Halvarssons Sunne jacket in black / orange

The Sunne jacket, (there’s also a matching pant), is a replacement for the old Luxor. And, in many ways, the spec is similar. But what spoiled the Luxor was its heavy-handed Teflon DWR (Durable Water Repellant). This coating was so thick that it gave the jacket a crinkly stiffness that made it not as comfortable as it should have been. But, in essence, the Sunne is a laminated, adventure-style jacket. Fundamentally, we don’t think you want a laminated jacket if you are undertaking serious adventure riding. We feel the same about Klim’s laminated Badlands, by the way. Which means that this jacket is really for adventure bikers who spend 95% of their time on road. The styling is 100% adventure riding. It’s a mid-length, four-pocket jacket with side adjusters rather than a belt. The waterproofing is delivered by means of a two-layer, laminated, Dryway membrane. There is, as there is on every waterproof garment a DWR coating, but it’s lightly applied and doesn’t impact on the jacket’s comfort. For breathability, the Sunne has vents on the chest and sleeves. There is a permanently open exhaust vent on the back that cannot be reached by the rain. Protection-wise, the Sunne is reinforced in key areas with Halvarssons’ Hi-Art abrasion-resistant lining material. The CE armour in the elbows and shoulders is Level 1. There’s a pocket for a back protector. Thermal comes from a removable Innoborne-infused inner jacket. Innoborne is a Thinsulate equivalent. Obviously you get adjusters at the sleeves, the collar and the hem as well as at the waist. There’s a full-length zip that allows the jacket to attach to any Halvarssons pant. 

So what don’t we like. Well, we are not mad about all the hi-viz adornment. We just think it looks wrong on an adventure jacket, although they fell differently about this in Scandinavia where the winter days are shorter than they are here. Luckily, the neck collar is removable. The big weakness with the Sunne is nothing to do with the jacket, per se, but with the pants. Halvarssons has done the pants in two colourways but only one leg length. They would have been better off producing one pant that matched both jackets, and then producing the pants in the required three leg lengths. The accountants, we fear, have been allowed off their leashes.

But other than these minor quibbles, we like the Sunne. It’s reasonably priced, comes with a two-year warranty and is accredited under EN17092 as an AA rated garment.

Read our Halvarssons Sunne review.