1.   Moto Gear:
2.   Outdoor:
3.   Gadgets:

     Bike Wear: give and take between comfort and safety
     Outdoor life: what can make it easier?
     Our Pearls: we are sure you’ll also want them!

MOTO GEAR

Helmets:  AGV  Stealth

Famous Italian brand at a very good price for the pair of helmets: they are comfortable and light, maybe a bit noisy, anyway in hindsight I don’t know if I would buy them again. The modular helmets were absolutely out of budget.

Remarks: The air inlets didn’t survive the first months, but the biggest problem is anyway the visors: the one with the anti-fog can be ruined just by looking at it, but even the normal ones are not much more resistant. I hope the quality of the skullcap is better… I asked clarification to AGV but they never replied.
 
Price: 180 €  (the pair)

Jackets with protections:  Acerbis  X-life Jacket

We paid them very little money because they were with the colors of the previous season, these cordura jackets revealed themselves to be versatile and resistant. From the winter lining to the sleeveless version for the city, we wear these jackets even when we are not on the bike. They come with rubber protections for elbows, shoulders and for the back.

Remarks: We wanted a simple jacket with a “normal” look and we are pleased with these. Two years after, they are still in very good shape. The only mole is the wrist where the sleeve closes only with buttons and not velcro allowing insects to go inside: I got bitten twice! I changed the rubber back protection with an Mtech one (homologated).
 
price: 50 €

Technical Jeans: Bulletproof (Agata) e 4Riders (Thomas)

We bought them in Istanbul; they are normal jeans with Kevlar patches on knees, hips and butt. They can be worn in any occasion, they don’t protect from the impact but from the abrasions on the tarmac.

Remarks: While the jackets with protections can be taken off as soon as you get down of the bike, you have to keep the pants on… Considering our slow pace I consider these jeans a very good compromise between safety and wearability. When it’s hot you suffer a bit more than with normal jeans, but they can easily substitute your “winter trousers”.
 
price: 70 € ?

Gloves: Spidi / Dainese 

Two pairs for me, light in pierced leather and Gore-Tex, and leather with the protections on the knuckle for Agata. When I ride the motorbike I can even be wearing shorts but I always wear gloves.

Remarks: Obviously my light Spidi didn’t have a long life (1 year), but they did their duty, while the Spidi of Agata lasted 2 years before…. making mold at the tropics! For the first winter I had to take out my winter gloves. A hint on how to choose correct size for winter gloves: create an L between thumb and the index and press in the corner of the L, if you touch only the glove and not the hand, the size is too small and you’ll be uncomfortable holding the handle
 
price:

Boots: Forma (Thomas) e Dr.Martins (Agata)

I chose 100% waterproof boots with protections for malleoli and tibia; they are a superior quality product. Agata wears simple leather boots above the ankle.

Remarks: Although extremely useful in thousands of fords in India and Pakistan, my boots are over dimensioned for a trip like mine: you can wear them only on the motorbike and the day you don’t wear them you really don’t know where to put them. Agata seems satisfied with her compromise (but she bought them one size bigger…)
 
price: 200 €

Raincoat:  Ferrino  Motion

We started with a Suomy coverall “100 miglia”, but generally speaking we stop if it starts to rain (no hurries!!)… so we kept only the pants while the upper part has been replaced with a waterproof Ferrino jacket, pocket size and much more versatile.

Remarks: The waterproof jackets for the motorbike didn’t convince us: low transpirability, high price and anyway you don’t get wet, but they do. Much better a raining jacket, you can wear it also as a K-way. The Suomy raining coat was bulky and heavy, the k-way is pocket size and 100% waterproof (with waterproof sewing).
 
price: 15 € (With a good discount from Fiorelli Sport)

We found good deals at Canella Point in Cormano (MI). Thank you Jessica!

OUTDOOR

Tent:  Quechua  2 seconds II

The camping fanatics will laugh at our choice, but the comfort of this tent that opens up by itself is priceless (pitch it and unpitch it every day would have been a nightmare!).
The difficult part was to find a place where to put it on the motorbike, considering his shape of a huge Frisbee… at the end we decided that under Agata’s ass was the perfect place.

Remarks: Although not appreciated from backpackers because of its extravagant shape, the manufacture quality is extremely high and it holds the rain perfectly: if you can carry it around on a vehicle is definitely the right tent for you.
For two people with the bags is ok, ma I have to say that it would need a couple of air inlets more, or otherwise you should not go to the tropics with it.
 
price: 45 €
voto:  8       – I would buy it again.

Backpack:  Tatonka  Barrel S

This is not exactly a backpack, but a waterproof bag with pull-out backpack straps. Perfect for the promiscuous motorbike/ backpacking use, waterproof enough, it’s absolutely strong.

Remarks: This is probably the item that we are most satisfied with between all our equipment: after 2 year, 30000 km and 2 continents is like new in spite of the absolutely extreme use.
 
price: 80 €
voto: 10     – Eccezzionale!

Sleeping bags:  Bertoni  Eclipse

Directly bought from the producer in Milan, these warm and soft sleeping bags made of goose feather, when closed become extremely small.
We chose 2 “mummy” sleeping bag (for space reason, price and wasted heat) they are linkable and one has 100g padding, the other 150g.

