In late 2009 I purchased the 2010 MSR Throwback gear. Yeah, it’s the black and purple stuff.

This gear is based on their Renegade line with some cool ‘old school’ type styling. A lot of people might not be a big fan of the purple, but you’ve got to admit that the old school style is something super cool and pays tribute to the old days of our sport.

I actually still use this gear some a year later. Well, that’s not hard to do considering the lack of riding I’ve done this year but I’ve put this gear through a variety of conditions.

My first outing in it was the 2009 Yadkin Valley Stomp GNCC. Yeah, remember that? It’s the one where it rained a lot. I thought I would play it smart and ride Sportsman in the Morning Race. Well, after taking 3 kicks to start my bike, the gear got pelted with mud and rocks all through the first mile before I ended up going down and busting my clutch cable. It survived that race with nothing more than general beginning wear on the knees.

I didn’t do any real damage to the gear until the final NCHSA race of 2009. My clutch plates were beginning to fry so I was having to hammer down to get the bike to go anywhere. I ended up trying to ride way too aggressive and was coming into a corner hot and snagged a tree which tore a hole in the side of the jersey. I had maybe 3 or 4 rides with the gear before that and it had virtually no wear on it prior to that.

2010 started early with The Battle of Atlanta 8 Hour Team race, I decided to race Ironman and I rocked this gear during that race. Since it was below freezing the whole day I opted to wear my MSR Trans Jak Enduro jacket as my top layer. The knees had a little wear after this race, and a few loose threads thanks to a nasty get off I had but overall it survived a total of over 5 hours of riding in one day.

When the Broxton Bridge Enduro rolled around, I decided it was again time to wear this set of gear. Little did I know at the start exactly how much of a swamp I was in for. Yes, I knew it was going to be muddy but I never expected to hour out. Yes, it was that bad. I was the only person in 200-B past row 20 that made it through the first section. Granted I did hour out, making that section was an accomplishment. The gear survived the black mud and sand that it was coated in and while I managed to wear it out a little bit thanks to the constant trail blazing through the South Carolina low country, it was still in good shape.

The gear would also survive the torturous sand whoops of the Sumter National Enduro, and as well as sinking myself in another South Carolina mudhole.

I finally managed to rip a couple of new holes in the jersey after a hard crash at The General GNCC but overall it was still in pretty good condition when I wore it again at the Flat Rock NCHSA event a couple of months later.

Overall this gear has held up exceptionally well for the abuse I’ve managed to put it through over the past year. As I mentioned, it’s based off their Renegade line, except with different designs. Therefore if you’re considering a set of MSR Renegade gear, I would highly recommend it since MSR didn’t make a Throwback set for 2011. For a rating, I’d give the 2010 MSR Throwback gear 4 out of 5 stars.