pick my riding gear for central America now- February

[HaChayalBoded]

I'm packing as we speak, I own probably a dozen pairs of riding pants. Of them I have narrowed my picks down to two, help me push one or the other.

1. BMW Summer II pants.

Fairly waterproof (has been DWR'd).
Massive cargo pockets
Converts to shorts
Light, packs easily (aside from the massive armour which I pull and roll the pants) which is important since it's going on a carry on.

2. Darien lights
Light, easily packable, even with the armour in place.
fully waterproof, but then again, in teh humid jungles this might be a negative


Of my other pants I have

Regular Dariens, black, probably gonna bake in em
Roadcrafter, hell no, there are for commuting, won't have storage for them when stopped.
Olympia Recons, original ones, not the new half mesh crap
Olympia Ranger, too hot, rear pockets are not comfortable to store stuff, cargo pockets aren't that large.
Rev'IT! Dakar
Rev'IT! somethingoranother
3 pairs of Icon Barrier jeans, way too hot for this trip and they are bulky to pack since they have 3 integrated layer, 4 if you count the Aramid\Kevlar.

For a Jacket I'll probably use my old cheap Tourmaster Rincon jacket, it looks great off the bike, vents wonderfully and has 10, TEN, exterior pockets. And is thin enough to not be cumbersome while wearing it through the airport.

My other considerations are

Darien, black, probably way too hot for a slow moving ride through humid central america during the rainy season.

I don't think I want to bring any of the leathers, although the HG Paris Dakar jacket is tempting, so is the Rev'IT! Ignition 2 jacket. Or the silicon impregnated leather FirstGear baron jacket...



By the way, this isn't a "fly and ride" It's a fly down to miami, hop a boat and sail to Mexico where I will disembark from the boat, ride through central america and get back on the boat in panama before heading to south america.

I'm packing everything into a set of Kriega luggage, a US-30 which will be my carry on, I have a set of backpack straps for it. a US-10 will be attached to the side and a US-20 will be empty but attached to the front. a US-5 will house my tools.

Still deciding which boots to take, I have the following sitting in the closet, in order of preference.

1. Gearne Balance Oiled
2. Aerostich CBT lights
3. Vendramini Marathon Steel

The vendraminis are the most comfortable, but they are brand new and I honestly do not want to subject them to this trip. The stich boots are a pain to work with with that stupid speed lace. did I just push the Gearnes back to the top?


Opinions welcome

[bigphish]

Even though Feb. is the dry season there, I think you will appreciate the waterproofness of the D-Lites. Pack a mesh jacket and rain jacket as it can still pour at any time. Also when you get in to any elevation, and there is plenty in that part of the world, the weather cools a bit and can be quite comfortable. Sounds like a fun trip, Enjoy

[crashmaster]

Wow, moto fashion issues. It will be hot. It will be humid. It will be hot and humid until you get altitude, then its not so hot and humid.

Just throw some crap in a bag and go.

[catweasel67]

I swear by what ever trousers the most comfortable (for me it used to be leathers but I'll probably move into textiles) combined with a one piece rain suit (I think mine cost me about £40 but I've had it years). I've used this system for years now and love it. It also works as another layer which can be worn if the temperature drops - this system of mine (well, not mine) carried me through my North American trip where I saw temperatures of up to 45c and down to -3 and snow. Layering is king.
The only draw back is that the rain suit itself, whilst light is fairly bulky but as it's bungeed on top of your other gear it hardly matters.

As for the colour - if that's all that's putting you off taking your Dariens, I'd not worry about it. I would worry about venting and and crash protection.

And damn! you have a shit load of pants :p

[GoinPostal]

Originally Posted by crashmaster

Wow, moto fashion issues. It will be hot. It will be humid. It will be hot and humid until you get altitude, then its not so hot and humid.

Just throw some crap in a bag and go.

+1

[Sjoerd Bakker]

Originally Posted by crashmaster

Wow, moto fashion issues.

Just throw some crap in a bag and go.

+2

[Missiongravity]

I'm down here now and can't tell you how happy my jacket is mesh. I am wearing KLIM Dakar pants and definitely wish they had more ventilation as my package gets super warm.

I have a mesh jacket, a goretex paclite bicycle riding jacket for a liner so that I can use it off the bike as well. Then I have a full one-piece goretex rainsuit that I have worn a total of two day, both in California.

Mesh is best practice down here! Also if you don't ride in a buff(neck gaiter) try one out they are awesome. When it is hot soak it with water and you have head/neck AC. Mine fits under my helmet and covers my neck so I don't break out from wearing a helmet all day every day.

[tricepilot]

I see you're from Brooklyn

Are you one of the Lords of Flatbush?

[HaChayalBoded]

Originally Posted by tricepilot

I see you're from Brooklyn

Are you one of the Lords of Flatbush?

I see you're from Texas, last I checked, steers can't use computers.

[tricepilot]

Originally Posted by HaChayalBoded

I don't think I want to bring any of the leathers, although the HG Paris Dakar jacket is tempting, so is the Rev'IT! Ignition 2 jacket. Or the silicon impregnated leather FirstGear baron jacket...

I'm packing everything into a set of Kriega luggage, a US-30 which will be my carry on, I have a set of backpack straps for it........

This is going to be epic

Good luck!

[kantuckid]

I know this might be a bit "personal" but do you wear underwear? It wasn't on your list & your "family" will appreciate it a bunch,esp. if the wicking type. I find underarmour & some others work just as well as as the pricey LD stuff.

[B.C.Biker]

Originally Posted by HaChayalBoded

I see you're from Texas, last I checked, steers can't use computers.

Not bad.hehe.