All weather suits? No thank you; or at least that’s what I’ve thought for many years since my last expensive and very disappointing time with a 'top of the line' suit from a leading Italian brand (begins with 'D') and frankly I’d become a little set in my ways - thinking a leather suit with a waterproof over-suit in the bike storage would be all I’d need.
Even buying a bike without storage space didn’t convert me, despite getting very wet on several occasions, nor did Patrick’s constant praising of modern kit; but when Hein Gericke suggested that Londonbikers review one of their all weather suits I was volunteered by the team as my sceptical opinions would prove a great starting point for a detailed review. No to mention that my tatty ensemble of leathers is frankly an embarrassment to all who know me.
Hein Gericke is a well known and popular chain of shops in which I have spent a considerable amount of money over the last eleven years and have never been disappointed with anything their helpful and seemingly knowledgeable staff recommended. Anyway, I agreed to do the review but was expecting to be writing that I had been proved right all along, that textile suits were still not as practical as they are made out to be. Was I right? Read on.
Details
The range of textile suits available from Hein Gericke appears to cover every budget and application, from casual paddock jackets for brief trips or wearing over leathers, to full blown continent crossing touring outfits with an impressive price tag to match their comprehensive specification. The suit I have here sits just slightly above middle in the price range and is called the Tricky III. Its predecessor, the Tricky II, initially attracted my interest however as it is styled in a very urban-esque look with external armour patches, and looked to me to be the exactly the kind of suit I’d wear in preference to my leathers without having to worry about looking like a Ewan McGregor wannabe. It is still available in stores and I strongly recommend you take a look (especially if it's got a large discount tag swinging from it), although it is officially replaced so you won’t find it in the catalogue.
The Tricky III is listed for £309.99 for the jacket and £229.99 for the trousers in their 2009 catalogue, and is classed as a Gore-Tex Performance Shell Suit which means it has the famous genuine waterproof membrane in the space age liner of the suit. WL Gore only allow their membrane to be used in quality products so that label is always a good sign. The Performance range offers Gore-Tex in its traditional construction and layout within the garment - layered between the inner and outer shells of the garment. Hein Gericke also have a Pro Shell range which use a triple-ply laminate bonded to the outer layer giving more protection from abrasion as well as making the garment lighter - if heavy duty performance is needed, that would probably be a better (and more expensive) bet - Nick Saunders wore a Pro Shell PSX-RS suit for his recent Parallel World 40,000 mile adventure. Clearly HG are not frightened of putting their name in the spotlight under the harshest conditions.
My Tricky III wasn’t likely to see that kind of punishment, but thanks to the extremes of the weather in the last 4 weeks, it has had a pretty thorough work-out in the 700 miles covered in that time. Trips in baking sunshine tested its ventilation while a Top Gear shoot and a work trip to Bristol saw the waterproofing pummelled by heavy summer storms.
Fit and Finish
The suit is styled, to my eyes, as a cross between the urban short jackets such as the PSX range and the very traditional big-pocket touring type like the Tuareg or Cruise suits. Initially I wasn’t sure about it, I thought it was a little bland and frankly not the kind of styling which would make me swap from a traditional leather suit, hence my initial interest in the Tricky II. But as the weeks have gone by I have grown to like its subtle style which doesn’t shout too loudly, and its largely black colouring is a big nod to the practicalities of all weather biking.
There are vents on the shoulders and to side of the back panel, large pockets where you’d expect them on the outside and two on the inside; while the trousers have two pockets again where you’d expect them to be. All pockets are of a decent size, although whether you could use them with anything larger than sports gloves on is, as yet, untested.
One of my favourite modifications to make to new suits is to make the zips more accessible with gloves on, something Hein Gericke and most others (leather included) forget about. I don’t want to have to take my gloves off, especially since wet hands are a nightmare to get back into gloves, so I take the biggest and strongest key-rings I can find and thread them through the zip eye. Hey presto, easy to grasp zips.
One of the major points on my checklist is present on this suit – a full length zip to join trousers to jacket which aside from the obvious safety benefits means that no cold draughts can sneak up the back when speeds pick up.
The fit of the suit is good straight off the shelf with width adjusters on the sleeves and waist; this stops unseemly billowing by the former, and embarrassing reveals by the latter. It is slightly tailored to enhance that fit while leaving enough room for my large Knox back-protector (providing I’ve removed the standard fit item). The neck has a decent but not intrusive collar to it, the trousers are long enough not to ride up anywhere near the top of my sports boots while being wide enough not to be too tight over them either. A ‘seat strap’ is also provided to hold the trousers up should the all round zip not be enough although frankly I’ve never felt the need to use this as the trousers ‘hang’ perfectly comfortably with it out.
