I
have personally been wearing Answer race clothes now for about 3 years
and I must say that Answer's 2002 Edge racing clothes are their best yet.
At first glance...
I remember when unpacking my jersey I found it was much thinner than past
Answer jerseys, which was a surprise to me. You'd expect a thinner jersey
to provide less protection and to tear more easily which isn't the case.
More about that later.
The thinner Jersey does have it's advantages, being in the heat of the
midday sun wearing polyester can get quite hot but the thinner jersey
does mean a cooler, more comfortable day.
The Edge pants seem to be made of heavier materials and heavier stitching
than previous models, and the sizing is slightly larger, with longer legs
and a bigger waist.
The Edge gear looks different to any other race clothes out on the tracks
today, making it easy to stand out in a full gate of 8 riders. There has
been a noticable move towards brightening up the designs with a lot more
white, which originally made me think these clothes were going to be a
nightmare to wash, but not so.
Protection...
The pants have removable padding in the hips, but provide no padding in
the knee. Not a real problem because there is plenty of room to use a
knee/shin guard underneath. I'd advise all BMXers to protect their knees
if they want a long racing career and use some sort of padding. Best thing
about these pants is you could wear your knee guards underneath, have
a full range of movement and still look cool.
Our tests...
Our LCT (Life Cycle Testing) means that we have used this gear for a good
3 or so months before writing this review and in that time had a number
of falls and it is safe to say that the Answer Edge clothes are strong
enough to withstand heavy falls without tearing, even while grazing elbows,
shins and knees through the clothing. The all important comfort factor
is at an all time high in the Edge gear, but on cold days you might want
to wear a long sleeve t-shirt underneath. The Edge clothes are fade resistant
and throughout the testing period we didn't notice any fading or discolouration,
the white in both the pants and jersey is still as vibrant as the day
we got them.
Colours and sizes...
Answer Edge pants are available in 3 colour combos, Black (with a
bit of red), Blue, and Green (which is mostly black), sizes range from
youth 18 to adult 38.
The Edge jersey is available in Black, Blue, Red and Green and sizes range
from youth small to adult XXL.
There are also matching Edge gloves, but we didn't have them for the review.
More information...
The jersey retails for $US39.99 in the US and $AUS95.95 in Australia.
The pants retail for $US99.99 in the US and $AUS245.00 in Australia. Although
you may find race gear out there that's cheaper, I'll bet they don't look
as good or last as long. If your in the market for some new race clothes
check out Answer Edge.
For further information on the Answer Edge clothing or anything else in
the Answer product range check www.answerproducts.com.