New textile time...but what?

New textile time...but what?

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SteelerSE

Original Poster:

1,885 posts

155 months

Wednesday 7th June 2017
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I thought that I'd ask for some opinions about some of the gear that I'm looking at as I (like many others here) am finally having to face up to the fact that my old Hein Gericke gear is dying. They are an old faithful friend but while they've kept me dry, they also soak up the water in the outer layer and that means I have often had to set out that afternoon and sometimes the next day in cold, wet gear.

I've seen enough people swearing by the Goretex Pro Shell stuff - the water never penetrates the material and simply runs off. No more soggy textiles! So that's the only mandatory part of my search.

But trying to find anyone that knows what the hell they're talking about is a nightmare and the websites are generally poor at identifying if it's a Goretex pro shell laminate or not.

So for anyone else going through this pain, this is the gear that I'm looking at. If anyone has personal experience of any of this stuff I'd be really interested to hear your experiences.

Budget is about £1k for a full jacket and trouser combo which I thought would be plenty, and it is unless you get into either the stupidly over the top new adventure stuff or Rukka. Borrowing from sjtscott in the commuting thread I refuse to pay the Rukka tax so what else is out there?

Dainese D-Cyclone Jacket
This seemed to tick all the boxes but there are no trousers to go with it. Apparently there's new stuff coming in September but as Italy will be on holiday soon there are no guaranteed delivery times. A shame as I like the styling of the Black/white one that Sportsbikeshop have a deal on at the moment.

Dane Torben
Look nice, well made, expensive. But I tried one on a while ago and the fit wasn't great. Plus the arm adjustment is done using poppers which mens you have two positions that don't fit. Not helpful.

Held Cadora
Pretty plain looking jacket but looks the most similar to my old HG stuff. Apparently the sizing is pretty small but this is definitely in the mix.

Revit Poseidon
I don't know if I'm being a brand snob but I completely ignored the Revit stuff as I thought it was badly made, down market gear. Apparently not. Probably the best looking jacket, some nice technical features and it's towards the top of my list at the moment.

Alpinestars Managua
Another decent looking jacket. More expensive (paying for the brand?)

I've pretty much lost the will to shop any further so will come back to look at these in a bit more detail. If anyone has bought/used/discounted any of these I'd love to hear your reasoning/experience as the people that I've spoken to in the shops have been less than helpful. In some cases that's because they only stock one specific brand and have no experience of the others. In most it's because they don't stock any of it and just have it on the website.

For ref I've mainly been looking at places like GetGeared and Sportsbikeshop but if you've got any other recommendations about where to get this stuff then I'm all ears,

shoestring7

6,138 posts

245 months

Wednesday 7th June 2017
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Rukka Kalix is their entry level Pro GTX suit. You might be able to find that within your budget.

SS7

Dakkon

7,826 posts

252 months

Wednesday 7th June 2017
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I am looking at a new jacket and over trousers, currently considering the Halvarssons Prime Jacket, it well within your budget based on your other considerations.

Rutter

2,070 posts

205 months

Wednesday 7th June 2017
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I rate my rev'it gear way above any of my alpinestars kit in terms of quality.

SBDJ

1,320 posts

203 months

Wednesday 7th June 2017
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When I looked at the Poseidon something puzzled me:

http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/rev-it/poseidon-gtx...

From that it seemed to me that there's actually only a tiny bit of the goretex pro?

immigrant

397 posts

194 months

Wednesday 7th June 2017
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Regarding the Dainese, you may be able to find the Lontan trouser which will probably match the Cyclone perfectly. It was the matching item for their previous GPro jacket called the Stradon. Make sure to also check the European websites.

I have recently bought the Held Cadora. It is very high quality and easily the equal of the upper range of Rukka, the only thing really missing is the new stretch element they have introduced to their latest suits. Mind you, my suit has only been worn twice so is still new and stiff.

My main issue with the all the Goretex Pro suits is that they're cut for upright bikes like ADV and full dress tourers. So my jacket is too long and tends to bunch. I'm going to have to go back to a Z liner so I can get a sportier cut .






sjtscott

4,215 posts

230 months

Wednesday 7th June 2017
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Snap I'm looking for kit too Trousers currently - I could be persuaded by recommendations for decent Goretex pro kit.

Bikesalot

1,833 posts

157 months

Wednesday 7th June 2017
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I usually find some hands on reviews here;

https://birotaruk.blogspot.co.uk/2016/11/dainese-d...

It's the lack of matching trousers that lets the D-Cyclone jacket down.

