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Arai XD Dual Sport Helmet. Be sure and check the price before trying this helmet on. If you have an Arai head, you are unlikely to find another helmet with the features and luxurious fit of an Arai. You will, however, pay dearly for the experience: MSRP is $528.95. A cross between an motocross and a street helmet, the XD shield can be flipped up under the visor. Goggles can be worn while the face shield is in place, even if lowered. Noisy compared to other full face helmets, but not objectionably so. A premium helmet at a premium price.

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Oxtar Infinity Goretex Boots. All leather, excellent construction, one of the very few CE approved boots available. Good protection for adventure touring. Not advisable for serious off roading, but lighter, more flexible and much more comfortable than motocross boots. Required no break in. Immediately easy to walk in, I wore these boots comfortably for 23 days straight. Goretex lined, they were completely waterproof through the worst storms Alaska and Canada through at me. Highly recommended.

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FirstGear HT Overpants. One of an exceedingly small number of overpants which will actually keep you 100% dry in heavy rain. Velcro over pockets and zippers can be a little fussy, but that's why they are waterproof. Available in Long and Short lengths, also a rarity. Warm with removable liner attached, ok up to about 80 degrees without. Order the same size as your regular pants, they are already sized to go over them. Add a pair of heavy duty suspenders and they'll stay in place perfectly. Recommended.

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The secret weapon of long distance riders--bicycle shorts. I got the EVS Impact shorts. Six panel Lycra/Spandex construction with high-density hip pads and tail pad. Not being sure of how much protection the uncertified pads would offer, I added Hiprotec CE approved armor to the hip pockets. Bicycle shorts will significantly improve your comfort and the distances you can cover each day.

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First Gear HiProtec Armor. The Hein Gericke jacket I wore had CE approved CoreComp armour in the elbows and shoulders, but I added two, count 'em, two more layers of CE approved armor in each area with these Hiprotec pads. My aim in choosing protective gear was simple--to maximize the possibility of being able to get up and continue on should I crash. Hiprotec is flexible and highly shock absorbant--it's one of the most protective materials made--and at about $10 per, it's affordable but extremely high quality protection.

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CoreComp Armor from First Gear. CE Approved, CoreComp has a comforting bulk to it, but is actually somewhat less protective than HiProtec. I added CoreComp to the stock Temperfoam in the knee pockets of the HT Overpants for added protection and because it helped the armored area stay in place while riding. A good, but not outstanding armor, CoreComp must be replaced after taking a hit, unlike Hiprotec.

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Bikers Gore Windstopper Balaclava. Keeps your neck dry and warm in rainy or cold conditions. Top part is CoolMax, bottom is wind and water resistant Gore Windstopper lined with fleece for warmth. They also make a unit spefically for wet weather. This one is for cold conditions but also did a good job of keeping my neck from getting wet in the rain.

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Bead Popper. An interesting lightweight plastic tool designed to make it easy to pop the bead on motorcycle tires. I bought this because of the nightmare stories I had read about how difficult it can be to pop the bead on an Avon Gripster. Apparently the Bead Popper works well, although I can't personally vouch for that. My only flat occurred on my rear tire which did not require removal to plug. The Bead Popper is designed to be used with a rubber mallet, which created a dilemma: Do I use a hatchet to cut firewood and pound tent stakes and try to use the metal hatchet head on the hollow plastic Bead Popper...or bring both a hatchet AND a hefty rubber mallet? Deciding that carry both was too much bulk and weight, I brought only the rubber mallet, figuring if the hatchet collapsed the Bead Popper I would be in worse shape than trying to pound tent stakes with a rubber mallet. Needless to say I never needed the Bead Popper, but had numerous frustrating camp set-ups involving that rubber mallet bouncing off tent stakes with little more effect than a muffled 'Boing!"

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Motion Pro 'Bead Buddy' Tire Tool. Used to push the tire bead down into the drop center of the rim on wheels while using tire tools to change tires. Hook over spoke and push bead down on opposite side of tire from tire irons. I bought many cool tire changing tools, then did everything humanly possible to avoid ever having to use them: sealed rear wheel, heavy duty tube on the front, tire sealant in both tires. Changing a tube while being eaten by mosquitos in on the side of the road in Alaska was something I really wanted to avoid--not only because of the mosquitos but also (and mostly) because of my general mechanical ineptitude. Plugging the rear tire in the rain in the Yukon is as far as I want to go with field repairs in the middle of nowhere. I was prepared for worse but was lucky that I never had to use the tire changing tools.