FMF's Q2 Silencer And More ATV Products, Accessories - Abused

MSR NXT Gear
We believe in being incredibly thorough with our product testing so we beat the crap out of stuff. Constantly. The abused products bend, buckle and eventually break, or they stand up to our cruel mistreatment with such nobility that we simply grow bored and start testing something else. The MSR NXT gear is a prime example of the latter.

Stylish and clean, a set of the NXT gear found its way into my gear bag last fall. I immediately started breaking it in and found the sizing to be true to my medium-shirt/32-pant frame. There were a number of solid features about both the jersey and pant. To begin with, MSR's top-o'-the-line jersey has excellent underarm cooling panels, as well as a bit of extra material in this area to aid with airflow. The V-neck collar is comfortable and roomy, as are the stretch cuffs and nonslip tail. The pant features several smartly placed stretch panels, as well as a deviously designed set of waist cinch straps. Noticeable on the track is the lightweight feeling of the NXT setup, which feels unobtrusive without a sense of underprotection. A family of rubber accent panels on both jersey and pant blurt MSR's name without screaming it, and the gear looks great on a wide variety of machines.

Back to the durability: I continuously pummeled the NXT gear, and I can truly say that it has held up with exceptional resilience, up to the point where it was clear that I wasn't going to be blowing out the gear anytime this season. After a variety of rides (which included a handful of small crashes), the only betrayal to the NXT's longevity is a few sloppy stitches in the elbow of the jersey, a tear in the inner mesh liner of the pant and some trace dirt stains on the stretch panels. But for the retail price of $49.95 for the jersey and $145.95 for the pant, I am stoked with these results! The prolonged saddle time did unveil a few minor complaints about the NXT gear; the loose collar is a little prone to letting dirt in, the pant liner ought to be full-length for convenience and the thinly padded integrated elbows don't do much. However, the incredible durability and good performance make the small quirks easy to ignore. -Chris Denison