Macna Impact jacket, Fulcrum pants and Talon gloves

This entry is part 233 of 320 in the series Adventure Rider Issue #1

We’ve been giving the Macna gear a right shellacking over the past few months, and we’re happy to say that, in our opinion, it’s first-rate gear, well suited to adventure riding in the Wide Brown Land.

We have the Impact Pro jacket, the Fulcrum pants and the Talon gloves, and while the editor isn’t much of a model, he is tough on gear. The Macna suit has copped plenty of neglect and some ugly riding situations and still looks and feels great.

First up is the jacket.

Recommended retail is $599.95, and the info from importer Link International is:

‘A fully fledged, all-road, all-weather touring jacket. The direct-laminated waterproof shell contains a detachable thermo lining and has plenty of adjustment possibilities to ensure a perfect fit. Ready for many miles to come!

Lining: RAINTEX DL (the outer shell has a DIRECT LAMINATED internal waterproof and breathable lining attached) plus a zip out thermo liner.

Safety: Side eye, Vision Vest Prepared, Safe Tech CE protection at shoulder and elbow, CE back protector prepared

Comfort: Waterproof Air Vents in the chest and back, Comfix collar closure, Hot Vest prepared, Coat Hanger, Arm adjustment straps, Long pant connection zipper, Back pocket, Wind Collar prepared.

For the best fitting you are advised to visit your local dealer.’

We’re happy to agree with all that. In our first few months with the jacket it’s proven itself extremely comfortable during a couple of 1500km road rides, the same on a few multi-day off-roaders, and, best of all, provided really excellent protection in the rain and in both sub-zero cold and on reasonably warm days.

We’re not big fans of liners, but the liner in the Macna gets a thumbs up from us because it’s for warmth, not waterproofing. The laminated exterior of the jacket is weatherproof, so if it looks like rain there’s no need for a panic stop to get the liner in before the rain starts, and then to ride, sweating like a maggot because there’s no air flow, until the rain does start. The liner is for warmth, and when the temperature gets to single figures and below, the liner is a pearler.

Our jacket has plenty of pockets, some really neat and stylish reflective panels and a couple of vents we found effective on hot days. It also came with armour at shoulders, elbows and in the back, so we’ve found we can grab the Impact Pro and ride away, confident we’re covered for pretty much everything.

Now for the Fulcrum pants.

Recommended retail is $379.95, and Link says:

‘A waterproof, three-layer setup with separately detachable Raintex breathable waterproof membrane and thermo lining makes the Fulcrum suitable for all kinds of weather. For warmer days the Fulcrum even has extra ventilation openings on the upper leg to let some extra fresh air in.

Lining: Three-layer system with detachable Raintex breathable waterproof membrane and thermo liner

Safety: Side Eye, Safe Tech CE protection at knees, CE hip protector prepared

Comfort: Airvent on knee, Waist Lock, Anti slip strips, Heatshield, Short connection zipper, Suspender prepared, Adjustable knee protector.’

Everything we said about the jacket as far as comfort and toughness goes applies to the pants. They look good, have excellent venting, a removeable liner, plenty of adjustment, zip to the jacket and have a pocket or two we didn’t use.

Something we really liked about the Fulcrum is the way the the back of the waistband is cut high, so even if the rider is leaning forward his back stays covered. We didn’t find any need to zip the jacket and pants together thanks to this feature.

The only thing that stumped us with the pants was removing the knee guards. We still haven’t figured it out. There’s a couple of very fine-toothed zips in the knees, but we think they’re vents. We couldn’t get the knee armour out that way. In the end we gave up and left them there even while the pants were going through the washing machine.

Naturally, the pants and jacket work really well together, and we’re rapt in both. It’s a high-quality, well-designed adventure suit.

Finally we have the Talon gloves.

These are nice to wear and handled the cold well, even though they’re not offered as a specifically cold-weather glove. They’re nowhere near as bulky as full-on cold-weather gloves, and that adds a lot to the comfort. They retail for $139.95 and here’s the importer’s rundown:

‘Flexible and light summer glove with a Raintex breathable waterproof membrane. Collected water won’t be trapped, as it can find its way out through the exhaust in the cuff. The Talon has a soft TPR knuckle protector and reinforced leather on the palm.

Lining: Raintex membrane with sensigrip, Bemberg

Safety: TPR knuckle and finger protection

Comfort: 30° buckle, Grip print, Screencleaner, Touch Tip

For the best fitting you are advised to visit your local dealer.’

We don’t know why so many gloves have a strap which clinches around the wrist. We can’t see what it achieves other than needing to be undone to fit or remove the glove. The Macnas have this strap as well. It doesn’t detract from the glove’s comfort or effect its use as far we can tell, but it adds a step to putting on the glove or removing it, and when we forget to undo the velcro it means having to remove the glove and start again. We seem to forget to undo the velcro at least 95 per cent of the time.

The velcro seal around the cuff, on the other hand, allowed running the glove tight on the arm on a hot ride so air could move up a sleeve left loose. That was nice. When we hit the cold we were able to snag the cuff of the jacket up tight on our arm and use the glove’s cuff adjustment to run it outside the jacket sleeve and ensure no cold air got in.

We liked that a lot.

We also really, really like the little squeegee built into the forefingers so we could clear the goggle lens on wet rides, and the ‘TouchTip’ finger tips. These are conductive panels that allow using a smartphone or GPS screen. It’s a great idea, but we struggled with the fingertips of the gloves being large. Some of our swipe rights and swipe lefts got a bit confused.

Overall, we’re extremely impressed with the Macna apparel. We especially thought it was a gift during the cold winter rides, but it was comfortable and offered excellent protection when things warmed up as well.

The only area the Macna gear may have let the side down was trying to make the editor look good.

And we doubt there’s any gear could do that.