Triumph Navigator suit

Ludicrously expensive (over £500 for jacket and trousers) but, I thought, a good piece of kit.

I say "I thought" because today I got caught in a heavy 10 minute downpour and found myself with a wet bum (oo-er missus). 10 effin minutes! They are going back next week.

 

You're not wrong!

 

I'm not fashion conscious at all (probably the complete opposite!) but I won't wear camo gear on the bike (I'm trying to be seen not hide!). Also, more importantly for me, the bike jacket and trousers are designed to do a specific job and have armour, removable linings and ventilation panels.

The dealers swapped them with no problems at all. I just hope the new ones work.....

 

All the waterproofs I found were camo. I suppose I have to be honest and say that apart from the fact there's no armour and they tend to be loose fitting (at least all the ones in our local surplus shop were) I actually don't like camo clothing at all and was trying to be polite There I said it, I don't like camo

 

They hunt wolves don't they?

 

Right, an update on this suit. I've already partly covered this in another thread but I thought I should add it here as well.

In short I think it's an expensive piece of poo.

As I said in my initial post the trousers leaked after just 10 minutes of rain and had to be changed. I didn't really see any serious rain again until I was in France in June when I hit a massive downpour on the way back to Calais but more of that later.

I really liked the suit. Useful pockets, looked ok and it wasn't black!

First issue after the initial leak were the ventilation panels. I'm beginning to wonder why we bother with them or why folks seem to think they're a good idea. If it's hot enough to need ventilation then the air you're venting is still hot and does bugger all to cool you down. If it's cool enough to get a cool breeze then it's not hot enough for ventilation. Well that's my take anyway. Suffice to say I thought the panels, although extensive, were pretty useless.

Second issue. The velcro tabs holding the knee armour in come "undone" and the velcro hooks quietly scratch away at your knees until you have to stop and try and do something about it. Gaffer tape is the answer to cover up the tabs. Simple and effective but why on earth should an expensive piece of kit need that type of "alteration"?

Third issue. The zip on the left leg undoes itself at motorway, or fast road, speeds meaning you either put up with a flapping leg or stop and gaffer tape it up. Useful stuff gaffer tape. Don't leave home without it.

Fourth issue. The trousers, once again, proved not to be waterproof.

Fifth issue. Neither was the jacket. My arms were soaked after an hour or two in heavy rain and the inside of the lower back of the jacket was soaking.

Sixth issue. The neck is poorly designed so that it is neither high enough or snug enough to stop rain getting in. By the time I got to Calais I was soaked. The rain came in through the neck and my Buff and t-shirt between them wicked the water down and gave me full body coverage.

I have raised these issues directly with Triumph and so far the only response has been along the lines of "we've sold lots of them, they're really popular". They also suggested that they wouldn't expect a cruiser rider to wear one....

Unfortunately they didn't even acknowledge the problems I've been having. I have written to them again and will update this thread when I get a response.

 

Yes, sit down Dave.

I can't remember the exact price I paid but it was something like £340 for the jacket and £220 for the trousers.

Interestingly enough I just looked up reviews of the suit and two guys on the Triumph Explorer forum had one and seemed to like them except .... one said it was difficult to keep cool in despite the ventilation panels and one complained about the lack of a storm collar and how water was running down his back

And another search has found folks complaining of leaking trousers!

 

Which is exactly what I'll do Dave but I wanted to get Triumph's take on it first

The exact wording from Triumph was

"I am sorry you have had the issues you've had with this suit, but can assure you that we have sold many of these suits worldwide and have found them to be one of the best suits we have ever designed & sold. All the instructors at Trailquest (our approved off road trainers) have had the suit & the 2moro Rider Rhys Lawrey has had the suit on the whole time on his round the world adventure. To be honest the suit was designed with the adventure or touring rider in mind & we wouldn't see it as a natural choice for a cruiser rider."

Make of that what you want! Strange that the Triumph approved off-road trainers all wear them. A bit of a surprise that .... .