’ m a two suit kinda guy . Always have been . For most summer adventure riding and touring I typically wear a very ventilated fabric suit ( RST Adventure ) with a waterproof jacket and pant to pull over the top when it rains . In the winter I wear a more waterproof suit ( Triumph Malvern ) with the same waterproof jacket and pant set to go over the top to ensure I stay dry no matter the weather . For our mid-winter lap of the South Island , Ixon suggested I try their Eddas suit to keep me dry and warm on the Hayabusa . That ’ d be a tough , yet fair test . To make it even more ‘ fair ’, I decided to leave the waterproof oversuit behind , so I ’ d be relying on the suit ’ s X-Dry laminated waterproof lining to keep me dry .

THE DETAILS The Eddas is billed as an ‘ adventure ’ suit . I ’ d put it as suited for road or gravel adventures , rather than a hard adventure riding suit . It features laminated X-Dry waterproof lining ( 20K waterproof , 10K breathable ) which is built into the suit and not removable . For the warmth side of things there ’ s a zip-in / out thermal lining ( 60g torso and 80g arms ) that has long wrists with thumb-loops . There are plenty of pockets on the jacket , two inside ( one waterproof wallet pocket ), five outside and one large one over the bum - and the pant has four . Protection comes from CE

Level One armour in the shoulders , elbows and knees . There ’ s a pocket for a back protector built into the jacket , but you ’ ll need to supply your own . Something I ’ ve never seen before are the ‘ passenger restraint straps ’ - a loop in each side pocket for the pillion to hold onto . Sizing seems a little on the small side . I typically wear a medium or large suit , with the Ixon

Eddas I ’ m inbetween a large and extra large .

EIGHT HOURS OF ROAD RAIN If you ’ ve read about the Hayabusa trip ( read about it here ), you ’ ll know it was a tad damp . Of the 11.5 hours between Reefton and Te Anau , about eight of them were in the rain . There are three holes in any jacket ( the neck and the two wrists ), so keeping everything out over the course of a day is tricky . But , what I can say , is that by the time I rocked up in Te Anau I was damp . Not wet , damp . I ’ d been worried I ’ d sorely regret leaving those waterproofs behind , but that day in the rain proved the suit worthy of the task . There are pros and cons of removable waterproof liners and ones which are stitched in . I do like the fact that with this suit I never have to pull over to the side of the road so I can quickly pull over a waterproof suit or , even worse , strip down to my undies to fit the removable liner while being rained on .

GRAVEL AND TRAILS As well as using the suit on the Hayabusa in winter , I ’ ve also used it for gravel and trail riding . This year ’ s GS Rallye was held over a warm Labour Weekend

92 KIWI RIDER