Royal Racing is a brand synonymous with the gravity side of racing, being a long time sponsor of Steve Peat and Garett Buehler among others. Their presence in New Zealand has been on the low-key tip, but it’s a brand that should be a bit more prominent if the quality and style of their kit is any indicator.
We got our hands on (legs into?) a pair of their waterproof Storm shorts and are looking forward to some more rain so we can see if they work as well as they look like they will.
The outer material is a stretchy and tough feeling ‘3 Layer’ fabric with a waterproof and breathability rating of 10000MVP. That’s good, I looked it up. It means that moisture can escape (ie sweat) but not enter (rain, mud). For a better explanation look here…
The fly zip is fully seam-sealed and covered by a flap which is secured by the nylon ratchet buckle seen in the previous photo.
Even the pockets are waterproof-zippered and seam-sealed to keep your money, phone, stash, whatever you carry in there, dry.
The liner material has a slightly plasticky look to it, but is actually pretty pliable and supple feeling and doesn’t give a wearing-a-garbage-bag sensation, thankfully.
All the stress points are bar-tacked, seam-sealed and reinforced to keep the waterproofing properties working for a long time. They only come in black which is just fine with us, less cleaning is a good thing.
With plenty of rain around at the moment, we’ll be out into it to give these a proper test. If you’re keen to get into some Royal gear, check out www.adrenalinemtb.co.nz
