Mavic Crossmax socks Long-term review

The socks have lasted me for several years, I don’t have any complains, but more colors would be nice I guess, I am sure some of you would want more colours, the socks were only offered in grey, black, yellow, I bought all the store had in my size of all of the color options.

Tee socks have reinforced ares, one is at the heel the other at the toes, as these are the areas that wear the most on socks.

The socks are quite easy to put on, not overly tight fit, the sock goes on quite easy, but if you don’t take care putting them on at the start you might need to align the toe area. but with correct technique you can do it easily, just start with the toe area, use two hands, roll the socks on your thumbs, so thumbs are at each end, slide it over the foot, the thumbs will guide the sock on the foot, then just pull the sock along the foot, the sock will align on the foot. but the lazy way won’t give good results, but with socks with looser fit that will work, but the Mavic Crossmax side specific and are shaped to fit the specific side it’s on.

The socks have decent height, go quite far above thee ankle.

All of the most wear prone areas are thicker, this is significantly reducing the wear, you can see whole toe area, heel area, and under side of the foot have the more durable surface. but Mavic Pro sock, the road cycling socks tear quire easily. so you need to be very careful what you walk on, and it’s not suitable for mtb. but Mavic Crossmax is made for the job, and does it well.

So I can recommend these socks, I don’t have any thing negative too say about them, but of course socks don’t last forever, but i’ve used mine for years and they are still going strong, only one pair got damaged somehow.

I don’t know for sure why or how this happen, but maybe cus I pop my foot in place using my pedals to avoid stopping every time I have to do it, This might have happen with a a quite worn pair of Five Ten Freerider shoes,
this damages the rear of my right shoe a lot, cus my right foot is most more loose. I did not feel the pins digging into my skin, but they might have just dig far enough to tear the sock, it could also had been a sharp rock, i’ve got that in my shoes some times.
I use Five Ten Freerider shoes, but the Five Ten Impact are more robust.
but this is the first Crossmax sock to tear.

Flickr Album: https://flic.kr/s/aHskC7JYgP

I might update this review with more pictures. If I take more pics, they will be in the album.

Long-term review: 2016 Alpinestars Racer Braap

I got these jerseys in august 2016, and used them since then, now it’s Jan 2020 as I updated the review, along with my other jerseys, I switched type of jersey according to the weather, the Racer Braap jerseys I used when it was not very warm as in midsummer. I don’t have an exact number of which I have used each jersey.

Sizing:

I use size L for Alpine Stars jerseys, with Fox I use XL, Mavic Size L, Swix base layer I use Medium.

Some videos:

a bad video I was not able flip due to not using proper software:

Pros:

• No itching label at the neck or itching stitching.
• Comfortable against the skin
• Good fit. No issues with the jersey arms sliding up.The jersey fits well over Poc elbow pads or probably any other protective padding.

Cons:

• after some months of use the the label on the inside started peeling. but the label does not matter.

• All of the jerseys eventually developed a tear at the upper chest lower throat area, in a upside down triangle, after few years of use, then eventually some the sleeve ends the stitching failed. but nothing that can’r easily be fixed with a sewing kit. All 4 jerseys developed a tear like this, but this one had a shorter tear, but just gentle movement using my hands I could make it grow, so with in a crash or a lot more use it would tear a lot more, so this has to be sewn. Repair instead of throw away clothes.

So far my most durable jersey has been Mavic Crossmax but it has a itchy label so I only use it in when I use a base layer. I think this is due to the type of weave it has, much tighter, no exposed thin threads, like on the Racer Braap jersey.

Here you can clearly see the weave, and the damage after long term use.
it has oval shaped diagonal holes/channels/pattern with exposed threads going trough them.

Verdict:

I am not sure if I can recommend it due to bein too fragile, but the fit is great. probably not, but you are the one that should decide.

I can only recommend a jersey that won’t tear, and last many years, which this jersey does not. but of course you can keep using it and repair it, patch it up sew holes shut.

so if you don’t mind it’s not as durable as a jersey could be, and you want a jersey that had this amount of air flow through it, and not more or less, then you can go for it, but I would not recommend it.

Some More pictures:

Flickr Album: https://flic.kr/s/aHskJJUpAb

Revised Review: 2016 POC Resistance Strong Gloves

Since I first wrote this review in 2016 I have improved this review, more & better pictures, improved text, and more details.

Pros:

•  no more twisted strap, like on 2015 Index DH glove
• more air flow than the DH index glove provided by the holes in the palm
• I stay cool even in 25 deg. Celsius
• comfortable
• true to size, I have 21cm knuckle size, and the medium fits me perfectly. I went from Index DH gloves in large which was a bit too bit too big, to this glove.
• Durable ceramic-coated SuperFabric® with abrasion-resistant properties, this actually works.
• Great fit.
• Has impact protection at the knuckles.

