Get kitted out!

I thought I’d post something a little different this week, rather than the usual event updates, so please find below my reviews of two products I’ve been using for the last year or so (pretty important bits of kit too!) - My helmet & gloves;

Bell RS7 Pro

I love this helmet! After years of using motorcycle helmets for karting (which is fine) I decided to upgrade to a ‘proper’ motorsport helmet and after trying various brands at Autosport International I settled on this model for two reasons- Firstly, the fit is great. It transpires my face/head shape is thin/long so getting the right fit was a challenge. Other brands were either too big or created pressure across my forehead and temples- not ideal for 30-40 minutes wear at any one time! Secondly, it looks great in my opinion. Styled after the current-generation of F1 helmets as used by Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Kimi Raikkonen & Fernando Alonso (amongst others) it’s a more modern-looking helmet than the other popular Bell model, the RS or GP3, which features the duck bill front spoiler.

The Bell RS7 is certainly lighter than my previous motorcycle helmet, came pre-painted in ‘falcon’ red and features the (optional) HANs posts as well as a fully composite shell featuring no less than 14 (count ‘em) air intakes & extraction points.

One of the first ‘upgrades’ I made was to get hold of a dark smoke visor which doesn’t really do anything other than look cool and protect my eyes from the glaring tube lights at Teamsport Bristol (I’m half-joking, it’s useful for when it’s sunny up at Castle Combe too!) as well as some of the air intakes that go on top of the helmet, because I do tend to get quite hot even when karting in the winter, so any extra air I can force in there has got to be helpful, right? The visor goes on & off using a type of screw & key system (very important not to lose the key, or knacker the thread on the screw!) which I’ve found to be just as straightforward as the systems used on motorcycle helmets, only it’s much safer/more secure. However, over-tightening the screw can make it really tough to open & close the visor so you have to find that happy-medium between still being able to do that without the screw being too loose. 

I still have it in mind to perhaps purchase an additional ‘mirrored’ visor for (hopefully) more outdoor use, along with some tear-off (to protect the visor more than anything) but I think I’ll give the rear spoiler a miss as unless I can get it painted to match the already-existing design it might look a little odd as it is supplied in a clear type of plastic. Maybe one day..

Negative points? Well, it still does get hot in there but then I think you’d find the same across most brands & types of helmets- A ‘coolmax’-type balaclava definitely helps. The accessories are also fairly expensive but with that being said they are quality parts and much better than some of the ‘knock offs’ (ie. visors) available from eBay

In summary, I would absolutely recommend the Bell RS7 helmet. As an alternative option to the popular Arai helmets, you can’t really go wrong if you want a quality item that really looks the part.

Alpinestars Tech 1-K Gloves

I purchased these gloves along with a new Alpinestars race suit as a replacement for a well-worn Puma pair, which were hands-down (gettit?) the most comfortable gloves I’ve ever worn for karting. Granted those Puma ones were the same spec as those used by the Ferrari & Mercedes F1 teams, but eventually the rigours of karting wore the grip on the palms down to almost nothing and I found towards the end of their life I was having to grip the wheel harder than usual, which wasn’t an ideal scenario. 

In choosing a new pair of gloves with karting in mind, I knew I wanted to get something with a silicone palm as the grip offered is exceptional- however previous experience with Alpinestars gloves had led me to find that the grip fell apart fairly quickly, as it seemed to be applied in thin lines replicating a finger or palm print. The newer styles however feature much bigger sections of grip on the palm which led me to trying Alpinestars again, and after over a year’s use is still holding up well. 

The gloves also feature pre-curved fingers to apparently reduce fatigue, and I’ve found them to be fairly breathable.

In terms of downsides, I can’t really find anything to complain about. The palm does have a tendency to bunch up a bit, but this may be due to an issue with the size I selected (Medium, as per my previous pairs) rather than a fault with the gloves themselves. Otherwise I have been impressed with the Tech 1-K model and would recommend them to anyone who wants a pair of high-grip, long lasting gloves. Even the distinctive red/grey colour has remained strong and not faded over time, which is good to see!

I hope you guys have enjoyed this impromptu product review, next time I’ll be discussing race suits & footwear :-)

Take it easy

Ben