Motorcycle Specific Gear for Alaska Trip
I’ve covered off the things that were more or less attached to the bike. This post covers the gear that was more or less attached to me. Mostly it covers the outer shell parts.
The inner layers consisted of various combinations of:
- Under Armour T-shirts (just brought 2)
- ExOfficio underware (3)
- Columbia zip off pants (2)
- 2 different weights of Merino wool base layer
- Icebreaker wool socks (3)
- MEC 200 weight fleece jacket
And now for the outer gear. The important point here is that my jacket and pants never let any water in. The boots did a bit during the driving rain from Tok to Whitehorse but in all fairness, the dirty roads had done a number on the leading edge of the toes of the boots. The Summit H20 gloves leaked. Rev’IT has offered replacement but I really like them and I figure the next set will likely leak too. Reviews seem to indicate that waterproof gloves are rarely waterproof for very long.
I would only change two things with the items listed below.
- Klim did not have Hi-Viz colors in the Badlands Pro jacket when I bought mine. There were two choices; Black and Grey. Since grey was not available anywhere, I went with black. Black is not visible enough (hence the Hi-Viz CamelBak I got).
- My Klim gloves are a bit too small for me. I should have bought a larger size. Even stretching attempts have not yielded comfort.
I am very much an ATGATT (all the gear, all the time) person. I wear the same outer layer in all weather. It works well. On really hot days you don’t really want to be at a standstill even thought the Klim gear vents amazingly well.
To aid in cooling on the really hot days we had “Heat Busters” that we got at Mark’s Work Warehouse. They are a neckerchief that has water absorbing stuff in it. I also had a Frogg Togg’s Chilly Pad. We would put these in the cooler for a refresh when we stopped. The Chilly Pad gives up its cold water more readily but they tend to mold. The Heat Busters cool your neck for a bit.
I did not buy the bike shorts until the trip home. I wish I had watched this video before we left. You can fast forward to 3:36 or so. Or, just accept that Tracy says something like “Bicycle shorts, for any kind of long distance riding, they are gold. Trust me.”
Here is the list of gear with links. No money has changed hands. But hey, Klim, if you are reading this, I’d love to swap my jacket for the Hi-Viz version. I’d take that sponsorship.