Remarks: In hindsight we would have preferred normal sleeping bag instead than the mummy ones (the one that open up completely and can be also used as a blanket) and maybe we would have enjoyed a couple of grams of padding more… but it’s also true that we went to the Himalayas!
 
price: 70 €
voto:  8       – Best value for money.

Multifuel Stove:  Edelrid  Hexon

This German brand proposes the economic version of the famous multifuel stoves from Primus of MSR. These stoves can burn every kind of liquid fuel, considering the irreperibility of gas cartridges away from home (petrol instead can be found in every corner of the world, including the tank of my motorbike). If you heard something about alcohol stoves… forget about them: pure alcohol is not available in most of the world, or it is for crazy prices (like vodka, more or less).

Remarks: I advise against this brand; to save few Euros we ended up with a product not up to its duty (feed us daily!). Beside a whole list of small flaws, its main problem is that the nozzle gets plugged easily and irremediably: even if they are called “multifuel”, if you use a fuel greaser than petrol that will be your last supper. And spare parts are almost impossible to find on the net. The other brands studied different nozzles for different kind of fuel.
 
price: 130 €
voto:  4        – For Sunday campers.

Dishes: Agesci mess tin

I’ve been having it since I was a boy-scout. Light and compact still works quite good, but I think it’s about time to renew it with something fitted with accessories and capacious.
Any suggestion?

Water tank:  Sea to Summit  Pack tap (6 litri)

Necessary when we are talking about real camping, it’s useful also in all those occasion when drinkable water is not available (which happens quite often in Asia). The strong external fabric contains a bag made of silver material suitable for food (basically like aluminum foil). It’s thought to be hanged, if you roll it up it takes very little space.

Remarks: Before buying it we’ve already tried 2 other plastic water tanks (one of which was a Coleman foldable cube), that we had to buy after a while because of the plastic taste of the water that was getting worse and worse. Even though this product definitely solves the problem, compared to its competitors has only one flaw: the water flows as long as you keep the tap pressed, therefore it cannot be used with both the hands free (es. to take a shower or wash your hands).
 
price: 30 €
voto:  6       – Perfect to drink, inconvenient for everything else.

Flashlights:  Black Diamond  Cosmo

Once you tried a headlamp you can’t live without it. We have two of them, thanks to the LED light the batteries lasted more than one year (3 AAA batteries).
We also have a LED torchlight that can light up to 150m and a dynamo torch…

Remarks: They worked well for over 1 year, and then both of them started to have intermittent contact. Fixing them was not trivia, but I was really expecting something more from this bran and for this price. Life of the batteries went beyond the one of the one of the torch itself.
 
price: 30 €
voto:  6       – High technology, badly manufactured.

We cleaned out Gialdini, the outdoor paradise in Brescia. Thank you Tony for the valuable aftermarket support!

GADGETS

GPS Locator SPOT connect

It’s a satellite communicator that allows you to register your GPS position and send it via satellite disguised as sms or emails. Besides being an emergency device it’s also a powerful communication media: you can set a list of friends that will receive a link that automatically redirects them to your position on Google Map, you can also add a message like “Look in what amazing place I am! Tonight we are going to sleep here!” …a nice way to involve people, no?
With few Euros more you can activate the “G.I.Joe” Rescue Team: if you press the SOS button they come to succor you with the helicopter. Yes, it’s all true, but while the USA is wholly covered, in the most “tough” countries they can only call the local authorities to communicate your situation and position… better than nothing.
We have also activated an Evacuation Medical Insurance with the same company: they don’t pay any medical expenses beside the emergency ones, but they pay the transportation to a hospital of your choice (Italy included obviously).
A very small object of few grams, almost indestructible and with a lot of functions, it is not indispensable, but if you have it you enjoy it.

Remarks: The biggest flaw is the batteries life: they promise you’ll be able to send hundreds of messages but we never managed to send more than around twenty. It needs lithium batteries (AA) which are almost impossible to find, but even with those the problem is not solved. So if you really need to use it as an emergency device… be sure you have a pair of spare batteries of excellent quality.
Wonderful for families, if I were going to the Everest alone I would probably rely on something else.
 
price: 200€
voto: 7

Antitheft for the bags PAC SAFE (55 litri)
It’s a steel net with the shape of a bag and with a lock where you can secure inside your bag. Originally it is made for backpacks, but we are using it to secure the Tatonka to the rack of the motorbike (and even to the tent).

Remarks: I wouldn’t leave the bags on the motorbike at night, because it is not proved against burglars, but it allows you to have your lunch without worries. High price for the thing itself, but the resulting ease is priceless.
Neede.
 
price: 70€
voto: 9

Book: “Arabian Nights”

It’s the well know collections of tales, a sold as the world, from Ali Baba to the Aladdin’s lamp.
Princess Sharazàd, to avoid a certain death that was waiting for her at sunrise, tells to the sultan, his executioner, a never ending sequence of tales framed one inside the other. For one thousand and one nights the sultan listens attentively to the princess, postponing her execution.

Remarks: It didn’t really keep us company for 1001 nights, but for sure for more than 500 (1 and a half year). Some stories are intriguing and fun (the Indian ones), some other are long and boring (the Persian ones). In both ways, dreams of fantastic adventures are assured!
Ideal when you have a spoilt child to put to bed.
Right now we are reading: “Fairy tales over the phone”, Gianni Rodari

 
price: 15 €
voto: