REVIEW - 661's Women's Protective MTB Line 2

A long-time contender in the gravity MTB protection game, 661 has a history of making top-notch products to keep mountain bikers safe. We took in a big haul of their women's protective line to see what the brand has to offer riders this summer. From lightweight gloves to full body protection, we sampled it all. Hang tight and let's dig in!

661 Glove Line

661 Comp Glove

Ride fast, take chances! This lightweight summer glove had us with its fun look, cheeky design, and comfortable fit. The touchscreen-compatible feature worked, but only when the fingers were snugged all the way to the end. To be fair, humans have a wide range of finger length so if you’re the model hand for these gloves, you won’t have to adjust the glove to use the touchscreen compatibility. After wearing the gloves for only a couple of rides, the synthetic leather palm seemed to be showing signs of wear, but maybe they’ll remain useful for a few months and last through the summer season - glove-encased fingers crossed since we think these gloves are great for looking and feeling cool!

Initial Impressions

The Comp Glove uses stretch mesh fabric to keep your hands cool, and lightweight synthetic suede to give you great contact with the bars. The price point makes these gloves affordable, in line with similar gloves from other brands, and the various colorways are fun. 661 also makes these gloves in youth sizes, so those ripping groms can look cool while beating us on every uphill.

What's The Bottom Line?

We think these gloves are great, especially for the price point, and will facilitate a lot of summer riding.

661 Raji Glove

These gloves scream summertime riding due to their construction and fun color (purple and neon yellow are a fave combo of ours). Lightweight stretch twill on the back of the hand combined with a ventilated palm and fingers mean you can still have hand protection in the heat. The touchscreen compatibility is a nice feature, but didn’t always work for us; the gloves needed to be adjusted to fit our fingers really snugly. Durability remains to be seen, but since it’s summer, we might just be wearing these gloves on the daily, so they’ll probably get a lot of extra testing. For those who coach mountain biking in any capacity, the bright color of these gloves (we got the ‘classic purple’) provides a great contrast to our basic black grips, which is great for showing people proper hand and finger placement.

Initial Impressions

The Raji Glove is priced slightly higher than the Comp Glove, with a key difference being the vented palm in the Raji Glove. This feature makes these gloves comfortable on the hottest summer days, so you don’t have to sacrifice handlebar connection or hand protection to stay cool.

What's The Bottom Line?

The 661 Raji Glove is a good summer glove and seems to be priced appropriately to facilitate a lot of fun summer riding and coaching.

661 Recon Advance Glove

The Recon Advance Glove is ready to take care of business. The knuckle impact protection and solid black made us feel like a special agent and gave us peace of mind not having to worry about breaking another pinky on a misjudged tree gap. Although we got the same size in this glove as we did in the Comp and Raji gloves, it felt larger around the wrist and back of hand; maybe a velcro enclosure at the wrist could alleviate this issue? For all the protection these gloves provide, they are surprisingly lightweight and comfortable on warm days. We also loved, and took full advantage of, the micro-fiber sweat wipe! (Why is all of our DH gear dark colors for summer riding?) 

Initial Impressions

The Recon Advance Glove is at the top end of 661’s glove line, and for good reason. These gloves are burly, with D30 knuckle impact protection and additional inserts. The palm also seems more durable in these gloves, which bodes well for getting a lot of use out of these as our new go-to gravity gloves. Had these gloves fit better, we would have rated them higher.

What's The Bottom Line?

We look forward to rocking the Recon Advance Glove on gravity laps, knowing that our hands will be well protected.

661 Radia Goggle

We were drawn to the Radia goggle as soon as we took it out of the box. The eye-popping‘ dazzle yellow’ colorway perfectly complemented the Raji Gloves in ‘classic purple’. 661 did a great job of matching form and function with this goggle. The size small was also comfortable on small faces and they fit perfectly with our non-661 helmet (yay!). The lens afforded visibility in lower light (during tree-riding) while providing UV protection in full sun. Given our all-black gravity kit and riding in 85-degree temps, we appreciated the anti-fog treatment! The Radia Goggles are comfortable, functional, and fun!

