Moose Expedition Gear

Riding Gear — By ATV Mag on June 17, 2009 at 12:00 pm

Moose Expedition Gear

Sometimes we stumble across a product that we like so much that we want to tell all of our friends and relatives about it. Add the Monarch Pass pants and jacket from Moose to that list.

The uninsulated Monarch Pass gear is durable, waterproof riding gear that doesn’t have the clammy, garbage-bag-against-your-skin feel of other weather-resistant riding gear we’ve tried.

The secret — according to Moose — is the “TriTex” fabric, a laminated three-layer dobby nylon material designed to provide both venting and waterproof qualities. To test the theory, we used the Monarch Pass gear in multiple scenarios in the past eight months: warm and cold rainy days, winter riding, shoveling the driveway, walking the dog, even playing outdoor hockey in the gear on cold Minnesota nights.

The gear definitely kept us dry – we got damp around the neck and ankles, but nowhere that the gear was protecting. The sealed seams did their job expertly. The gear also generally kept us warm – obviously, being uninsulated means that a rider will want to layer underneath it, but the tough nylon exterior did a good job of knocking down the wind. That said, the pants in particular are cut relatively slim and are not made to be worn over other pants. If your legs get cold easily, they may not be the best for winter use.
Once we worked up a sweat, we could open up the vents in back and let the jacket breathe a bit. We liked the reflective patches on the jacket and pants for night use, and the pockets, though relatively small, gave us the room we needed.
The gear isn’t cheap, but good stuff never is.
Price: Pants, $199.95-219.95; Jacket, $249.95-$259.95.