Advice: Winter off-road gear guide

The cooler months deliver the best riding conditions for us off-road riders but it can also bring some fiercely-cold weather. Winter has come early this year and it’s time to gear-up with the essentials to stay warm out on the tracks and trails.

Related Reading:
Advice: Cheap ways to beat the cold and wet
Advice: What is a dirt bike?
Advice: Wet weather gear explained
Where to ride your dirt bike
Top five ways to improve off-road

Here are eight essential bits of kit to get you through a cold and wet winter of off-road riding:

One of the main features of any off-road helmet worth its salt is ventilation. Riding dirt bikes is hard work and keeping your cranium cool is a high priority, unless you are riding in the chill of winter. The most effective and possibly easiest things you can do to prevent ice-cream headaches from the chill running across your head is to tape up the intake vents. These vents are usually located at the front of the helmet beneath the visor. Simply apply some tape over the opening. This simple tip works a treat and the tape can easily be removed when required.

Any good goggle, like the Oakley O-Frame 2.0 Pro, will come with an anti-fog lens. But the anti-fog on the inside of the lens can only cope with so-much abuse. The anti-fog treatment is designed to absorb moisture, so never wash the lens with water. Never place the goggle over the chin-guard of your helmet where you breathe directly into the goggle either. These two mistakes will quickly ruin any lens.

Oakley O-Frame 2.0 Pro, $59.95, www.oakley.com

The best way to keep clear vision in horribly wet and cold conditions is to run a dual-lens like this dual clear lens for the Oakley O-Frame 2.0 Pro goggle. As the name suggests, this lens is made up of an outer and inner lens separated by a boundary of foam. The inner lens is super-sensitive, so always keep it dry and only ever clean it with a dry cloth. The dual lens will need to be purchased in addition to the goggle but the good news is you virtually have two goggles in one, as all you need to do is swap the lens to suit your riding conditions.

Oakley Dual Goggle Lens, $59.95, www.oakley.com

This one might sound strange, but a light-weight neck scarf like a Buff is an excellent piece of kit for winter riding. Pulling it up over your face will keep wind, rain and hail from hammering your face, and keeping it around your neck will assist in keeping you warm where the neck is often exposed between the helmet and the top of your jersey and jacket. Simple and effective.

Buff, $26.55, www.buff.com.au

There are billion off-road jackets on the market but you should pay close attention to the features so you end up with the jacket best-suited to your riding needs. Versatility is key. Look for a jacket like the Alpinestars Venture R jacket, which offers ventilation zippers and zip-off sleeves for when riding conditions warm up, but it’s still too cold to just ride in a jersey. You also want to make sure there is a storage pocket large enough to store the sleeves if you unzip them.

Alpinestars Venture R Jacket, $299.95, www.alpinestars.com

A wind and water-proof jacket like the Scott Rain Jacket is a great idea for riders who just want to keep the rain and cold out. This type of jacket offers selected venting in attempt to keep you cool, but you do tend to heat up quickly inside one of these. The upside is they will keep you drier for longer. Being lightweight, they roll up small for easy storage in a backpack for when you want to ride without them. A good, no-fuss option that is wind and waterproof.

Scott Rain Jacket, $49.49, www.scott-sports.com

Off-road riding gloves come in many forms, so take the time to think about what glove will suit you and your riding. Select a glove with more robust material on the upper portion to protect the back of your hand. For really nasty conditions in rain and snow, try a neoprene glove like the Scott 350 Neoprene. These are essentially wetsuits for your hands.

Scott 350 Neoprene Gloves, $49.95, www.scott-sports.com

Heated riding gear is a sure-fire (no pun intended) way to keep warm in winter. There are a number of products on the market such as this Venture Heated Jacket. It can be plugged directly into your bikes battery and uses heated panels in the arms, chest and back to keep you warm. Avade is another company that made heated compression wear, however they are currently not in operation.

Venture Deluxe 12V Heated Jacket, $279, www.zarkie.com.au