Chaos?
Yeah?
Who are you wearing?
Pando Moto
What about those jeans?
Pando Moto
How about the gloves though?
They’re Pando as well
Pando Moto undwear too then huh?
No, don’t be silly. I’m going commando.
So this isn’t quite what happens when you put Pando Moto gear on
and I’m glad it isn’t, to be honest.
However, I often forget that not everyone knows the name Pando Moto
because I see it every time I put a pair of riding jeans on.
But all you need to know is that they’re a European motorcycle apparel company
and all their gear is designed and manufactured in Europe by like-minded bikers.
You might have seen me review a few of their jeans and even a jacket in the past
but today they’ve sent me something new to test out.
A pair of their Onyx gloves. Well, actually they’re the Onyx Black 01’s but neither of us
is going to remember that. In fact, none of their names are very catchy
like this Husky Cor 01 jacket they’ve also sent me. So rather just follow the links in
the description than attempt to memorise the names if you want to check them out.
But buying motorcycle gear is usually more difficult than simply reading the long list
of sale specs. Real people consider more than just which testing standard was used
because believe it or not EN 17092 doesn’t actually mean all that much to me.
We have a list of priorities consisting of things like price, function,
look and comfort. More or less in that order as well.
So let’s take a look at this gear from a biker's perspective and try and avoid the sales specs.
At about $290 for the jacket and $100 for the gloves, it’s easy for these to fail at the
price category. But don’t forget that these are definitely more premium products and that all the
other categories are influenced by this one. I know you’d rather buy a new slip-on exhaust
instead. But how about get through the next few categories first before you make your decision?
These are my Dainese gloves. I wear them everywhere I go
because they’re my only pair of gloves.
They’re brilliant but a bit overkill for my 7-minute commute to the workshop
so I was excited to test out a pair of more casual gloves that don’t go all the way up my wrist.
Even before they were worn in they had more feeling than the Dainese’s. I put my access
card for the workshop in my chest pocket for easy access and I can retrieve it a lot faster in the
Pando gloves because I can actually feel what I’m touching and that made my life a bit easier.
It’s also easy to get swept away by their new car smell- even though I do get strange
looks in public for sniffing them, how nice and cool they are as we go into summer here
and the touchscreen compatible fabric on the pointy finger
that’s more useful than you’d expect. But there are a few areas where function is missing.
Firstly, they are small so if you’re not careful
they will fall out of your helmet while walking around. I’ve almost lost one a few
times already. And if you look at the velcro on the wrist strap you’ll see that it goes
right to the edge compared to my Dainese’s that have a few millimetres gap at the end.
I will admit it looks neater but it means there’s no little tab to grab onto
when it’s time to take them off which is difficult especially when both gloves are on.
It’s small but makes a huge difference. It’s easy
enough to just fasten the strap over the edge or side but that bothers my OCD.
Then there’s the jacket. I already have a denim Pando Moto jacket
called the Capo that I love. I didn’t expect it to replace my leather jacket so frequently
but now that I ride a 400 and don’t go very far it’s been my go-to.
The only issue I’ve had with it is one of the snap buttons falling off.
I thought that meant they would all fall off but luckily that one was just a dud
and I see the new Husky jacket has different snap buttons anyway.
The cuffs are also different with buttons on the new jacket
compared to velcro on my old one which means they’re not adjustable but much faster to put on.
This jacket differs from their others because it’s got a thermal lining, vegan-friendly sheepskin on
the cuffs and a collar that does this nifty trick to keep your neck warm on cooler rides.
That spec sheet thing claims it’s rated for a 15 metre or 2.5-second slide
which is further than I’d like to slide anyway but the pocket situation is a point
against the jacket. It’s missing a pocket on the inside which is a must-have for a bike jacket
and the side pockets don’t have zips to close them which basically renders them useless on a bike.
So all you’re left with are these 2 chest pockets that work for my access card and tiny wallet
but I’m not sure if they would be practical for anyone else.
Everyone says that looks are subjective so I’ll give you my opinion. Fluffy stuff is not
usually my go-to but I do feel better dressed than most people I pass in the grocery store
which is strange considering that I’m the one that arrived on a motorcycle.
And these gloves have all the right things you’d expect to find on gloves.
A hard but flexible knuckle guard, lots of palm padding and a palm slider.
A stealthy logo and stretchy fabric over your hand that’s hipster enough for a 400, a cafe racer,
an adventure bike but I think the Daines’s suit sportbikes better.
But let me know if you would wear either of these?
This is where casual gear wins every time. Denim jackets are light on and off the bike
and never get unbearably hot. There are elbow, shoulder and back armour pockets that you can
put these flexible pads in that are brilliant because they don’t alter how it feels at all.
Which does make it easy to forget to remove them before washing them.
And gloves like these just make so much more sense for everyday riding.
The biggest problem with motorcycle gear, in general,
is that having the right piece of gear for the right occasion is absolutely brilliant.
And that's a problem because motorcycle gear is so expensive and it takes up a lot of space.
It's awesome to have on-piece leathers, knee-high boots, full-length gloves for the racetrack.
Riding jeans, a leather jacket and ankle-high boots for those faster road rides.
A spare pair of riding jeans for when one is in the wash.
A denim jacket for those shorter, slower rides and casual gloves for everyday riding.
But ultimately that is a lot of gear and just isn't practical for everyone.