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Mosko Moto Basilisk Riding Gear Review
OVERVIEW:
I recently had the opportunity to do a 1,200 mile camping trip through Sequoia National Park and Yosemite National Park aboard my R1200GSA. I didn’t get to do any off roading since my wife was on her BMW R1200R but some of the situations apply. We left San Diego and departed for the mountains seeing a temperature range of 65 to 105 degrees on the trip depending on the location. The E Vent material did an amazing job at keeping my temperature regulated even when it was at its hottest. I felt it allowed me to sweat a little but the venting directed airflow to help keep me as cool as possible in that much heat. I tried for a while just running the armor and jersey in the extreme heat and the hot air dried my sweat up quick and left me feeling much hotter and more dehydrated. However, if anyone has entered Sequoia National Park from the south side it is an awesome tight twisty road with a speed limit of 25 mph which means cars go 10 mph so it was awesome when it was super hot to be able to take the Basilisk jacket off while it was slow going and still have impact protection. I think this is exactly what it was designed in mind for except while off-roading but I think this use case applies.
FIT:
For reference here are my measurements based off of Mosko’s fit guide.
HEIGHT: 6’4” (76”)
WEIGHT: 235 - athletic build
CHEST: 45
SLEEVE LENGTH: 36
WAIST: 38”
INSEAM: 34-35”
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JACKET, JERSEY, and BASE LAYER:
I was on the larger size for the XL but on the smaller end for the XXL. After talking with Sarah she recommended I go with the XXL. I think it was a wise recommendation because now I have plenty of room to layer warming layers underneath if need be. This would be entirely dictated by your local climate and how cold you are willing to ride in. The jacket itself doesn’t have a lot of adjustment except for the large velcro side panels which do a great job at taking out all the extra material in the torso. I decided to utilize the Forcefield Ex-K harness and Pro Pants to wear underneath the Basilisk jackets and pants. I won’t go in depth about the armor since it is meant to be your preference but I included it for fit reference. I would say the Forcefield EX-K harness is thicker than most other armor sets I’ve seen and even so there is plenty of room in the jacket for the armor. I would recommend getting the same size Mosko jersey as your jacket because it should fit well over the armor. Be aware the laser cut logo on the back has a plastic feel to it and is not meant to worn against the skin. It is meant to be used as part of this system so it isn’t an issue if you are wearing a base layer and armor. The Mosko base layer is good at moisture wicking and after the trip I can report it doesn’t stink at all (individual stink may vary). The bonus for me since I use the EX-K harness the base layer is cut longer on the sleeves to account for the armors strap placement.
PANTS:
I ordered the pants in a size 38 which is inline with my jeans size. The pants are probably my favorite piece of the two because they are just so comfy. Having a set of Klim Badlands Pro I was amazed at how soft and pliable the pants were overall. The pants have a large boot opening so there is plenty of room for even my Sidi Crossfire 3s or my smaller diameter Sidi Armadas. The vent scheme is also a big highlight for me because I can’t believe having a knee vent isn’t a more common feature. The pants flow a great amount of air because of the large front vent and the massive rear exhaust vent. Between the two thigh vents are two pockets which I feel are both really big and are well placed on the pants to actually be useful. It was a perfect place for my key fob and wallet. The waist is also lined in a soft leather which is gentle on the skin with a hook and loop closure system. The female end has three different positions so depending on your waist there is some extra adjustment. Then the cherry on top is it comes with a wide and thick leather belt. The addition of the belt anchors down the pants to your waist and I never felt the pants were sagging or starting to droop.
OTHER:
The zippers on both the jacket and the pants are sublime and are probably some of the best I have used on motorcycle gear. The rubber tags on the zipper pulls are large and grippy. Even if the rubber tag does tear off down the road the metal portion is still large enough, I don’t feel like it will impact the use much. Additionally, the zippers are smooth and easy to use. I can appreciate the additional features on the jacket like the “dirt skirt” and the collar cinch but I haven’t had any real experience with them since it is hot and no rain in sight at the moment.
CONCLUSION:
I think the Basilisk jacket and pants are a superb piece of riding apparel and having ridden in it I think Mosko’s branding of being designed with an off road focus is accurate. I wouldn’t say you can’t use it for any other purpose but the biggest thing working against it is convenience. Where a typical riding jacket is just one zipper and your in your base layer it is more convenient to ride to work or the store. Now I think you could bridge the gap a little bit by your armor choice. If you bought armor like the Forcefield shirt that Mosko sells or countless other brands it would be pretty quick to shed all the layers but you’d still need to have a shirt handy. I think it will come down to your commitment and willingness to deal with the inconvenience then it will work for you. Now where road riding’s inconvenience is turned into off road riding’s convenience. I’ll be looking to do a Part II after a get more off road time during XLADV’s High Sierra event this coming weekend.
Mosko Moto Basilisk Riding Gear Review Part II
OFFROAD UPDATE:
I recently had the opportunity to attend XLADV’s High Sierra event located in the Owen’s River Valley near Mammoth, California. It involved three days of primarily off road riding with some great mountain twisty road riding as well. We encountered elevation changes ranging from ~4,000 ft to just shy of ~12,000 ft and temperatures ranging from 32 degree F in the morning, typical day temperatures in the 80s and a high of 105 degrees. While on the road wearing the Basilisk jacket keeps my body at an even temperature allowing for a swamp cooler effect to take place and this also rings true on some of the trails we were on. Some of the trails were wide and flat allowing us to move at a more rapid pace keeping the airflow going. However, once we started to get into some slower paced and more technical trails into the mid-day I shed the jacket to keep cool but retained my impact protection. What impressed me the most was the third day of riding where we saw the large swing in temperature from 105 to the mid-to-low 60s and an elevation change of almost 8,000 ft. The set up allowed me to stay cool when it was really hot and as we made our way up the mountain I was able to regulate how much airflow I wanted so I could retain some of my body heat when faced with a chilly mountain breeze. If it was going to get much colder I probably would have opted to start layering up and added a warming layer and closed all the vents and synched the wrists down. I think these type of events or riding scenarios are exactly what the Basilisk was designed for because it really does offer the greatest amount of flexibility in riding comfort. It allows you to shed layers when appropriate to stay cool, to have abrasion resistance when speed increases and road surfaces change, while at the same time staying waterproof.