Bering Ottawa GTX jacket in black

The Ottawa is a particularly easy to wear jacket. It is lightweight, not very bulky, soft to the touch, and will undoubtedly be very comfortable to wear.

 

The jacket sits quite long, but with gusset zips at the side it will splay nicely over the lap. It undoubtedly ticks a lot of boxes. You get a removable thermal liner which will add warmth, although it probably won’t be up to a winter commute. You get Level 1 protectors in the elbows and shoulders; and of course there’s a pocket for a back protector. There are vents in the sleeves; and you get an exhaust vent on the back. But as far as venting is concerned, we’re not in Klim territory here.

 

There are adjusters at the waist and on the sleeves. There’s also quite a neat adjustment system at the neck. At the ends of the sleeves, you get zips and Velcro flaps. The jacket has four external, waterproof pockets. There are two more inside the jacket.

 

All of this is pretty standard fare. The jacket looks right. The styling is subtle and quite plain, but frankly this is not the kind of jacket you are going to wear on a sportsbike or a big GS. It’s an understated jacket for the short-distance commuter or the weekend rider who wants something unfussy and practical.

 

The most outstanding feature about the Ottawa is that it comes not just with a Gore-Tex membrane, but with a laminated, Gore-Tex membrane. And that really is something worth having.

 

Recently, we did a review on laminated membranes. The conclusion we came to was that most people would be better off with a jacket with a simpler, drop-liner membrane. And that’s because, even though there’s the possibility of ‘wetting out’ in heavy and prolonged rain, drop-liner garments are more comfortable, warmer, less expensive and more reliable.

 

They are more reliable and dependable because it is complex, time-consuming and expensive to make laminated garments properly. Very few brands do do it properly, and so there is a high failure rate on most laminated jackets and pants.

 

The only people who do laminated dependably are Gore, in our opinion. And they do it properly because they are the only proper brand in the market. Which is why they tell manufacturers exactly how jackets with their membranes need to be put together.

 

A motorcycle apparel manufacturer cannot buy a Gore-Tex membrane by the meter. When you work with Gore, you enter into a partnership; and Gore oversees and checks how garments with their membranes are constructed. It’s why it’s virtually impossible for a manufacturer to cut corners when they make a Gore-Tex garment. 

 

And it’s why Gore-Tex garments nearly always come with a five-year warranty; and why all Gore-Tex jackets and pants are guaranteed to be waterproof for life. And, in case you were wondering, Gore really does honour this warranty. And so it is the Gore-Tex membrane, and what it brings with it, that turn what is, in many ways, a rather ordinary jacket into something a bit more special. 

 

Gore-Tex laminated jackets are often quite stiff and uncomfortable, but there’s none of that going on here. This is a lovely jacket to wear, to ride in, and to walk around in. Let us be clear. This is no Rukka Nivala. It ticks many of the same boxes, but the Rukka has a 3-layer laminated membrane, has more substantial, larger and better armour, including protectors for the chest and back. It is better vented, has a world-class, thermal-insulating, down jacket, refinements like GTX cuffs, and so on

 

But then again the Ottawa costs about a third of the price of the Nivala. If you were a high-mileage commuter, or a professional rider doing 20,000 miles a year you’d go with the Rukka, and match it with the Nivala pant. But if you do less than 10,000 miles a year, and have convinced yourself that you need to go laminated, then the Ottawa is worth a look.

 

But there is something you need to be aware of. There is no matching pant. This does not, in its own right, concern us. Particularly as we do not really rate any of Bering’s pants. You could, of course, wear the Ottawa with any pant, including a Bering one, but we think that this is a jacket that you might actually wear over a pair of single-layer jeans.

 

It has become a thing to wear a waterproof jacket with a pair of jeans. If it rains, you put on a pair of waterproof over trousers. But here’s the truth; it does not rain all the time. There’s a particular and important benefit to dressing in this way. When you get to wherever it is you’re going, you can take your jacket off, leaving you free to go about your business as you see fit. You can’t do this if you’re wearing a full textile suit, complete with its cumbersome, textile pant

 

If this sounds like the way you want to ride, then the Ottawa may be the perfect jacket for you. You’ll have a laminated jacket with a five-year warranty, and a lifetime guarantee for waterproofing. A jacket that’s as easy to wear as any laminated jacket. A jacket that does everything you’d want a jacket to do. And at a price that is much less than you’d expect. Much less!