Highlights

• Cylindrically injection-molded polycarbonate lenses that filter out 100% of harmful UVA and UVB rays
• Perfect fit for 661 helmets
• Double density foam comfort
• 40mm strap with silicone grip for added security
• Coated with Anti-Fog & Anti-Scratch treatments on the smoke mirror lens as standard
• Tear-off pegs and tear-off system available
• Spare & option lenses available
• Size Range: S and L
• Gender Specifics: Unisex
• MSRP $49.99 USD

Safety Features: The silicone grip in the strap meant that this goggle didn’t move, even in the gnarliest rock garden. The wide eye port helped us utilize our peripheral vision as we hammered the turns and berms. 

Initial Impressions

The Radia Goggle seems to be priced similarly to other goggles on the market. The Dazzle colorways are at the top end of 661’s goggle line, while their Script goggles are more moderately priced, but we weren’t sure what accounted for this difference.

What's The Bottom Line?

We liked the look, feel, and functionality of the Radia Goggle. They stayed on our face and fit well without fogging up. The lens provided visibility in a range of light conditions and we plan to get a lot of use out of them on gravity laps this summer.

EVO Base Layer Protection

EVO Women’s Compression Jacket

LEAN IN! This is definitely a power jacket and has literally got your back. When you want serious body armor for big gravity days, the EVO Compression Jacket is the right tool for the job. 661 strategically placed padding where it’s most critical, protecting those vertebrae and vital organs, and then went as lightweight as possible in their best effort to keep you comfortable. 

The removable D30 inserts make the inevitable washing a little easier - pads can be removed through openings on the inside of the jacket - and must be removed before washing. We liked the front zip of this jacket, which made it easy to put on and take off. The majority of the jacket is mesh (aside from the D30 and EVA parts), and the designers thoughtfully kept an underarm opening for maximum heat release - bravo! Very important, the PADLOCK connection between the EVO Women’s Compression Shorts and the EVO Women’s Compression Jacket is near the frontal hip bones, which means you can drop your pants and bibs without removing your jacket and jersey to use the bathroom - Thank you 661 for this feature!

It did seem like the PADLOCK connection system between the jacket and shorts had some slack in it, but we didn’t notice it during riding. Another nice feature for ensuring a good fit is the velcro enclosure around the forearm, so you can get the fit you need. Although this jacket comes with rear stash pockets, they aren’t zippered, so they’d be great for a gel or snack (pocket bacon would fit perfectly, just sayin’). This jacket is also hydration bladder compatible, by putting your hydration bladder in the back D30 pocket and utilizing the pre-existing hole above the left shoulder blade. We are looking forward to gearing up in the EVO Women’s Compression Jacket for lots of gravity days this season!

661 EVO Women’s Compression Shorts with Chamois

SENDING! These shorts are what you want for DH laps on the mountain. For body armor, they are surprisingly comfortable, and we really liked the chamois. There is a unisex version that comes without a chamois, if that’s your preference. The removable D30 hip pads make the inevitable washing a little easier - pads can be removed through an opening on the inside of the shorts and must be removed before washing.

We also really liked the silicon printing on the inside of the leg openings with the PADLOCK connection system. Once we had our gear on, nothing moved. We did notice a little gap between the jacket and jersey, but the shorts didn’t move around (good for warm-up air squats) and the higher waistband was comfortable while providing more protection. We are looking forward to gearing up in the EVO Women’s Compression Shorts for lots of gravity days this season; these shorts really made us feel secure and protected (and made our butt look strong!).

Safety Features Jacket: D30 back, elbow, and shoulder inserts; laminated EVA foam for chest and hip protection, and the PADLOCK connection system gave us plenty of padding without being too hot and heavy, and keeping all our gear inter-connected.

Safety Features Shorts: D30 hip pads, laminated EVA foam for thigh and coccyx protection, and the PADLOCK connection system gave us plenty of padding (not too much!) while allowing for articulation to pedal, and keeping all our gear inter-connected. 

Use Application: The compression shorts and jacket are made for gravity days, whether that’s at your local bike park or taking lift-assisted laps.The Padlock Connection System is unique to 661; it allows EVO Shorts and Jackets to snap into a variety of elbow and knee pads, creating a locked chassis so pads won’t migrate in a crash.

