Looking at new apparel would get boring if the only thing that changed every year were the colors.
Nowadays, it’s all about what your clothes can do for you. Can they hold your sunglasses when you’re not using them? Can the hood on your jacket stay in one place? I suppose the most important thing that a helmet can do though is keep you from suffering a head trauma.
Leatt, Oakley, and 661 unveiled some of their 2019 gear and clothing options this past week and the gear and mountain bike outfitters have some innovative options.
Leatt
Leatt knows that protecting your nervous system and spinal cord are serious business, and traditionally for them, have offered that protection at a premium price.
For this year, they’ll have a new brace, the DBX 3.5 and it’ll retail for $249. To some, this may still seem like a lot, but the company’s other braces have been offered between $300-$500 in the past, so this can potentially offer a lot of savings. It’s also still backed by Leatt’s input from on-staff biomechanics scientists, and in the end, anything that protects a rider from a spinal cord or neck injury is worth consideration.
Leatt also has the cold weather kit pictured above for the coming winter. It offers protection from moisture and wind. The jacket includes a patent-pending magnet-lined hood to keep it from swooshing around when riders are on the trail. The jacket is $200 and the shorts are $120.
Leatt is adding a women’s-specific chest protector this year for $140.
There aren’t a lot of new updates to the helmet lineup, but everything received a fresh new color way.
Oakley
Oakley is digging deeper into the mountain bike world. It has always offered sunglasses and optics that work for mountain biking, but their MTB-specific sunglasses and goggle line has grown.
This year, Oakley debuted its first mountain bike helmet, the DRT 5. There’s a reminder on the back of the helmet that it’s made by Oakley. Two hooks swing out to stash a pair of sunglasses when not in use, say on a fire road transfer or climb.
The DRT 5 features a grooved, soft rubber material around the brow to divert sweat away from the eyes. Clearly it’s all about the vision when it comes to Oakley products. The DRT 5 will ring in at $200.
Oakley has the O Frame 2.0 in their dirt bike line, but they’ve actually taken the time to tailor it to mountain biking.
The main difference between the dirt bike and mountain bike goggles is the liner. Typically, goggles have a foam ventilation liner. The O Frame 2.0 MTB goggles feature a mesh liner, though, for more airflow and less sweat.
661
661 is a leader when it comes to affordable head protection. For 2019 they’ll continue to lead and will offer this MIPS-protected Reset full-face helmet for $149.
661 says they’ve worked closely with MIPS to provide an affordable full-face helmet that will reduce the trauma of rotational impact. It’ll cost $149. A non-MIPS Reset helmet costs $99.
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