 its a no brainer. http://www.hjchelmets.com/
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Shoei: raid 2![]() This was my very first helmet and yes I went for it because of the design. I loved the two evil clowns on the side. I drove down to Kent to the headquarters of Helmet City, where I got all the help I needed trying it on and making sure the fit was right. I think it was around the £250 mark and wasn't very noisy as there were only two vents on the front of the helmet. Again Double D Ring strap and pinlock fitted which meant that with this helmet I never had a problem with it fogging up. Sadly I crashed my hornet in this and the lid took a knock to the chin bar, so in order to be better to be safe than sorry, I ordered the XR 1000 as my replacement.
http://www.helmetcity.co.uk/ |
Shoei: xr-1000![]() Very, very comfy, but quite noisy due to the increased number of vents on the helmet, so earplugs were a must. Like all my helmets this was secured with a Double D Ring and also had a pinlock insert fitted, but still misted up on the left side of the visor when it rained, or was really cold. Again, another purchase on http://www.helmetcity.co.uk/, but this time I got it delivered to me as I was already confident that the helmet was going to fit. I was wearing this the day of my serious accident that killed by Z1000, thankfully this did an excellent job and protected my head when it needed it most.
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Boots
Gloves
Leathers
Alpinestars: atem

I will freely admit, that I love this suit, but like some many things in this hobby of mine, it ain't cheap. Not cheap, but still worth every penny. With a RRP of £1000, you can easily find suppliers shaving several hundred quid off the price and that makes this suit a worthy investment.
After crashing heavily in the Arlen Ness suit below, which resulted in a nasty friction burn to my arm and a destroyed suit, I was after a off the shelf one-piece suit which had hard external armour, as well as the standard internal shoulder and elbows etc. My reasoning is that where the leather grips on contact with tarmac, the plastic will slide, reducing the chance of injury. The fact it looks great too, is by the by.
Alpinestars list many features like a calf zip, an inner waterproof pocket (not too sure about that one if I'm honest), space for both chest and back protectors, interior leg and wrist cuffs to keep the suit secure, a speed hump and a removable mesh lining, but what I really like is the cut and the feel of the suit. Not the most comfortable thing off the bike, but what suit is, when riding, the cut seems to hold my body in the right place, reducing the need to physically hold it there, greatly reducing any fatigue when riding.
Compatible with both my Alpinestars gloves and boots, which are both designed to fit over the suit, this is genuinely one of the most comfortable pieces of riding kit I own. As its vented, it gets limited use in the winter, but when the temperatures get warm enough, this is always the first thing I reach for when heading out for a ride.
After crashing heavily in the Arlen Ness suit below, which resulted in a nasty friction burn to my arm and a destroyed suit, I was after a off the shelf one-piece suit which had hard external armour, as well as the standard internal shoulder and elbows etc. My reasoning is that where the leather grips on contact with tarmac, the plastic will slide, reducing the chance of injury. The fact it looks great too, is by the by.
Alpinestars list many features like a calf zip, an inner waterproof pocket (not too sure about that one if I'm honest), space for both chest and back protectors, interior leg and wrist cuffs to keep the suit secure, a speed hump and a removable mesh lining, but what I really like is the cut and the feel of the suit. Not the most comfortable thing off the bike, but what suit is, when riding, the cut seems to hold my body in the right place, reducing the need to physically hold it there, greatly reducing any fatigue when riding.
Compatible with both my Alpinestars gloves and boots, which are both designed to fit over the suit, this is genuinely one of the most comfortable pieces of riding kit I own. As its vented, it gets limited use in the winter, but when the temperatures get warm enough, this is always the first thing I reach for when heading out for a ride.
Alpinestars: SM-X Air flo jacket

As the name suggests this is a heavily vented jacket, designed for use in the warmer months. It does come with a winter lining which does a fair job of keeping the worst of the cold out, but the only way to make it really work is to wear a decent base layer underneath. When on the bike the jacket is very comfy and has loads of space for a proper back protectors; short that is contained within the jacket or a long one worn underneath. There are very good levels of protection with external armour at the shoulders and internal armour all the way down the forearm giving a great level of protection all the way from the wrist to the elbow. In 'winter' form there are five pockets, but in summer mode there are only three. The breast pocket is big enough to hold a phone, but anything larger makes the jacket bulge and become uncomfortable. I wear this with the Alpinsestars track pants which zip together. An excellent jacket of which the quality is clearly evident, but then for what was £500 when new, I should hope so
Textiles
rukka: matti jaCKETWhen I bought this, at the start of the winter in 2015, it was the cheapest jacket Rukka made. However, calling is cheap would be misleading. With a ticket price of nearly £500 this was still quite an investment. However, sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and instead of hoping the kit will be okay, you need to invest in some top quality kit in order to know it will be okay. Now discontinued, the jacket is very warm, especially when the removable thermal liner is installed, comes complete with a Gore-Tex lining, adjustable cuffs, double zip, waterproof internal pockets, full shoulder and elbow armour, reflective panels on the arms and back and is made using Cordura a tougher, abrasion resistant fibre. Its a quality piece of kit, so much so, that I've regularly used it as a casual jacket when not riding (I even left the removable armour in). The only issue and I do mean only issue, is there is no venting at all, so this really is a winter, early Spring, late autumn jacket rather than a four seasons one.
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Rukka: Granite TrousersLike the Matti Jacket, I got these at the start of winter 2015 for the express purpose of using them through the cold weather. At £350, although expensive compared to other offerings on the market, these were also Rukka entry level trouser, with only basic features.
You get your Gore-tex, thermal lining, adjustable ankles, hip and knee/shin armour and a Cordura construction, but apart from that, all you get are two pockets. Compatible with all of Rukka's jackets, this zips really nicely into the Matti jacket and, unlike the jacket, which is too warm for summer, I can get away with wearing these with my Alpinestars leather jacket for short trips all year round. Its worth noting that I had to go up a size as the thighs were really narrow when on the bike, but still a fine piece of kit, comfy on and off the bike (when you get the right size of course) and well worth the money. |