Off-Road Arrivals

New kit, just in and ready for the trails

Dakine Session 8L pack

Rachael Wight

Jul 14 2017

It's that time again, more new kit has landed and is ready to be put through the ringer by our group of testers, bike breakers and technical wizards. This week we have kit from Maxxis, Madison, Osprey, Lezyne, and Fabric so let's go....

Maxxis Minion DHR II and Minion SS - Double Down

We are in an era of riders who want it all from their tyres. They want to go fast, use light products and be assured of the puncture resistance of said tyres. Maxxis think they have the answer to this gap in the market by filling it with tyres using their Double Down casing, combining lightweight efficiency with the protection required in more technical terrain. Double Down sits between EXO and Downhill casing from the range and across the board it looks like the penalty paid for the tougher casing is a couple of hundred grams compared to an EXO tyre. We've got a Minion DHR II and a Minion SS to put to the test.

Madison Women's Leia Jersey and Flux Soft Shell

Madison clothing is often overlooked but it would be well worth paying more attention to the range. We've worn previous incarnations of the Flux jacket and were pleasantly surprised at the waterproof nature of this 'softshell'. This edition looks to have a load of extra features too. The Leia jersey is super casual and one we reckon won't look out of place in the pub - good, we like the pub!

Fabric Tool Keg

For what is basically a water bottle from Fabric without the drinking nozzle, we reckon whoever thought up this idea in the cycling world got a big pay rise and their own office. You can stuff your tools into your regular bottle, sans water of course, or you can buy one of these little 'Tool Kegs' and do exactly the same thing. This, however, does come with a neoprene liner to prevent any nasty rattling...... ok, we might be sold on this now.....

Lezyne Alloy Over Drive Pump

It's one of those products that is aesthetically very pleasing to look at and has that quality 'heaviness' to it. If it were a car, its door would almost certainly shut with a reassuring clunk of a VW Golf. Lezyne still insists on the presence of screw on connectors for the valve - we are envisaging the tantrum now as we inadvertently remove the core from our valve.

Dakine Session 8L Hydration Pack

A minimalist pack from Dakine, this 8L offering will hold 2L of water and enough essentials for a day on the trails. It has an interesting design on the rear panel to help airflow and the straps made of mesh look to promote breathability further - we'll get out quickly before the British Summer is over.

Author block

Previously Editor here at off-road.cc, Rachael is happiest on two wheels. Partial to a race or two Rachael also likes getting out into the hills with a big bunch of mates. In the past Rachael has written for publications such as, Enduro Mountain Bike Magazine, Mountain Biking UK, Bike Radar, New Zealand Mountain Biker and was also the online editor for Spoke magazine in New Zealand too. For as long as she's been riding, she has been equally happy getting stuck into a kit review as she is creating stories or doing the site admin. When she's not busy with all the above she's roasting coffee or coaching mountain biking in the Forest of Dean.