Initial Impressions

Both the EVO Women’s jacket and shorts seemed to be designed really well, with a great balance of breathability and protection. The combination of D30 pads and EVA foam is thoughtfully laid out. For female bodies, we appreciated that 661 made a high-functioning piece of gear, specifically fit to accommodate curves and muscles in different locations. It would be nice if 661 also offered a Women’s Compression Short without a chamois for female riders (they do offer a chamois-less short for male/unisex bodies). For such a key piece of gear, the price point is fair and similar to other brands. The EVO product line is at the top of 661’s protection product line, gearing towards the DH rider who likes to get extreme. This line also includes D30 protection, which is flexible and lightweight but hardens on impact.

On The Trail

We wore these on a couple of DH tracks at Mammoth mountain that got our adrenaline flowing, which seemed to suit the EVO Women’s Compression Jacket well. We noticed that the jacket didn’t seem to move once it was on, and it definitely gave us a boost of confidence and protection through a couple of toothy rock gardens. We felt like a badass secret agent wearing this jacket, which translated to riding more assertively and having a great day on the mountain.

Things That Could Be Improved

We thought that 661 could consider making a short-sleeved version of the Women’s jacket since they already had a unisex/male version.

Long Term Durability

The EVO Women’s Compression Jacket seemed well made with a heavy-duty zipper. The mesh pieces of this jacket are its most vulnerable, particularly on the arms when you’re trying to get everything snugged just right. However, 661 has a two-year warranty, should you need it.

What's The Bottom Line?

The EVO Women’s Compression Jacket and Shorts are key additions to our body armor kit. We felt safer ripping gravity trails with this muscle shirt on, and appreciated that it didn't move once it was on. The shorts are comfortable and performed in concert with the jacket. We’d definitely buy the jacket and shorts combo as well as recommend that our DH squad check them out.

Knee and Elbow Protection

661 Recon Advance Knee

Get ready to rumble! The Recon Advance Knee is ready for action. We like their extended coverage on the upper thighs and lower legs, especially the upper shin. There is also a clever opening behind the knee to allow some heat to escape from the legs and make pedaling that much more comfortable. When we’re ready to get gnar on those DH laps, the Recon Advance Knee is what we’ll grab to pair with our upper and lower body armor.

Safety Features: D30 and EVA inserts combined with the PADLOCK connection system gave us plenty of padding without being too hot and heavy, while allowing for articulation necessary for pedaling, and keeping all our gear inter-connected. 

Use Application: These knee pads are made for heavy-duty gravity days. The Padlock Connection System is unique to 661; it allows EVO Shorts and Jackets to snap into a variety of elbow and knee pads, creating a locked chassis so pads won’t migrate in a crash.

Initial Impressions

The Recon Advance product line is the top of 661’s knee pad product line, gearing towards the DH rider who likes to get extreme. If you need additional protection, optional add-on hard cap kits are also available. This line also includes D30 protection, which is flexible and lightweight but hardens on impact.

On The Trail

We wore these on a couple of DH tracks at Mammoth mountain that got our adrenaline flowing, which seemed to suit the Recon Advance Knee well. We didn’t get a chance to test these in a cage fight, but we bet they’d hold up just fine. We noticed that these pads didn’t migrate at all and felt well protected through a couple of toothy rock gardens, which led to a few hoots and hollers. For all the protection these Recon Advance Knee pads offer, they felt lightweight and were much cooler (temperature-wise) than anticipated.

Things That Could Be Improved

We noticed that pulling on the Recon Advance Knee pads needed to be done delicately, so as not to tear the mesh in the back of the pad. This is part of the sacrifice of having lighter-weight pads, but it’s still something that could be improved.

Long Term Durability

The front of the Recon Advance Knee pads felt strong and durable, but the mesh in the back seems like it might tear sooner rather than later. However, 661 has a two-year warranty, should you need it.

What's The Bottom Line?

We like the Recon Advance Knee for those big DH days when we’re pulling out the heavy-duty body armor. These are for strong riders who like those spicy lines - rock gardens, loose berms, and big jumps! We’d absolutely get a pair for the sendy days.

