We’ve been testing Furygan’s new two-piece suit over the winter. Here’s what we thought
Price: £399 (Jacket) £299 (Trousers) | www.nevis.uk.com
ONE PIECE LEATHERS, optimum protection, they look great, maximum annoyance when you need the loo/get too hot/need something from the inside pocket. They also just don’t look right on some bikes. With that last point in mind, I sent off for Furygan’s new Sherman two-piece suit prior to the launch of Honda’s CB650R and CBR650R. Here’s how I got on.
Construction
The Sherman is a full grain cow-hide exterior with neatly laser-cut panels. The jacket and trousers include something called Furygan Skin Protect lining, it’s used to bolster the protection offered by the leather by increasing abrasion resistance and reducing the amount of heat transfer to your skin as you slide down the road. The more high-risk areas of the kit, shoulders, elbows, hips and backside are also reinforced with triple stitching and foam inserts.
Lining
Jacket - www.nevis.uk.com
The interior lining is made of Coolon (see above) which is a closely woven yet breathable material, it’s got a slight sheen to it and feels cool next to your skin, hence the name I guess! Inside the jacket there is a quilted thermal gilet that’s easily removable thanks to two, YYK zips on either side. The liner is thickly padded and makes a noticeable difference on cold days.
Trousers - www.nevis.uk.com
The trousers feature the same Coolon lining as the jacket but have no thermal liner included. For the Honda launch we travelled about 100km up into the mountains north of Almeria, with the temperature dropping from 17° to 2° and all I needed was some thermal base layers to keep the cold at bay.
Fastening
A large YKK zip takes care of the front of the jacket, which is also protected by a thick leather storm flap to keep the wind and rain out. There is a large, and fairly stiff, press stud and flap at the collar to help you get a close fit.
Each cuff has a YKK zip that runs about four inches up the arm that makes a nice seal around your wrist and helps to keep any draughts out should you be wearing short riding gloves.
The trousers have a YKK zipper for the fly and the same, heavy duty press stud button to secure the waist. Each leg has a zip running to about halfway up your calf.
All the zips are well placed and smooth and easy to use, with none of them catching on any of the other parts of the jacket.
Protection
The jacket has D3O armour in the shoulders and elbows, there’s also a large pocket in the back which easily holds my Forcefield full-length protector, while the trousers have D3O armour in the hips and knees.
All the armour is CE approved (EN 1621.1) and easily removable should you need to, although once it gets up to body temperature it’s extremely supple and I don’t really feel it when I’m riding.
It’s also worth noting that the pockets within both products do a really good job of keeping the armour where it needs to be – I haven’t noticed any wayward bits of D3O floating around the suit like you sometimes get!
The trousers and jacket have a full length, 360° zip running the length of the waist and two smaller zips you can have sewn into other garments if you wanted. The 360° zip is tricky to operate on your own, but not impossible. I find that the smaller zips, that can link the jacket to jeans or vice versa, normally foul it making to tricky to do up. Once they are zipped securely together, they not only boost protection but help stop annoying drafts from shooting up your back on a cold morning.
Fit and comfort
I have the medium sized jacket which is a 38-40” chest and it’s a close yet comfortable fit. I don’t like baggy kit, be it textiles or leather, and would rather have something that initially feels a tad on the tight side, knowing it will loosen up over time.
The trousers come with kneesliders attached, although I’m not sure the person in the factory that Velcros them on has ever got their knee down as they were stuck on horizontally. Not even my most extreme race-bike pose could get them near what you’d call a normal angle, so double check if you get a pair – they will need some adjustment!
Pockets
For me the only real let down with the kit is the small front pockets – not big enough for my iPhone 7 Plus – although they do at least have those posh waterproof zips on them. There is as very large pocket built into the left-hand lapel mind, which can hold all sorts of day to day stuff.
Verdict
The kit arrived about two weeks before the launch of the new Hondas, so I had plenty of time to get acquainted with the new togs. As a first outing for the suit I thought a blast back from Kawasaki’s UK HQ on their awesome H2 SX SE would do perfectly. And it did, until it pissed it down with rain for the entire journey! Thankfully the Furygan Sherman kept me relatively warm and surprisingly dry – not bad for a sporty two piece that makes no claims about being water proof.
The biggest plus for me with the Sherman is how well it’s put together, all the stitch work, seams and zips are extremely good quality. And, while I don’t plan to, I wouldn’t have any qualms about wearing the kit on track where there is a high probability of me sliding down the road on my arse!