Cons:

• the impact protection is silly thin, they won’t help on a proper impact, I tested it with hitting my hand harder and harder on a stem.
• Because of the holes on the palm, the durability suffers when you get something (pedal pins for example) stuck in the holes you can tear the fabric, but this is also caused by the fabric’s weakness.but if you do it can easily be fixed if you got some sewing skills.

  

• the triple dots on the fingers wear off fast because they are glued on.

Holes got bigger.

The Stitching failed on one pair, They were Only used one day, I put these on today and the stitching came loose.

• the glue holding the Velcro to the rubber strap failed of some pairs of gloves, but you can easily fix this with a sewing kit. Sadly I got an inconsistent quality of the stitching on these gloves with the gloves I got.
• after many months of use, the glove stretched and had to be sewn in the palm to fit me properly.

• :

New glove, measurement at area which gets stretched.

Photo Album: https://flic.kr/s/aHskCuD9Ar

Verdict: 

But if you want longer lasting palm to get the Index DH glove instead, but it will of course not be as cool as the Resistance glove, but the durability of the palm must be improved.

I still use my Index DH gloves in size L, for colder days, I wear them over fleece gloves in size M, which works well.

I want to look into other gloves, like Mechanix for example, they got full finger padding and knuckle padding. but that might be overkill.

5 years review of Bergans Airojohka Mens jacket WORK IN PROGRESS

Since the first review update in 31.10.2017 when I had two years on thee jacket; I’ve continued to use the jacket in various harsh weather. And it’s been used for about 5 years, the jacket was worn out by the end of 2020. the review now includes several videos showing how the jacket fits, and the jacket in use while riding.

This is not a cycling specific jacket, but a sports jacket, but I think it fits the purpose.

Under arm zippers:

To close them while riding, you have to do the bicep bodybuilder move, which will hold the jacket in the sleeve in place while you zip it up, do it carefully of course.

Pros:

• it’s actually water & wind proof, I’ve been riding in brutal rail & wind, crashed, rolled in snow, rode while snowing, both light and heavy snow fall, snow storms, done rides that lasted for hours, done ride in the rain for more than a hour, even doen multi-hour rides in the rain. So I can say this jacket really is water and wind proof.

November 27, 2017 at Askim Skatepark in a mild snowstorm.

• Mostly excellent fit, I went with size XL, I am 181cm and quite average torso and arm length, size L could fit me, for walking, but I went with the XL so I had full coverage, so the when my arms are down my hands are partially inside the jacket, but when having it on when riding and moving in all directions and stretching my arms and moving my upper body backwards, the jacket covers everything, and I don’t get wet. The jacket is very comfortable, there isn’t a point where I feel like it’s annoying or restricting or uncomfortable in any other way, I can move freely. even while wearing Troy Lee wrist supports, Poc Joint VPD2.0 Elbow bads, on top of base layer and a jersey or two on top, underneath the jacket. but the stomach area got bent, and probably contributed to the zipper wear, damage.

the jacket covers up the neck, which is a necessary feature to have, there are some jackets out there that have too low neck coverage, but of course, I still use 2 Buff’s for maximum coverage, covering my face with one & neck with the other one.

In the video below you can see how the jacket fits, you can see there is plenty of room, and I can move freely. and nice coverage, as the jacket sleeves are logn enough.

In the video below you can see how the whole jacket fits me.

Some videos with the jacket in action:

In the video below you can see the jacket involved in a crash and a me riding in rain that came before I was going to leave the riding area.

Videos with the wrist supports:

In the video below you can see me hiking up a trail with the bike, and riding, in this video you can see very well how the jacket fits me, and protected me from the rain, and you can clearly see there is enough room for the wrist supports. i were of course wearing the elbow pads as I always do.

The jacket fabric:

I crashed few times, but the latest crash, I jumped a root over & over a log and landed, due to my back twisting and I lost control, and my bike went to the left I went on the right and, the jacket’s sleeve landed on the gravel-covered asphalt, I got a small hole, on the left sleeve. but after being used for a really long time afterwards the hole did not get any bigger.

The velcro stitching on the sleeves loosened up, but it is to expect & long term use.

Cons:

• The Zippers:

the zipper is definitely the biggest weak point of this jacket.

2 of the lower pins in the zipper, bent so I had to bend it back, but it came keeps coming back to pent position, I don’t know why this happened, maybe in one of the few crashes I had.

the issue with the lower section got worse, I mostly left the zipper up, so i put the jacket on like a sweater or hoodie, but then zipped up the to rest carefully, to avoid messing it up more, and it splitting up or getting jammed.