My only complaint as regards fit is the sleeves, again not levelled particularly at this suit since my previous textile suits both had the same issue - in particular, sleeve length. At a standstill or slow speed all is well, the sleeves fit nicely inside or over my Racer leather gloves (which are about a normal length) but at speed, because of the extra drag on a textile suit over a heavier sleeker leather one, the sleeves are dragged up my forearm exposing a half inch or so (depending upon riding position) gap between jacket and glove. Yes, I ride a sports bike not a tourer so my arm reach may be more than expected but I’m assuming that these suits are meant to be suitable no matter what you ride. I have an easy solution though, one I’ve seen before on an Oakley snow-boarding coat, and that is the elastic thumb hook/strap. It wraps around the base of your thumb and stops the sleeve riding up when you hit the snow but surely would be just as practical here?
So that aside the suit feels snug but not tight, and as a result pretty reassuring in terms of safety – I don’t think the armour or indeed the entire suit would slide around me too much in event of an accident.
One other positive I’ll mention, something I really appreciated on this suit, are the two patches of leatherette on the backside which grip your seat (bike seat that is) and stop you sliding about under braking and acceleration.
Armour is supplied with the suit – back, shoulders, elbows, hips and knees are all protected by removable CE-approved SaS-Tec® items which are new technology foam based armour panels, soft, pliable yet firm up under impact. If you’ve ever played with cornflower and a small amount of water it’s the same principle, soft while moving gently yet rigid under sudden movement. In practice it means when you kneel down to lube the chain, the armour feels soft and comfortable to kneel on but if you strike your knee with a spanner the armour is strong and unyielding. It is similar in feel to the more widely known Hiprotec armour range available in the more sports orientated leather suits.
On the Bike
While riding the suit has proved to be far more comfortable than my two piece leathers in the heat we lived under during late June, with the lining removed and the vents open a decent flow of air was maintained to keep me from sweating thus keeping my clothes dry, while at standstill and on the go, heat building up inside quickly found its way out of the suit, far more so than in a leather one. Taking the suit trousers off after a day out has never seen the lining stick to my sweaty legs despite the thirty degree heat it has been worn in, so clearly enough heat and moisture is passing out of the material. Altogether it was a far more pleasant experience than going out in my leathers, while maintaining safety levels not afforded by jeans and a lightweight paddock jacket for example.
On a wet trip around town and a work ride to Bristol the suit got a good soaking from summer storms which plagued the south of England in early July. Both times the suit refused to let in water, although I would question how watertight a seal the collar makes as I used a neck warmer on both occasions just in case. Only one of the inside pockets is highlighted as waterproof but I haven’t had any issues with any water ingress. A tad of common sense would suggest lining the pockets with freezer bags to ensure that mobiles, wallets etc remain dry no matter what the manufacturer suggests. I was told in the shop, and I guess it’s common sense too, that the suit will need regular washing in a suitable waterproofing coating available in HG stores, online and in most camping/outdoor shops – you know the spray or wash-in liquid beginning with 'N'?
Not only did the suit resist water intrusion but it also dried out quickly, my other major bugbear of previous textile suits. I appreciate that the generally warm air of the summer will have helped the drying process a lot but my point is that the suit never felt waterlogged, it’s as if the water doesn’t penetrate the suit to any significant depth – this was not always the case in my previous experience and serves to back up the manufacturer’s construction claims. This is very important to me if I’ve ridden to a client’s office in the rain, I don’t want to arrive there and leak a lot of water as the suit empties out. My old 'D' suit would drip a significant amount of water for an hour or so after a ride in the rain.
So I’ll be buying a bottle of wash-in solution in the near future to keep the suit in top condition since the Tricky III is machine washable – handy since the light grey panels are already showing signs of dirt and oil around the pockets.
I haven’t had opportunity to try the suit with the removable lining in-place, it’s more than warm enough without them irrespective of time of day – I’ve ridden at speed after sundown (so 12-15 degrees?) and providing the vents are shut I was perfectly comfortable at motorway speeds with just a T-shirt underneath because the suit completely cuts out the wind. Come the autumn and single digit temperatures I’ll be reinstalling the liners and will report how the suit copes then.
Conclusion
You would be right to think I like this suit. I’m converted and don’t mind admitting it. There is enough styling in the suit to make me think I look ok on a sports-bike in it (rather than looking like the owner’s father...) and it is far more practical than a leather suit.
That said, I don’t think I’ll ever go without a leather suit completely. What about track-days? Those summer blasts where practicality isn’t so necessary? I will always have a one-piece hanging up in the garage for those occasions, but for everything else this will suit me perfectly.
A big thank you to the staff at my nearest Hein Gericke for the time and patience in store, not only with the suit but with the Xlite helmet I bought while there.
Related Links
Check the jacket out here and for the trousers here
