SHOP $850, belstaff.com
Welcome to The Investment, a column highlighting those pieces—a little pricier, a lot nicer, and entirely worth the money—that we can’t help but advocate for you owning. These are the things our editors love and respect. The picks with a story to tell and a real reason to exist. Looking to put your dollars in the right place? Here’s how.
Waxed cotton may seem like a rather antiquated way of waterproofing, but in the early 1920s it was something of a modern wonder. It has certainly served Belstaff, the venerable British outdoor and motorsports brand, well enough in its near century of existence. Belstaff got its name—if you’re interested—from a mashup of founder Eli Belovitch (the “Bel” part) and Staffordshire (“Staff”), the English county where he founded it.
The Trialmaster jacket, arguably Belstaff’s most iconic piece, was born in 1948, just in time for the post-war explosion of interest in off-road motorcycling. Young men back from the war, trained up in all manner of mechanical tinkering, found a sport that combined an element of danger with a pleasing sideline in futzing with engines. Lighter than leather and certainly better for Britain’s rainy climes, the Trialmaster became a popular go-to for bikers of all sorts as one of the best protections to rain and mud on the market. But as a relatively basic combination of paraffin wax and woven cotton, it had its limitations, particularly on the warmth and breathability side.
Fabric technology has, of course, developed by leaps and bounds since then, especially with the invention of man-made fibers. One particularly significant milestone was the invention created by one Robert Gore of British textile company WL Gore in 1969. (You probably see where this is going.) Gore-Tex, as he called it, was a windproof, waterproof, and yet breathable sandwich of inner and outer shells protecting an inner core—and it was a major breakthrough in performance clothing.
Timothy Mulcare
A new take on Belstaff’s Trialmaster is out now using Gore-Tex—not for the first time, but nearly; there was one previous iteration in the ’70s—in olive green, black, or dark navy. The Techmaster, as it is called, is not a Trialmaster per se but is instead a loose riff on the OG style with significant tweaks all around. First is the Gore-Tex itself, which is made from an outer layer of recycled polyester backed by a jersey liner. Second is the overall design. While the Techmaster features many of the hallmarks of the original waxed cotton Trialmaster—an enlarged map pocket on the chest, angled for ease of access; three more bellows pockets; and reinforced shoulders and elbows—some significant updates beyond the cloth were added to the new jacket. Those include a detachable hood, waterproof YKK zippers, taped seams, matte, low-profile stud closures, and even an internal pocket with a clear window in it for your phone.
Timothy Mulcare
Think of it as the evolution of an icon. Or as something entirely new, if you like. Either way, it’s a damn good-looking jacket with the built-in performance to match.
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Source : Esquire