I'm thinking about a laminate goretex as my next suit, being able to just shake it off and it be dry will save weight and add comfort!

2wheelsjimmy

620 posts

96 months

Wednesday 7th June 2017
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Yeah gore tex pro is mandatory really.

For that money, go try them on and see which fit best.

The rukka warranty is useful, so consider that. It is more money, but there is clear benefit for the cost there.




Edited by 2wheelsjimmy on Wednesday 7th June 16:04

Wildfire

9,774 posts

251 months

Wednesday 7th June 2017
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Just been through this exact dilemma myself with exactly the same products when my Hein Gerike suit was on it's last legs.

Ok, my 2 pence.

GorTex Pro was a must. I was tired of putting wet gear back on and getting damp out.

A* and Dainese - I found these pretty expensive. But the Dainese has some god features. But the ones I wanted went out of my price range for the Pro Shell stuff.

Rev-It Poseidon (or it could be the Neptune, one with thefold back flaps) - According to Get Geared only comes in M. Which was MASSIVE on me. Lots of nice features, including the super fabric, but very clunky in feel. It almost feels like you are wearing an exo-skeleton. Sized very long in the legs and arms. All Goretex stuff is made in GTX factories (from what I understand) so quality should be up there.

Rukka - Great stuff, far too expensive. Fitted me ok and the warranty was attractive, just not at half the price of another jacket and trouser combo.

Held - I couldn't find one in my size to try on, but it seemed to lack features, but looked good.

Dane - This is what I went for. The Torben 2 and the Lyngby trousers. Sizing is a bit on the long/slim size (which is not me), but the fit was by far the best. Both garments lack the Gucci features of the Rev-It and Dainese, but they are much cheaper. The collar is a bit on the tall side (or I have a short neck) and whilst the jacket is breaking in, this gets annoying as it catches the strap, but this is easing off. The storm cuffs are great and combined with GTX gloves no more wet inners! The pockets are good and functional.

The Lyngby trousers lack features and the pockets could be a lot better. I would have preferred thigh pockets (my HG Master IV trouser are much better). But fit is excellent and on the bike they are very comfortable and due to the shell, they feel lighter than the HG suit. the closures around the boots is fairly nifty with elasticated draw cords and zips to make sure no water goes up them.

The thermal lining in both is lightweight, but effective and combined with the shell the whole suit is much lighter than my HG suit. This actually makes a lot of difference to wearing it.

The SAS-Tec armour is good, but until it warms up it is pretty rigid, I'm still not 100% sure on it yet. Hip pads would have been nice though.

In my one outing in serious rain they performed really well. No soaking up of water and after a day at work and the suit being draped over a chair I was warm and dry on the way home.

I found the Dane the best balance between cost and function. I may have gone for the Rev-It or Rukka, had I an extra £1000 to spend, but my HG did me proud for 5 years so I expect great things from this one.

SAS Tom

3,398 posts

173 months

Wednesday 7th June 2017
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As a few people know I work at getgeared so if you're thinking of buying from us drop me a pm.

I'm not in today so I'll give you a few of my thoughts without having the jackets to hand.

Firstly the Dane or Rev'it would be my choices and they are both fairly even in my opinion. The Poseidon with its big vents will be much better in warmer weather whereas the Torben will be slightly better with its removeable collar and inner cuffs on the sleeves. Both fit me well and are true to size i.e. They are the size they say they are. Both are made of high end materials and both look good IMO.

The Held Cadora isn't worth bothering with at this price point. Not only is it too expensive due to the 3 price increases held have made in the past 12 months but the materials it is made out of are as good and there are no vents on the Jacket at all. I'd imagine anything past about 15 degrees will be too warm in this jacket. I don't think I've ever managed to unzip one without the inner liner getting caught in the zip which shouldn't happen especially a top end jacket.

The Managua I am split on. Being alpinestars it will be well made and do the job it's meant to but, it doesn't look particularly special, misses out on lots of pockets and the usual Velcro holding the zip cover. On a jacket you expect to last for years, there is no way the Velcro will last as long as the rest of the jacket making it a pain in the arse flapping around all the time when the Velcro has worn out.

The cyclone is another good option providing it fits. Dainese tends to be tall and narrow and either fits well or awful. If it fits it looks and feels great. Lots of good features on this jacket only thing missing really would be bigger vents.

Rukka is good stuff but you are paying a big premium. IMO it's not made any better than the other pro-shell brands and so the premium is only really for the extra warranty over the other brands. Personally it's not worth the extra cash as it is a big difference.

