As you’ll know, Scandinavian countries have some extremely challenging weather, with long, dark winters that routinely involve sub-zero temperatures and summers that can be humid and sweltering, albeit only brief. For the Scandinavian biker, gear that can take all this in its stride is essential and Halvarssons’ gear goes some way to achieve this with a wide selection of winter and summer gear. The UK’s weather simply isn’t as extreme, so being over-prepared is certainly not a bad thing! Having been around over 70 years, with British, Swedish and Czech police forces using their gear, it’s fair to say they’ve a reputation for gear that performs.
If I had to choose a jacket that would last me most of the year (arguably all year), Halvarssons make a compelling choice with their Walkyr Laminate jacket. This jacket has a removable Outlast and Thinsulate liner that will keep the cold at bay, alongside several vents that can be opened when it gets a bit toasty and you’ve taken that liner out. Hi-Art reinforcement means it’ll take care of a slide, while CE Level 2 armour in the shoulders and elbows will take a decent knock; it can be supplemented with a Level 2 back protector also. It’s main selling point is its laminate waterproofing however. For those who haven’t heard of it, it has one major advantage over typical waterproof linings: it sits on the surface of the jacket. Most conventional textile jackets offer waterproofing, but up until fairly recently it always involved a liner that sat within the layers of the jacket meaning all the outer, heavier layers would get soaked. Sure, you’d stay dry, but you’d end up with a jacket that weighed several kilos more and took forever to dry afterwards. Not so with a jacket that has laminate waterproofing, with it sitting on the very outer layer of the jacket the water never has a chance to soak in; a very handy feature indeed! Its final unique selling point is the inclusion of a mini, removable hi-viz vest that sits on your shoulders; extremely handy if the weather out is particularly grim and looks altogether better than your typical hi-viz vest. All this comes in at £499.99, admittedly a premium price, but you’re getting a jacket that’ll take anything in its stride.
This leads nicely onto the matching pair of trousers which can be zipped onto the Walkyr; the Wish. Containing the same feature set that makes the Walkyr so great, the Wish makes a great case for itself in completing a full textile suit. Coming in at £399.99, it’s again not a cheap pair of trousers, but it makes an equally good argument as being the lower half of an all-weather textile suit. The integration of laminate Dryway+ waterproofing, CE Level 2 armour, vents and removable Outlast/Thinsulate lining means it is fully capable of taking whatever you throw at it.
If the price of these garments is making you baulk it’s worth comparing it to a leather race suit. A fair number of bikers aspire to own a highly-capable leather race suit, often these will set you back at least a grand. Yes, they provide the best in crash protection, but they are often utterly impractical with poor (or no) insulation or waterproofing and very few pockets. Compared to such a garment, a highly capable two-piece textile suit is easy to justify if you know you’re going to use it regularly.
If you’re wanting to go the whole-Halvarssons-hog, they also do gloves. Once again, the same superb laminate technology is present in their Advance Laminate gloves, keeping water out of the glove entirely. Hi-ART reinforcement and goatskin give a light and supple glove while, Thinsulate and Outlast lining keep your hands warm when it cold out, and the Outlast will keep them cooler.
The final Halvarssons gear we stock are their mid and base layers. Use of merino wool and Outlast means you have a base layer that’ll keep you cool and dry no matter what by maintaining a layer of air while wicking away any moisture to prevent any pooling of sweat. They also offer a mid-layer fleece for when it’s particularly cold out, allowing for another layer insulation to work in conjunction with the base and outer layer.
If you’re in the market for gear that can be used all year-round, offering great crash and weather protection, especially in the winter, Halvarssons are a very good choice.
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