Gear advice SE and Central Asia
 

Hi, new member so hope this is the right place to ask this. I will be backpacking through Myanmar, India, Pakistan, the stans and Mongolia over the next 7 months or so. I am keen to do some riding during my travels - mainly renting a bike periodically and exploring the surrounding regions. Not planning on covering long distances regularly, but am planning on renting a bike and travelling around North East India for 2 weeks and Mongolia for 3-4 weeks.

I have been looking into what type of protection gear would be most suitable for my trip. I am a bit unsure as I want to have sufficient protection but don't want to carry too much additional weight for the amount of riding i will be potentially doing. I will have a 65:75l backpack and would like to keep the total weight to 15kg.

Anyway, after a bit of research I have come to two options that I think might work. I would love feedback and any advice people have to share. I will rent a helmet wherever i get a bike, so the below just refers to body protection. Also getting a pair of breathable gloves.

A) Forcefield body armour (pro x-v 2) shirt and pants. Basically a base layer with high quality body armour. Pros are its very lightweight, breathable and very good impact protection. Con is there is no abrasion protection.

B) Alpinestars Air textile jacket and pants, adding in back, chect and hip protectors. Pro is the better overall protection. Cons are the additional weight and space required.

Thanks. :thumbup1:

Welcome to HU!

I have moved your thread to the Camping gear and all Clothing forum since that is the most likely for what you're really asking - what riding gear?

FWIW - B is in my opinion the better all round choice - you'll wear it most of the time on this trip. Take the pads out and it will all pack much smaller when you're not riding, and the jacket is good anytime anywhere. You don't need anything else for a jacket.

With the Forcefield you still need a jacket, and if you go with jeans, the abrasion protection is pretty much zilch. One long slide and you know what you would rather be wearing.

Hope that helps, and have a great trip!

I have this idea you'll find it difficult to NOT rent a bike in Pakistan, one in the random-other-Stans, and maybe one or two more in SE Asia.

I've been doing similar rentals, though on short trips--three weeks at a time. I usually bring my own helmet (because adequate helmets are rare, ones which fit me more rare still, and the possible consequences of an inferior one quite severe), jacket, gloves, light boots, knee and shin armor, and a couple of odds and ends (Airhawk seat, little squeegees for my visor, etc.). I consider this the minimum kit for riding unfamiliar roads on unfamiliar bikes among local riders who don't share my sense of fragility.

I often end up carrying an 80 liter pack, though sometimes one that's a bit smaller. I load it right to the 23 kilo checked baggage limit, even while wearing my boots and carrying 10 kilos as a carry-on. That includes some food, but few other luxuries--no camping gear at all, just an emergency laminated mylar shelter. I do bring running shoes, trekking poles, and a wee little umbrella for the tropics.

I don't know how much my baggage weighs once I'm wearing all my kit, but I doubt it's as light as your 15 kilos. If you really mean to limit yourself to that much including your riding kit--even without food, water, a book, maybe some souvenirs--I'm thinking you might want to re-assess. I'd give some thought to the helmet issue, too.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

Another vote for taking your own helmet if nothing else, you don't mention footwear but I make do with the hiking boots that are my everyday shoes on a trip like this.

Thank you all for your helpful contributions. As this questions sits with me, and considering the advice given, I think B is the better option. I will also look more closely into bringing a helmet. Are there any recommendations on a particular helmet that is particularly suited to what I need?

@markharf thank you. The reason I am keen to keep the weight down is that I will be doing quite a lot of hiking and trekking also.

@mark manley yes, i will use hiking boots, thanks.

[QUOTE=kieranoc;607942] Are there any recommendations on a particular helmet that is particularly suited to what I need?[QUOTE]

Whichever one you are most comfortable with, there is no right or wrong apart from it should fit well and be good quality.

Lot of good reasons to keep weight down, and trekking is only one of them. It's simple to leave stuff behind when you're on foot as long as you'll be circling back: I leave it on my bike (rented or owned) or in the care of any hostel, guest house, hotel, or private individual. A large, lightweight sack will serve to hold riding gear and anything else you choose to leave behind, making it less conspicuous. If you're really paranoid, maybe something more substantial (like the Pacsafe brand wire mesh bags I've been known to use).

Melding together very different styles of travel takes some effort and it's not terribly efficient, but it can definitely be done.

Mark

PS: "Type" of helmet matters little. Most of all, you want it to fit and to protect your head. I bring my most basic full-face, because it's cheap and could be left behind if I had reason to do so.

This is what I did when I rented a bike in Vietnam. Brought my Modeka mesh jacket and my own gloves. Rode in regular jeans, hiking boots and motocross knee pads that I got from the rental company.

If I do it again, I'll bring my kevlar jeans (I got a nicer pair now than I had at that time).

It's worth bringing a mesh jacket because you can probably wear it on the street / on hikes, and furthermore, if you're spending an extended period backpacking in SEAsia, you are likely to rent a scooter for the day here and there. So it'll get more use. And my jacket folded up not any bigger than a motocross armor set, in reality.

Modular or a nicer jet helmet.

I have a Grex G9.1 that I got for under a hundred euros - it's an old Nolan model, made with the same tools (has Nolan stampings on it), just much cheaper and with no marketing. It can lock the chinbar in the up position, and around town I often ride with just the sun visor down.