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I recently purchased a Rukka Athos jacket, Rukka Focus TRS trousers, Held Wet N’Dry gloves Daytona Road Star GTX boots and some custom fitted ear plugs from https://www.customearprotection.co.uk/applications/motorcycling/
I went out for a short ride today in the snow and ice so felt it a good reason to start my review of the products (I’ve not received the ear plugs yet).
Toasty is the main word, the jacket and trousers are proper proper warm, so much so I am still amazed at how snug I felt while out and also how light they are. It is a strange feeling to wear something other than leather, I really felt quite naked but was so relaxed as I wasn’t shivering…. So far 100% impressed.
Mainly warm describes the gloves, it was bloody cold and these are a sport glove so I wasn’t expecting a miracle especially as they were at outside temp when I put them on. I would say they are on par with the Frank Thomas winter gloves I have been using on warmth but bave twice the feel and I was able to have the throttle control for silly antics as well as sensible riding. Very comfy and also easy to put on. A fair test would be a longer journey but I am not able to at the moment. Initial impression is better than my last pair, not warmer but better feel.
Ouchy is what I have to say about the Daytona boots, on the bike they are fine but standing around my local Ducati dealers waiting about they really dug into my leg, I normally wear boots outside my leathers but with textiles its the other way round, thought this would mean they would be comfy from the off but there was a bit that was tight against my leg with thick socks over my skinny socks, guess the lesson is dont wear 2 pairs of socks lol, I had to rearrange my undersuit and socks to get comfy and it was fine after but I would expect slightly more comfort and room from a boot that should be able to be worn outside leathers especially when worn under textiles! They were tight around the toes too but again this was due to two pairs of socks so will add to this when worn with just one pair. The boots were very warm and I think they will be fully waterproof, I hope that the comfort issues will be sorted by less socks.
The kit:
Rukka Athos Jacket
Rukka Focus TRS Trousers
Held Wet N’Dry Gloves
Daytona Road Star GTX Boots
As a side note I am really not impressed with my new Shoei lid, its an XR1100 and although just as comfy and around the same weight as my previous 2 lids (Arai Viper GT) it has a stupid lip on the back of it which digs in to the hump on my one piece leathers and jams in to the collar on my Rukka jacket restricting my head from moving… to be honest at the moment I think it is dangerous and am trying to work out how I can get it replaced if possible. The lid was fine in my Triumph leathers which have a low collar and no hump and my lodger also has one and has no issues with his kit so am guessing it is not designed to be used with a collar or hump? (am awaiting a reply from the UK importers on this matter)
Those textiles look great, have been thinking about getting some new ones myself…. Great review as always
Shame about the lid Pete but the rest looks good stuff. Might be interested in some new boots this year, are the Daytona boots too warm for summer?
prob not too warm but I prefer the reassurance of my summer sports boots for serious hooning as I think they’d offer slightly better ankle protection (saying that I had to send them back to Dainese as the zip burst on one of them!)
https://www.dainese.com/uk_en/motorbike/stiv-torque-pro-in.html?cat=125My custom earplugs arrived the other day so tried to give them a test today. Putting them on is a right fiddle and I found myself wondering if they were fitted correctly as they don’t seem to go in the ear as far as I put disposable ones. While riding around town they didn’t seem to block out the general noise very much but this isn’t a fare way to judge them as wind noise is the danger and I just wasn’t going fast enough to need to block that out. When taking my helmet off the right hand plug came loose but was still in my earlobe so basically trapped my lid not quite on and not quite off and was very painful and awkward to remove. I decided not to continue the test out on the open road as my ear felt like it had been torn off.
I am going to contact the company because I am concerned that they may have got my plugs muddled with someone elses as they really dont seem to fit correctly. I may not be fitting them correctly but I cant see any other way to wear them. Am a bit disappointed tbh.
hahaha [
]I really wish I had started wearing them on bikes the moment I had one capable of over 100mph. My hearing has really suffered from it.
I have to say I find earplug really annoying to wear and like to be able to hear what is going on around me
with the foam plugs I can always hear what is in my surroundings, they just dull it a bit. It is the wind noise that they really absorb well which is the noise that causes most damage to hearing on bikes. They can be uncomfortable tho if you use the wrong ones for your ears.
The earplugs were a total waste of money, will not be getting any of them again. I do still endorse wearing them tho but will stick to the soft disposable ones which work fine.
The boots hurt less now they are worn in and are really warm as long as I only wear thin socks (can wear 2pairs of thin but wearing thick socks stops circulation and causes the cold to set in. The boots are still fully waterproof too. Def get a thumbs up from me.
The RUKKA gear has recently had an issue with its funky zip coming apart… this was down to the mechanism not being fitted to the correct runner so it was weak. This was fixed today in the shop and seems to be spot on now and faith in its water/cold and crash protection is restored. The whole suit is fantastic, yes expensive, yes I had an issue but overall I highly recommend it!
The Held gloves are amazing…. they almost feel like summer gloves yet are “warm’n’dry” just like they say on the tin…. they are not Arctic warm tho and any serious winter touring would require bar muffs or at least heated grips, but I am very impressed.
Glad you managed to get your zip fixed! Don’t really ride in the winter much myself so would be a bit of a waste of money for me lol
yup, unless you do cover some miles/ride regularly etc the £1000 ish for the suit is a tad excessive
the RUKKA textiles, Held gloves and Daytona boots have a very snug spot in my biking heart, they are fantastic. So warm to wear and comfy too. Since getting the zip repaired on the RUKKA it has performed fantastically and kept me both warm and dry. The gloves have been faultless… there are warmer ones out there but these are also sports gloves and have loads of feel for the bars. I really think they are the best gloves I have ever owned! The boots are proper good too, they do still dig into my shin a little at times but other than that they are comfy, warm and so far 100% waterproof as are the textiles and gloves!
well worth the investment.I gave up on the earplugs, don’t need them in my open face lid and will wear the disposable ones with full face as they are far more comfy and work, the custom ones were a waste of money for me…. I have a few friends who swear by them tho so guess I just have funny shaped ears!
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