Just for information, Pro shell items are made by Goretex themselves as the brands aren't allowed to make the items themselves. Now I don't know which factory which brands are made in but there are only 6 Goretex factories so it's highly likely a lot of the brands are made in the same place meaning there isn't going to me much difference in build quality despite what people may perceive.


Tribal Chestnut

2,997 posts

181 months

Wednesday 7th June 2017
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I've Revit Poseidon trousers and jacket and, whilst the fit is excellent and performance on the bike (aside from a wet arse, flapping ankles & ste collar) pretty good, I'd never buy another Revit item as the quality just doesn't fit the price.

Two broken zips, one broken zip pull, general tatty-ness, cuff zips that catch the material underneath, they crash badly and the aforementioned arse/ankle/collar gripes ruin it for me.

Wildfire

9,774 posts

251 months

Wednesday 7th June 2017
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The Torben has a removable collar?

I'm off to have a look at mine!

Also big up for Get Geared. Top service!

SteelerSE

Original Poster:

1,885 posts

155 months

Wednesday 7th June 2017
quotequote all
Some great real world advice here. Thank you all. Thanks also to SAS Tom - always interested in hearing from dealers as you get to see what gets returned and what the problems are.
I'm going to try and get into GetGeared at some point and try more of these on.

Vara2NC

37 posts

81 months

Wednesday 7th June 2017
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Just been through the same thing - I went for Klim Blade jacket (2 layer laminate goretex), Alpinestars Tech Road (Goretex Pro). Total - £620. Worth a google - offers on both jacket (J&S) and trousers (Infinity). I just can't face spending a grand on kit to get to work in...

Recommend both, to a certain extent - trousers with no reservations, jacket with one criticism that arm vents tend to blow wide open at motorway speed and force really heavy rain through the zips. I've put some stick on velcro to hold the rain flaps down over the zips a bit better, no issues since. The jacket's very much a shell with armour - but no thermal liner - so I've accessorised with a cheapy down gilet. Toasty.

Vara2NC

37 posts

81 months

Wednesday 7th June 2017
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One thing forgot to say - careful if getting the Dainese Lontan trousers mentioned above. The original Lontan was Goretex pro, but the more recent Lontan D1 isn't - I went round this loop as not all retailers have updated their websites properly, so had to return a pair. The later Lontan D1 has a gore membrane (think z liner?), and the original has Gore Lockout zips. There seemed to be a few pairs of each knocking when I went to Infinity warehouse to get the Tech Road trousers I eventually went for...

Mr_Tickle

218 posts

177 months

Thursday 8th June 2017
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The other year I bought a Dainese jacket for UK communting - if it wasn't the D-Cyclone is was one similarly priced and spec'd. I've probably only commuted a few thousand miles in it, most of which was in the UK and through the winter months and the jacket was nothing short of excellent for all conditions. The quality is top notch and I expect it to last several years even with serious UK commuting - much more in other conditions. I'm very pleased with it and based on my experience would recommend and buy another without hesitation.

boyse7en

6,671 posts

164 months

Thursday 8th June 2017
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I've had the Dane Sealand Pro jacket for four months now and can recommend it. Much cheaper than most GoreTex Pro stuff, and it fits me well. The double-cuffs are great and it hasn't let in a drop of water even in monsoon conditions.

It is very warm in the winter with the thermal liner in, and still pretty warm even with it out - a recent trip to Portugal showed that it really wasn't designed for 30 degree temperatures all day!

The armour is a bit stiff when it is cold, so I hang it up in the house now rather than the unheated utility room. It's not terrible if you don't but the armour feels a bit odd until it gets warm enough to soften and mould around the shoulders and elbows.

I'm saving up for the trousers

immigrant

397 posts

194 months

Thursday 8th June 2017
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SAS Tom said:
The Held Cadora isn't worth bothering with at this price point. Not only is it too expensive due to the 3 price increases held have made in the past 12 months but the materials it is made out of are as good and there are no vents on the Jacket at all. I'd imagine anything past about 15 degrees will be too warm in this jacket. I don't think I've ever managed to unzip one without the inner liner getting caught in the zip which shouldn't happen especially a top end jacket.
The data on the Cadora is incorrect.

The entire front zip section can be opened to expose a full length mesh vent. There is also a large horizontal exhaust vent in the rear of the jacket,

I haven't had an issue with the liner, but I have had the sleeve zips sometimes jam on the excess material. The sleeve thing happens on all bike jackets though.

cbmotorsport

3,065 posts

117 months

Thursday 8th June 2017
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OP - The beading off you see is nothing to do with Goretex. It's the DWR on the outer shell, the Goretex membrane will be under this.