Rukka Explore-R 2.0 jacket review

There was an Explore-R suit before this one. The reason that there's this new one is that Gore, as part of its desire to be at the head of the environmental agenda, has introduced a raft of new fabrics with membranes that do not incorporate harmful, forever chemicals.

When a fabric is changed, a motorcycle, clothing manufacturer has to re-test a garment for abrasion and tear-resistance under EN 17092.

And so like Klim, and many other manufacturers, Rukka has taken the opportunity to revise and update some of the suits that have been affected. The Explore-R, of course, being one such outfit.

Obviously what we're going to do in this review is go through every detail of the suit, and in some depth, but before I do that I wanted to touch on exactly what the Explore-R suit is, and who it is aimed at. And I want to do that because, to the uninitiated, the Explore-R might look like an 'adventure' suit; and certainly the design of the suit, particularly in this colourway, suggests that that is what it is. Heck, even the name of the suit suggests that 'adventuring' is what this suit has in mind.

But in our world this is no adventure suit, far from it. In our world, an adventure jacket will have either a removable, waterproof inner or it will come with no waterproof component at all.

And that's important because if you are going be travelling anywhere exotically warm or if you're going to be generating your own heat, perhaps off road, you don't want any kind of membrane anywhere near your body.

Rukka does offer just that type of suit; it's called the Trek-R, and it's a cracker. If you really did insist on having a laminated membrane incorporated into your adventure suit, then Rukka does another outfit called the R-Viss. It's much lighter than the Explore-R. It is just as well vented, and frankly if you wanted a laminate outfit suitable for adventure riding, it would perhaps be a little more appropriate than this one. Although we still wouldn't recommend it for the kind of riding I've spoken about.

And the answer is that it's more of a touring and commuting suit than an adventure one. It's like Rukka's Hybrid-R, but with better venting and a more colourful look.

Despite its excellent venting, the Explore-R is still better suited, however, to the cold and the wet than to the hot and the dry.

It will, I suspect, appeal to riders of big, adventure bikes like the BMW GS. The suit shouts 'adventure' in exactly the same way that bikes like the GS do. And, as you could with a GS, you could choose to cross a desert wearing an Explore-R; but neither would be the best tool for the job.

The reality is that the GS is the ultimate, go anywhere, do anything, all-year-round bike that is a bit of a jack of all trades without necessarily being a master of any. And the same might be said of the Explore-R. The Explore-R is a jacket that you could wear almost any time and go almost anywhere in. It is a bit of an all-rounder. It is the GS of motorcycle jackets.

Okay, I wouldn't want to wear the Explore-R for a crossing of the Sahara; but then again the GS might not be the best tool for that job either.

Anyway, let's take a closer look at the suit. We'll talk first about the jacket, then we'll look at the pants. After that you can decide whether it's the right suit for you.

The chassis of the jacket is a laminated one. A laminated garment will never 'wet out'. It will not absorb the rain, because the membrane is bonded onto the back of the outer fabric. Because a laminated jacket will not wet out, in heavy rain the rider will stay a bit warmer. And after many hours in the rain, a laminated jacket will dry out much faster than a drop-liner one, where the membrane hangs independently behind the protective outer shell.

Now the membrane in the Explore-R is a Gore-Tex one; and that means a couple of things.

First, it means the highest level of waterproofing (28,000 mm) and the highest level of breathability (25,000 g/m2 per hr). And that's pretty much as good as it gets. Other people may occasionally claim to be able to match the performance of Gore's membranes, but Gore-Tex is still the benchmark; the name you can trust.

More importantly, perhaps, Gore guarantees its membranes for life. If the membrane on a Gore-Tex product leaks, Gore will replace the product. And they will do that in 15 months' time or in 15 years. And it's a warranty that stands up.

And this is a particularly important consideration with garments with laminated membranes; and that's because laminated membranes are prone to failure. Or rather the taping on the seams is. Even a Gore-Tex laminated membrane can fail but, if it does, it's no big deal because Gore will simply replace the garment.

