Advice on kit for Morocco

Urban Rider

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I'm beginning to think I should've kept hold of my RP2 suit now:blast

So, i'm heading off for a 10 day trip to Morocco in early May and i'm questioning how cool my Rukka jacket and trousers are going to be? Neither have any vents and the suit is black so i'm expecting it to be HOT!!!

So from the collective on here who've been whats the best kit to use at a reasonable price?

Thanks in advance:thumb2

Chris
 
There isn't one single suit that will 'do it all', so IMO you have to think around the problem.......and the answer lies in layers.

An armoured vesty type thing........100 quid

This is the one I wore in Morocco a lot.....Dainese, but bought in a sale at 99 quid or so. (200 retail)

motorcycle_gifts_06_0910-md.jpg


Under that, you need a long sleeved wicking shirt.......something made out of 'technical' type material :rolleyes: that you can wash under a tap each night, wring out and wear dry the next morning.

OVER it, you can wear anything, or even nothing at all if it's really hot.

A thin fleecey long sleeved layer (technical material again) and a slightly thicker one, plus a goretex type layer, and you have pretty much ALL of the bases covered. and very inexpensively. (EDIT....and at hardly any volume either......in fact, having those extra layers that you can wear as evening casual gear works perfectly!)

Over the top of it all if it's minging weather, you can put on any jacket you like and are familiar with....just make sure you don't double up on armouring or you'll walk like you have a taser up your arse and the overlapping armour panels can be quite dangerous as well.


ONE SUIT WILL NOT DO IT ALL :rob but a sensibly selected layered approach WILL, and it will be WAY cheaper and totally flexible for day to day use (bearing in mind you can be riding up above the snowline at midday then be in 40 degrees c heat at 4pm.

JMHO ;)

ANOTHER EDIT.........You can fit a thin fleecy layer, a thicker, fluffier fleecy layer AND a goretex (or similar) waterproof layer into s single Kriega US10, and STILL have room for a fleecey buff, a pair of silk glove liners, a Mars bar and a microfibre towel.....A US10 will strap on top of any pannier, pillion seat, back rack or ontop the beak of a GS.
 
I understand the problems going from winter to a very hot summer in a few hours so am wondering if the Klim Traverse is sensible? Granted if you start walking a couple of miles in the 40 dec C zone you're going to be in severe danger of overheating. But, if you're on the bike and moving then having a 40 deg C hairdryer in effect heating you up, will a full mesh kit be any cooler that the Traverse jacket with the armpit / back vents open?
 
I understand the problems going from winter to a very hot summer in a few hours so am wondering if the Klim Traverse is sensible? Granted if you start walking a couple of miles in the 40 dec C zone you're going to be in severe danger of overheating. But, if you're on the bike and moving then having a 40 deg C hairdryer in effect heating you up, will a full mesh kit be any cooler that the Traverse jacket with the armpit / back vents open?

+1 for the Traverse. I had the opposite challenge in Alaska - mainly cold but sometimes really warm. Traverse suit plus layers did the job perfectly...
 
I understand the problems going from winter to a very hot summer in a few hours so am wondering if the Klim Traverse is sensible? Granted if you start walking a couple of miles in the 40 dec C zone you're going to be in severe danger of overheating. But, if you're on the bike and moving then having a 40 deg C hairdryer in effect heating you up, will a full mesh kit be any cooler that the Traverse jacket with the armpit / back vents open?

Klim and 'reasonable price' are two phrases that don't often go together well.......and yes, I know, top notch stuff IS worth it on a cost per years use basis (I still wear my 10 year old BMW suit that cost me the best part of a grand even when heavily discounted, which makes it cheap in comparison with many other bits of kit I've had)

I've worm BMW, Rukka, Heine Gericke and Aerostich kit in Morocco over many years, and if I was setting off on a trip next week, or next month, or any randomly chosen month, I'd go for a mixed bag of layered items TBH, built around a core protection system.

Must admit I've never worn anything outside of a showroom made by Klim, and if they have a suit that would suit (did you see what I did there :D) ALL aspects of a trip from the High Atlas to Mhamid in May, then they have achieved the holy grail of biking kit :)
 
I have not been to Morocco ... :D

But I have a Klim Traverse and think it's bloody brilliant. I layer underneath, and spent 6 hours in torrential rain on Friday and was absolutely bone dry underneath.

Vents front and rear, a 'boxy' shape that would go over armour ... I'm really really pleased with it.