661 Recon Knee and Recon Elbow

Both the Recon knee and elbow pads offer that sweet spot of flexibility and protection. The mesh back and opening behind the knees shaves weight and makes these more breathable in the summer heat. We liked the extended sleeve that went higher up the thigh and lower down the calves than many other knee pads. The same rang true for the elbow pads extending up the bicep. Coupled with upper and lower grippers and the Padlock Connection system for more coverage and less pad migration. If you choose not to utilize the Padlock Connection system, it cleverly snaps to itself so you don’t have random pieces flapping off of your gear. We also appreciated that 661 made these pads machine washable, including the D30 Ghost insert, to get rid of the inevitable sweat, dirt, and grime that our pads always accumulate.

Safety Features

Both the knee and elbow pads feature D30 and EVA inserts combined with the PADLOCK connection system. They gave us plenty of padding without being too hot and heavy, while allowing for articulation necessary for pedaling, and keeping all our gear inter-connected. The Padlock Connection System is unique to 661; it allows EVO Shorts and Jackets to snap into a variety of elbow and knee pads, creating a locked chassis so pads won’t migrate in a crash.

Use Application: These pads are made for all-day riding when you want to get medium rad, but still need to pedal.

Initial Impressions

The Recon product line is right in the middle of 661’s product line, balancing value with protection for the cross-country rider that likes to ride some downhill trails. The Recon line has been redesigned and now includes machine-washable D30 protection, which is flexible and lightweight, but hardens on impact.

On The Trail

We wore these on some cross-country trails with moderate climbing and descending, which seemed to suit the Recon line well. When descending, having our sensitive bony knees protected with the Recon Knee’s D30 inserts was confidence-inspiring and comfortable. Given all the protection the Recon Knee provides, they were surprisingly light and comfortable and were easy to pedal while climbing. When cornering and riding through tight trees, we appreciated having our elbows well protected. Given all the protection the Recon Knee provides, they were surprisingly light and comfortable while climbing.

Things That Could Be Improved

As with anything involving mesh, putting the Recon pads on needs to be done with some delicacy, so as not to tear these. Although this comes with the territory of having lighter-weight pads, it’s still something that could be improved. We also felt like the upper gripper around our not-that-large biceps was a little too tight - maybe some more fit testing could be done to better size these.

Long Term Durability

The front of the Recon Knee pads felt strong and durable, but the mesh in the back seems like it might tear sooner rather than later. Generally, the Recon Elbow pads felt strong and durable although we had the same concerns with the mesh portions as we did with the knee pads. However, 661 has a two-year warranty, should you need it.

What's The Bottom Line?

We like the Recon knee and elbow pads for moderate trails, getting medium rad, and riding trails that require some pedaling. The lighter weight is friendly for summer riding and we would definitely add the Recon pads to our quiver for XC riding with moderate downhill.

Head to sixsixone.com to learn more and see the entire line.

Reviewed by Coral Taylor // Photos by Brendan Mooney

About The Reviewer

Coral Taylor - Age: 43 // Years Riding MTB: 15 // Height: 5’3" (1.65 m) // Weight: 125-pounds (56.7 kg)

I love all types of bikes, but I’d have to say that mountain bikes are my favorite. Biking through the forest, ripping sweet berms, and rolling over rocks always elicits hoots and hollers from me! I consider myself a ‘medium-rad’ rider and I love riding both cross-country trails and ‘navy blue’ DH trails, although my goal for this summer is to clear more of the black and double-black lines at Mammoth Mountain. Mountain biking offers me the opportunity to both down-regulate and up-regulate my nervous system, and I always feel physically and mentally better after time on the bike. Through mountain biking, I have also connected with so many amazing humans and have been motivated to visit some beautiful places under the guise of mountain biking.

I volunteer as a ride leader for the Tahoe Mountain Bike Girls, which offers group rides ~every 2 weeks in the summer to the FTW community. Our rides are aimed at all levels, with no one left behind and the intent to build the mountain bike community in the Truckee/North Lake Tahoe area of northern California. I am also a BICP Level 2 Intermediate Skills Instructor and work as a part-time bike guide in the Truckee area. New to me this year, I’ve also started volunteering as a NICA coach for the Mammoth Mountain Bike Team and have enjoyed coaching in this role and learning about NICA. Sharing the sport of mountain biking with other humans is really important to me; besides the physical benefits of biking and the mental health benefits of being outside, I believe that the benefit of having FUN is the most important! The more FUN we have, the less existential dread we have and the nicer we are, which means we can have more bandwidth to create positive change in the world.