NEWPRODUCTS
102 mbrM AY 2 019
SCOTT TRAIL MTN
STRETCH HYBRID
30 JACKET
£124.99
SPECIFICATIONWeight:442g• Sizes:S-XXL• Colours:nightfallblue/washed blue,
nightfall blue/ochre yellow, exotic orange • Contact: scott-sports.comIt’sa waterproof,Jim,butnotasweknowit.Ratherthan
beingconstructedfroma rustlymateriallikemostwaterproof
jackets,theMTN 30 is madefromScott’sproprietary
DUROxpandfabric—a soft,stretchywindandwaterproof
materialthatfeelsgreatnexttotheskin.Thehood
andshoulderpanelsarea moretraditionalmaterial—
DRYOsphere3L.
Feature-wisethisis a fairlysimplejacket.Therearetwo
largeside-accessedpocketsthatdoubleasventsandinside
oneis a securepocketforphoneorkeys.Thehood,hemand
cuffs arealladjustabletokeepthemsnug,andthat’saboutit.
Sizingis fairlygenerous,withmysizeMa roomyfit. Comfort
is top-notch,asis buildquality—it’sbeautifullymadeandis
showingnosignsofwearyet.
DespiteitslightweightI’vebeenwearingthisjacketinall
weatherconditionsandtemperatures,generallywithjusta
baselayerunderneath,andit’sbeengreatineverythingbut
theunseasonablywarmperiodwehadinFebruary. Even then
thefull-lengthfrontzipandlargesidepocket/
ventsallowedenoughairtocirculateto
stopmefromoverheating.TheMTN 30 is
a versatileone-stopwinterridingjacket,
ratherthana waterproofthatyouonly
reach for when it’s pouring withrain.
Ben SmithDrift’sGhost-Xcamerais a relatively
affordableactioncamdesignedprimarily
formotorcycling,butseeingaswealsoride
ontwowheels,it shouldbeprettygoodfor
mountainbikingtoo,right?Well,notreally,
andI’lltellyouwhy.UntilGoProcamealong,
earlyPOVcameraswerealsocalledbullet
cams,duetotheirlong,cylindricalshape,and
weredesignedtobeattachedtohelmets.
AlthoughtheDriftGhostX is notcylindricalas
such,thelensis positionedonthenarrowest
sideoftheunit,soit’sbasicallymostat
homewornonthehead.Whichis fineona
motorbikewhenyouhaveanalreadyheavy
helmet,butonanmtbit tendstodestabilise
a lightweighttraillid.Nottomentionthefact
thatwe’drathernothavea cameraattached
tothetoporsideofourheadina crash(the
Driftdoesnothavea quick-releasefeature).
And,inourview,helmetcamfootagerarely
looksasdynamicaschestmountedvideo,
unlessyouhavesucha broadfieldofviewthat
theriderandbikeappearintheframe.The
Ghost-X’s140°lensdoesn’tallowthis,andso
allyouseeis a portionofhelmetandthetrail,
whichmakesthefootagelookincrediblyslow
and dull. Yes, you can buy a shoulder mountfortheGhost-X,butthisis stillnotaseffective
asa chestmount.Thelowframerateandlack
ofimagestabilisationalsoputtheGhost–X
onthebackfoot.Fineforbilliardsmooth
roadsonyourDucati,butjerkyand
blurrywhenhammeringa trailbikeon
roughsingletrack.
The one big selling point for theGhost-Xis batterylife.Witha claimedfive-
hourruntime,anda constantloopfeature
thatrecordsincidentsevenwhenyouforget
topressthebutton,it’sobviousthe
Ghost-Xis optimisedforuseasa
dashcamorcommutercamera
rather than an actioncamera.
Danny MilnerDRIFT GHOST-X CAMERA
£129.99
SPECIFICATION Records in up to 1080P at 30fps • Claimed battery life: 5 hours • Weight: 143g • Contact: driftinnovation.com