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As the company i review for has limited stock due to the holidays I decided to take it upon myself to review some of my own purchases. Namely the Akito Desert jacket and Pants (or trousers if you’re English). The Desert suit is an all weather, all condition touring suit designed to handle anything that nature or the avid motorcyclist can throw at it. I managed to pick the full suit up for around £200 ($350) at a dealer near my house who shipped them in for me. The Akito brand is Japanese and as such, the sizing is a little different. I found that ordering a size up was best for me (as with most of my gear actually… now I feel insecure).

I bought both parts sometime around early October as the weather in England was starting to get a little chilly. Both items do zip together however I found that I hardly ever use this as I normally wear the suit on my commute. In the 2 months that I have had these I have done around 1500 miles in ALL WEATHER! Snow, frost, severe flood causing rain, heat and whatever else nature would like to toss my way.

Both pieces of the suit have the same setup in which they have a resistant, windproof outer layer (textile), a fully waterproof liner and inside that a thermal layer. For the most part I have had all layers zipped in.

The Akito Desert suit in its natural habitat (Me)

COMFORT

The suit is incredibly comfy. The lining is quilted and feels like silk (actually nylon I believe) but nevertheless it provides excellent comfort. The Coldest days feel like room temperature and even as I found myself commuting home in the snow last week the great warmth kept me in good spirits. However, don’t for a minute presume that all those linings will have you swimming around after a few minutes, as the lining appears breathable although it does not state it. Not that breathable really matters when you have countless vents on all different areas of your body though and these do actually work, especially if you have the thermal lining out on those occasional hot days.

The light CE Knox armour is also unobtrusive and I haven’t found a slight problem with it. It also does its job as I had the unfortunate chance of finding out when a taxi driver u-turned in front of me knocking me under the bike in November. I and surprisingly the suit had not a mark on “us”. But that’s more of an issue of quality.

Also I found that there are so many clips, button studs, and whatever else that you can actually tailor the suit to your exact body measurements. The standard settings seem to work fine for me, yet there are occasions when it is nice to have the jacket hugging the contours of your body… just not too many of them.

WEATHER RESITANCE

The weather resistance is great and the multiple liners really help. This means that for any occasion you are completely ready; be that travelling through the dunes of Africa or facing the traffic of England’s city centres at rush hour on a cold winter morning – you get the picture.

The rain proofing is great and I have ALWAYS arrived at my destination dry and acidic free. The outer layer seems to be able to combat most showers while the inner lining is a more heavy duty layer aimed at stopping the most torrential rain. Either way it does the job fine and that’s all I am bothered about when the monsoons are hurtling down.

For hot weather the suit also fairs well. When it is summer you have the ability to strip out all the layers and open every vent, allowing the fresh air to keep you perfectly cool while still having the security of armour. This is why the Desert suit is perfect for touring. One jacket for all weather conditions.

QUALITY

The quality seems about average. Don’t go expecting Hein Gericke stitching, but at the same time, you won’t need to take out a second loan. After the miles I have done there are only a few loose stitches towards the bottom of the pants. However, I have not been the kindest of owners as it has not seen the wash cloth too many times… if ever. Plus I have tortured the poor thing by both clashing with the ground once and the wall many times when I am fumbling around trying to get the chain off of the rear tyre in the early hours of the morning.

VALUE

The value is possibly the best thing about the suit. For under £200 ($350) for the full suit (£125 for the jacket and £75 for the pants) you can’t really go wrong.

OVERALL

The Desert suit would obviously be best for one of two things; touring or Winter commuting. It can cope quite well with every scenario thrown in its direction. However where it really shines is its ability to transform from a cosy winter suit (when you set off from England) to a “Desert” defeating summer outfit (for when you arrive in Africa). This is why it makes the perfect touring suit and all-rounder. The price is just an extra to sweeten the deal.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 at 10:33 PM and is filed under Motorcycles, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.