Akta MTB Apparel

Mountain bikers in the Sea-to-Sky region demand a lot from their riding gear. The weather can change in the blink of an eye, and we’re blessed/saddled with the ability to ride bikes year round. While having season-specific gear is a no-brainer, I tend to be a bit lazy when it comes to proper riding apparel, preferring to just pick a few staples and figure out how to make them work all year long. From solstice to solstice, the chances are good that you’ll find me in some number of long sleeve jerseys (one or two layers, depending on the season), and a good pair of pants.

It should come as no surprise that when I find something that works well across a wide variety of conditions, I get excited. And when that something is made by a company hell-bent on using environmentally responsible materials, well that’s just icing on the cake.

Akta MTB is one of the newest players in the technical apparel game, but their team brings years of experience, formerly designing gear for some of the biggest names in the game. Based in North Vancouver, Akta makes high performance mountain bike wear, with an eye on sustainability. Wherever possible, they’ve committed to using post-consumer recycled textiles, and with the lone exception of their knee pads, everything in the Akta catalogue is Bluesign approved. Bluesign is an independent auditor that ensures fabrics pass strict environmental standards throughout the manufacturing process. Mountain bikers can be pretty smug when it comes to acknowledging our impacts on the environment, sometimes glossing over the unfortunate realities of this “eco-friendly” sport we love. We are far from perfect, but companies like Akta are pushing things in the right direction. The best gear to wear is the stuff already in your closet, but if you need to buy a new jersey, why not buy one that’s keeping a bunch of plastic bottles out of the landfill?

In addition to the Long Sleeve Jersey and Trail Pant that I’ve been dragging through the worst conditions the North Shore has to offer, Akta also has summer friendly designs in their Short Sleeve Jersey and Trail Shorts. Gloves, knee pads and T-shirts are also available.

Long Sleeve Trail Jersey

Available in black or purple, the Long Sleeve Trail Jersey is made from a polyester-spandex blend that features a silver ionic antimicrobial treatment that helps ward off the stank that can set in after plenty of use. I own other jerseys with the same anti-stink tech, and can attest to the fact that it does indeed work. Available in sizes from XS to XL, the Long Sleeve Jersey will set you back $109 CAD.

According to Akta’s sizing guide, I’m a size large, and I find the fit pretty much bang-on in all dimensions. While there is room to move under the jersey, it doesn’t feel baggy or cumbersome in any way. The fabric is quite thin and stretchy, so I’d imagine most kinds of armour would be easily accommodated. I really dig the look of this jersey - the sublimated graphics are somehow bold and muted at the same time, and the purple fabric seems just dark enough that I won’t have to worry about mud stains. If function over form is your mantra, there is a clever goggle wipe built into the bottom hem, which comes in handy when riding the winter conditions in North Vancouver.

While the review period was spent riding in temperatures that never strayed too far from 0°C, I am certain the thin, breathable fabric of the Long Sleeve Jersey would be comfortable on even the hottest Whistler Bike Park days. Early on in the review, I wondered how the thin fabric would stand up to inevitable crashes and general abuse, and it wasn’t long before I was able to properly test its durability. Halfway down a solo lap on Boogieman, I experienced a full off-the-bike slide-out on a marbly section of trail. It was the kind of silly crash that rarely causes injury, but often damages your clothing. I was wearing the Akta jersey and pants at the time, and given the thin nature of the fabric used on both, I fully expected there to be some abrasion damage, if not full rips at the elbow and knee where I went down. I was mildly shocked to discover no visible damage whatsoever to either the jersey, or the pants. Maybe I got lucky, but I was still impressed.

Trail Pant

Like the jersey, the Trail Pant is available in sizes from XS to XL, and comes in two Shore-friendly colours: the greyest looking "black" I've ever seen, and brown. Constructed from a recycled nylon-spandex blend, the Pant features a PFC-free DWR coating that helps ward off light rain, splashes and mud. The waist is elasticized and includes a ratchet closure up front to snug up the fit as needed. I’m generally a “less-is-more” kinda guy when it comes to waist closures, so the ratchet system feels a bit overwrought to me. That said, it was simple to adjust, and performed flawlessly throughout the review. The $209 CAD sticker price is quite reasonable for high performance mountain bike pants.

At the risk of stating the obvious, the DWR treatment on the Trail Pant is not waterproof, but water repellent. Still, they do a pretty good job of keeping you mostly dry and comfortable, even in the depths of winter. I run too hot for waterproof pants anyway, so the Trail Pant is a viable year-round choice for me. While not so necessary in the colder months, the laser perforated venting found at the inner thigh and back of the knees will surely be welcome in the summer months, and their placement ensures that rainy day water ingress is kept to a bare minimum.

The most unique feature found on the Trail Pant has got to be the D3O ZERO padded cell phone pocket. Even luddites like myself carry their cell phones while riding, so the idea of a protected pocket for our outrageously expensive and fragile devices is a brilliant one. D3O ZERO is a recycled version of the ubiquitous wonder foam, made entirely from factory offcuts that might otherwise be thrown out. Ideally located on the rear-right thigh, even the bulkiest phone will go unnoticed while riding. The left thigh has a smaller, unpadded pocket that is ideal for keys, candies, coins or cards - basically anything that isn’t a phone.

The Trail Pant was comfortable in all riding situations. Even during long periods of pedalling with knee pads on, there were no weird constrictions or catch points. I would consider these pants to have a “slim fit”, particularly around the thighs, but the 4-way stretch fabric meant they were easy to get along with, even after several hours of riding/hiking/après-ing. Performance-wise, there’s not much else I can say about the Trail Pant, as they just seemed to do everything right, not to mention shrugging off at least one potentially damaging crash.

For an apparel company that has just released their very first articles, Akta have really knocked it out of the park. It's clear that pencils were sharpened and homework was done when the Akta team developed their jerseys and pants. As I sit here wrapping up this article, I’m on the Akta website, looking at a black jersey and thinking about redirecting a few more plastic bottles from the landfill.

Long Sleeve Trail Jersey

$109 CAD.

Trail Pant

$209 CAD.

Akta MTB