Austin Vince, the god father of adventure motorcycling is a figurehead for his low-budget DIY travel ethos, but even Austin sees some items as worthy of investment.
Anyone who has seen Mondo Enduro will know Austin is no stranger to fixing the odd puncture. Before he headed out to film the Salt and Gold expedition Austin purchased a pair of Motion Pro T6 tyre levers and a Motion Pro Trail Tool. These items combined with a Leatherman should be the core of any trail/travel tool kit! Good tools stop you from damaging your bike while working on it and wont let you down when you're out in the boonies. Think of them as a safety item and a long term money saving investment. Motion Pro tools carry a lifetime warranty!
After years with only his trusty overalls for protection austin sampled the delights of the Forcefield Action Shirt and Limb Tubes. These ultra-comfortable and mega-protective items perform for just about any type of riding, from extreme enduro to the daily commute.
The Salt and Gold Expedition also presented Austin with a different luggage issue. The riders carried an absolute minimum of gear to allow them to ride the thousands of km's of soft sandy open desert. Austin opted for a Kriega R15 pack with built in Hydrapack water bladder, plus a fully water/dust/sand proof R3 waist pack. Both had additional capacity from the attached Kube Pockets. The filming equipment was split between the bags, the unique harness and strap design helping to ease fatigue over the long desert riding days. As ever the Kriega kit performed flawlessly and if it didnt he had the backup of the 10 year Kriega warranty.
Austin exclusively uses Michelin tyres! (you've probably seen him displaying on the Michelin stand at the Dirt Bike Show)
So, whats the moral of this story? Well, at Adventure-Spec we believe in taking as few quality reliable items away with us as is possible. No spares required and everything we take performs as designed and is fit for purpose. So even an evangelical low-budgeteer like Austin knows there are some things not worth scrimping on.
He's happy to recommend this stuff, so not only can we proudly pronounce it Certified: Adventure-Spec, but now also Certified: Austin-Spec!