The inside layer separated from external layer several places, the hood had the most damage, and near the seam at the hood, neck area, and has ripped into pieces and few small holes in the inside layer due to crashes, so the jacket was not wind and water proof anymore, So I used Gorilla tape, in the end of 2020 the zipper gave up, and split when bent, and the upper was hopeless too, got jammed up even easier, than before, I was careful but it jammed, so I gave up.

Conclusion:

This jacket is a seasonless jacket, it can be used no matter the season, no matter if you run, ride, or ski.

But the Zipper has to be improved, it’s too easy to damage it, This is the first of this type of zipper I have ever used, But I have used many clothes with YKK zipper, but they all were more more resistant to wear, and were stronger.

Flickr album

Product pages: http://catalog.bergans.us/clothing/jackets/shell/Airojohka-Jkt-Green-Tea-Lime-Navy-L-163309-p0001052230

http://nettbutikk.bergans.no/kl%C3%A6r/jakker/Skall1/Airojohka-Jkt-MidnightBlue-Yellowgr-XL-163315-p0001052346

I found this German review: http://ich-liebe-berge.ch/test-bergans-airojohka-jacket/

2016 Fox Racing 360 Cauz Jersey Style 14956 Work in progress review- added mroe pictures

The rear of the jersey has a mesh, so you back will be a lot cooler, I have a noticed slight difference on my backpack when riding with backpack, perfect jersey for hot summer days. but later I got Evoc Neo 16L backpack which has increased the air flow on my back, and this jersey allows more air flow than a tightly woven jersey.

Jerseys like these are a lot cooler than not wearing any thing, because sweat goes in the fabric off your body, and tries up, and air cools you down.

the jersey don’t have any uncomfortable stitching or labels.

The jersey I got have blue & white color livery, so it’s quite visible.

Photo Album:

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmPYuJXt

Sizing & fit:

The jersey has a perfect fit, and works well with body armour.

The sleeve length is great, not too long or too short, just the right size.

I am wearing POC Joint VPD 2.0 DH pads, and there is enough room.

The jersey has a excellent fit, my Size Is XL, I use L for Alpinestars,L/G for Mavic

I definitely recommend these jerseys.

review: Fox 180 MX jersey

Size comparison:

Mavic int L/EU, GER M

Alpinestars L

FOX XL

My size for this jersey is XL, L will be too short arms.

Pros

• very cool jersey, it’s so cool I can almost not feel that I’m wearing it, So its cooler than the Mavic Crossmax jerseys I have.
• Wearing protection is not an issue, because of the perfect fit.
• True to size Fit
• Perfect with elbow pads.
• not too baggy
• The collar is not too big, which I think Mavic Crossmax had.
  

Cons

• None if you are careful, something can get hooked on it and pull the threads, but this is going to happen with all thin clothing.

 

Verdict: Recommended

It’s a jersey, so there is not much to say about

 

https://www.foxracing.com/

Review:2015 Poc trail Vent shorts

I am happy with the protection products from POC.

I have not had a bad crash in these I can’t say what will happen exactly,but I assume they will do pretty well.

Attack position

Pros:

• side zip venting, it is perfect for me, I can use the shorts in the spring and autumn and some mild winter days.
  
• I use size 32, but I use the waist adjustment, but if would get chubby they would still fit.
• the adjustment straps are perfect,i do not have the need for a belt,this is perfect for me because I hate to use belts when cycling.
• the right zip pocket  will fit a smart normal size smart phone, my cat s50 fits perfectly.
• can use a belt,but i prefer to use the Velcro straps instead.
• comfortable
• zippers are smooth
• good length,I ride the shorts in the fall/autumn,I wear the shin and knee pads, with keeps me warm but not too warm, but of course when its winter I wear my craft rain pants over the poc stuff.
• strong threads/stitching
• excellent and smooth zippers,and the button make it simple and easy to takeo n and off.

Cons:

• The shorts should be longer.

• the big Poc logo on the side might eventually fall off afther use and wash , as can  be seen here: i use 800rpm/ gentle wash, this is pretty common issue with printed logos, i got 2 pairs 1 in baron blue and oen in black ,this happend on the black shorts,but i have used&washed  the baron blue one more. i do not know why this happend so fast with htese shorts and did not happend on the blue shorts.ihave a adidas jacket, and this happend with it too,but this was with years of use,and now its crackign and falling off,so i was supriced so see it happenign to the poc short so fast.
  
• 
• the fabric under the bottom show signs of wear, but nothing major it’s only on the inside,these 2 were the only signs of wear I have seen on the shorts so far.so fat it only happen on the black short.when you wear it the bottom tilts to the left and is rubbing the fabric,so it wears.
• get bit hot in above 25 degrees Celsius

Conclusion:

If you can get Poc Resistance strong shorts instead get them.

The short is almost perfect, but need improvment on the button.

http://www.pocsports.com/en/product/1840/trail-vent-shorts

Review: POC Resistance Strong shorts