Akito Desert - first look review
 

Went this morning to look mainly at the AKITO DESERT trousers, but also sneaked a look at the jacket at the same time. I’m looking at something to compliment my Rallye 2 jacket (haha! I know, from riches to rags), without forking out a lot of cash. They come in quite a bright desert white colour and a grey colour (which is not so black as to absorb all the heat in the world, without being dazzling white!).
Sizing wise the trousers certainly come up pretty small (it is a jap company). Normally I fit a medium/medium long trouser and I needed a large even round the waist with these. I sit at 5 11'/6 foot on a good day, and around a 32 inch waist in jeans.

The Akito Desert is a Rallye styled product, with three strippable layers and CE approved Knox armour. The fleecy/duvet layer inside looks like its high quality, the waterproof layer is a little plastic baggy, but what do you want from these things at £69.99. The finish is a very high quality with nubuck knee pads, assorted vents and mesh. The product is aesthetically very nicely finished, the trousers are very comfortable and the product looks good on….they don’t look cheap at all.
I have a couple of reservations…the material is the only thing which didn’t make me snap up a pair immediately. Its billed as 600d poly, but looks like the sort of thing which melts when you crash in it, obviously its not Cordura for the price, the nubuck also looks like it might me susceptible to burn out with a crash. The poppers on the waist band also don’t look that great, something which could really piss you off if they broke in the middle of a trip.

The jacket is priced at £119.99
The trousers are priced £69.99

The product can be viewed here: Littlewoods - Akito - desert jacket

Pretty much spot on with your observations and worry's about poppers etc Joe, I bought a pair of the trousers for commuting to work around about october,The top 2 poppers where it fastens around your waist are on there way out (a belt had to be fashioned to stop any embarassing trousers down moments while in the que at garage paying for fuel) One of the zips on the front combat pocket thingy where the vent is has come away from the material (There's velcro fastenings to keep the vent closed also though).


They are actually very very warm. But the waterproofing isnt up to much. That beeing said the rain weve had up here has been of biblical proportion.

Ive been down the road with them in a low speed spill and was very suprised but highly greatfull that they stood up as well as they did for a pair of trousers that cost about as much as a saturday night out in the pub

For commuting in the spring/summer id say they werent to bad,I was pretty impressed with the feel of them and the look for the price when i bought them and the armour is Knox and in all the right places, That beeing said my ones have been relegated to wearing when im working on the bike.

They look the part but i reckon even with some one who isnt to hard on there gear wouldnt get much more than 6 months out of them before feeling that they had past there best.

Regards. Darren

Akito Deserts
 

Hi Guys
Bought the trousers & jacket for a trip to Gambia.Waist studs self destructed at 3000 miles,but,all in all,not a bad product for the price.
As long as you do,nt go out in the rain,everythings fine,do not put passport,bike papers & wallet in pockets,unless you deliberately want to turn them into a sodden mess,do,nt laugh,I did!
For hot countries they,re fine,take out the insulated & waterproof linings & they,re very comfortable in the heat,as long as you do,nt smoke.Do not allow someone to drop a cigarette end into your crotch,as,they have all the heat resistance of a plastic bin liner.I kid you not.
I reckon that if you came of your bike you,d burst into flames after about three or four yards,(I have not tried this yet ),
Seriously,they look good &,for what I needed them for,they were fine,but, not a long term prospect.Certainly not for British weather.

Cheers Paul

I was considering one of these AKITO jackets until I saw this very similar product being offered by the venerable FRANK THOMAS - The Senegal Jacket and Pants -

Opinions? Frank Thomas Senegal Jacket and Pants - Page 2 - ADVrider

Seems much better gear to me. Frank Thomas gear has NEVER let me down. It's well priced and if this stuff is as good as my Aqua Jacket it's well worth looking at.

Seen it on Ebay costing about £120 ($240) for the jacket and £75 ($150) for the trousers.

Hi, I bought a pair of BMW summer trousers with CE knee and hip protectors for my forthcoming trans Africa trip. They seem well constructed and should be a good back up on hot dry days. They're not waterproof, however, and I haven't any experience using them yet. So you might consider looking at them as an alternative to the Akita Desert.

Akito desert suit
 

I've just bought one of these today, removed all the linings as i prefer to stick a w/proof suit over the top when i rains.

Anyhoo, does anybody know where the 'detachable hip protectors' go??...Even if they're not supplied and i buy some later i still can't see how they would attach?!

Hi Chris, That's a good question, I couldn't work it out either, so I phoned the shop and they said it was a mistake in the advert ! There is no provision for hip protectors ! If you've got space then the option could be padded shorts...
Cheers Mike

Thanks Mike, i'll stop looking all over the pants now!...Did you notice that there's no 'reflective inserts' either as mentioned on the tag? Who cares, great suit for the money i think!

A good idea poorly executed
 

I had a pair of desert trousers for a couple of months before the stitching came apart and I was fortunately able to return them to J&S for a refund. The main problems I had were with the waterproof and so-called breathable liner. Firstly I found the trousers to be very sweaty. My HG master4 goretex could be totally comfortable while the desert trousers felt damp and clammy. The solution in a dry country would be to remove the liner but that isn't much use if you are riding in UK. I also found the liner stops 6 inches short of the bottom of the trousers. This meant that water got through the trousers just above the top of my road boots leaving me with wet feet. The bottom of the leg is also too narrow to zip up over MX boots leaving the trousers flapping in the wind and prone to catching on the pegs when you put your foot down.

returned mine too
 

Found out the waterproof liner in the jacket was inside out. The 'sticky' side was on the skin side. The trousers were the opposite, ie correct.
Anyway, took it back to the shop and all the others were the same!...Got a refund as i didn't like it sticking to my arms when wearing a t-shirt. Then went and spent 400 quid on a rev-it jacket and trousers :rolleyes2:

I've just bought the jacket and trousers
 

I was looking for some cheap stuff to use on a Paris Dakar trip at the end of the month. I bought the jacket and trousers off ebay for £153.95 including delivery. I have only worn them for a couple of days so far but I've been impressed at how warm they are. the legs will go over my gaerne Cypher boots and do up, just. I bought the trousers big to give room to move and so's not to put strain on the waist poppers. I was looking for pockets for hip armour but will stop now. Anybody know where I can get braces to attach to the fitted "loops"?
I'll post a review of the kit when I get back from the trip at the end of December.