For a fancy shell jacket with built in armour but nothing else (ie layers..) then yeah .. as Bill says it's expensive, but I've spent years buying medium quality stuff and then replacing it a few years later.

Good jacket ... :thumb2
 
Some of the Klim kit is in the Rukka price range, but the Traverse was reasonable given its Goretex proshell, IMO. The Overlander is a simialr style, but that bit more expensive. For me, using it in the UK outside of winter it is the suit that manages to tick all the boxes, and even in Europe it works very well.
 
I found my flip flops and shorts really useful.

It was very hot. :D

There's a weird wind chill inversion thing that happens at around 38-40 degrees C.

Up until that point, you find yourself doing the BMW skewl 'standing on the pegs' thang so you get full wind blast to take the heat away from you, but then when you get to that certain point, you find that the heat of the air in the windblast beats it, and standing up in the wind makes you HOTTER :eek

At that point, you have to rely on physics, and you have to start using wet kit and evaporation to cool yourself.......a 2 litre bottle of water tipped all down your front and into your pants will keep you cool for another 20 minutes when riding, but then it's dried, gone, so you have to duck down BEHIND the screen again to keep out of the blistering wind.

I have a couple of Aerostich "Evapodama" things....basically a bandana filled with that gel stuff that absorbs loads of water.......you drench it, whack it around your neck and it takes an hour or more to give up the water.......it gives you about a 10 degree chill factor on your neck and upper body before you have to re-drench it.



Having said that, Chris is going in 'early May', so the conditions won't be to that sort of extreme........I'd be more concerned about cold then, rather than heat TBH, on an overall trip at that time of year.
 
Going to use one of these: http://www.techniche-intl.com/catalogus/hyperkewl-cooling-ultra-sport-vest.html as well, though the fashion police will be upset if they see you with it on.

Looks like pretty much the same tech as the 'stich evapodama thingies........


On a bike though, you'd have to make sure that there's some airflow over the surface to enable evaporation, or it'll just heat up like a wetsuit does when it holds water :beerjug:


PS Fuck the fashion police........not that you'd ever find one of them riding in anything outside of the normal boundaries :augie
 
Looks like pretty much the same tech as the 'stich evapodama thingies........


QUOTE]



+1 for the evaporama


I wore aerostich and evaporama and was OK up to 47'c as long as I was moving and had plenty of water.

In fact, if you're not careful you can end up too cold!


The advantage of the aerotich is that as soon as you stop you can be in shorts and T shirt whilst your mates sweat it out.
 
+1 for Klim suit.

Worn in Morocco for 2 trips and worked well when it was cold in the mountains (wish I had heated grips) and in the heat of the desert. Only time it was too hot was in the dunes where I took it off and just wore the armoured vest (in fairness I got hot by falling off all the time). Vents work well and for road trips fully waterproof as I discovered riding for 3 days in torrential rain in Europe (note - pockets fully waterproof if you remember to zip them up).

Going to wear the suit again for this years trip and take a light jersey for over the armour when the jacket is too hot.
 
We traveled there last week and got drenched. Bring an all in one rain oversuit, a good one and 100% waterproof spare gloves.
When it rains its proper rain
 
There's a weird wind chill inversion thing that happens at around 38-40 degrees C... when you get to that certain point, you find that the heat of the air in the windblast beats it, and standing up in the wind makes you HOTTER :eek

And you have to close the visor on your helmet otherwise it's like having a hairdryer blowing into your face. So carry a buff with you to shield your face from the effects of the sun.

If it gets really hot, douse your clothes in water every hour or so.
 
If it gets really hot, douse your clothes in water every hour or so.

That's not always possible although it's great if you can.
Since there was a heatwave in the US this year I got a cooling vest for riding the TAT, it's like riding in a wet Shirt for around 4 hours. I'd soak it in the morning and keep it in a plastic bag until I was desperately hot.
 
That's not always possible although it's great if you can.
Since there was a heatwave in the US this year I got a cooling vest for riding the TAT, it's like riding in a wet Shirt for around 4 hours. I'd soak it in the morning and keep it in a plastic bag until I was desperately hot.

I recharge mine during longer stops by putting the vest into a sealable bag eg a freezer one, along with some water, getting rid of much air as possible so the sater soaks in as quickly as possible. I guess this is more economical on water.
 
I recharge mine during longer stops by putting the vest into a sealable bag eg a freezer one, along with some water, getting rid of much air as possible so the sater soaks in as quickly as possible. I guess this is more economical on water.

Yep that's what I used, in the US the motels often have free ice machines to put in as well ...... bliss.
 


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