The bottom line here is that, in terms of waterproofing and staying dry, it simply doesn't get better than the Explore-R's set up.

When it comes to protection, Rukka in many ways is in a league of its own. The jacket is AA rated under EN17092. Now some people think that the CE rating, (A,AA or AAA), is an indicator of a garment's protective qualities, but whilst not irrelevant, the abrasion resistance of a garment's outer shell forms a minor part of the protection equation. Far more important in the majority of accidents, but not forming part of EN17092, is the armour.

And here Rukka comes to the fore. Its bespoke, Level 2, D3O armour is larger than anybody else's. It is huge. The jacket also comes with a super-long, back protector and a two-part chest protector that, likewise, is Level 2. Let me assure you; if after coming off the bike you come to an abrupt halt, for whatever reason, it's a Rukka suit you want to be wearing.

A laminated membrane doesn't always make for the most comfortable of jackets, but to counter this Rukka has incorporated lots of stretch material into the Explore-R's chassis. It's in the shoulders, across the chest, underneath and down the arms, and in the waist. This doesn't imbue the suit with Klim Marrakesh levels of flexibility, especially as one has to take into consideration the seven pieces of Level 2 D3O, but a bit of extra stretch can never do any harm.

Now venting is one of the Explore-R's strong suits. You get two large vents on the chest with flaps that can be pinned back, even when you're on the move, using Fidlock magnetic clasps.

You get Rukka's standard vents up the flanks, vents in the shoulders, incoming and outgoing vents on the arms and a long, zipped vent across the shoulders.

That makes for a fair amount of venting, but it doesn't matter how many vents you get on a laminated jacket, it's still going to fall well short of a jacket with no membrane.

Some people will suggest that the vents on a laminated jacket are more effective than the vents on a drop-liner one because they offer what is known as ‘direct-to-body’ venting, with no membrane to impede the flow of air. And that is true, but direct-to-body venting is a bit of a myth in that it ignores the fact that a laminated membrane stops any air passing through the jacket's outer fabric, as it can do on a drop-liner jacket. And that air passing through the jacket’s provides a cooling effect you simply don’t get on a laminated jacket.

As you might expect of a so-called adventure jacket, the Explore-R is replete with pockets. There are two on the outside; there's another one inside the jacket. Consider none of them to be more than water resistant. There's a pocket on the lower part of the back of the jacket. It's a mesh pocket for drying stuff out, but it will also house a water bladder. There's another small pocket at the bottom of the left sleeve for a credit or identity card.

Adjustability is another big thing on the Explore-R. In styling terms, obviously, the Explore-R is very much in the mould of a classic, adventure jacket. And so it sits a little longer in the body. With longer jackets it's important to be able to cinch the jacket in at the waist. And so, thankfully, you get robust, adjuster straps on both sides. They will do the job very effectively; but they would be even more effective, and much more comfortable, if they were elasticated!

You get volume adjusters on the biceps. Velcro adjuster flaps on the hem. And zips and Velcro flaps at the ends of the sleeves.

Talking about sleeves, one thing you get with the Explore-R that, in truth, you would never want on a proper, adventure jacket is Gore-Tex cuffs. These make it difficult for rain to ever get into your gloves. The problem is that Gore-Tex cuffs also make it impossible for air to run up the sleeves. And if you were riding somewhere hot, that cooler air would be very welcome. It's another feature that tells us that is not really an adventure jacket!

In many ways, everything else on the jacket is just detail.

So we're talking about a removable, Gore-Tex, storm collar. Neoprene lining the collar. A two-way zip to allow the jacket to splay a little on the bike. A full-length, connecting zip. A crotch strap. 3M reflective highlighting that includes the large 'R' on the back of the jacket. And loops that are designed to house the tube from a 1.5 litre, drinking bladder that can be carried in the rear pocket.

But when it comes to the bladder and the loops for a tube what you have to understand is that this is a design detail that is incorporated to create the impression that this is a jacket you could wear on an adventure. One might even suggest that it's a little cynical, although lots of brands perpetrate the same kind of little deceits!

As is nearly always the case with a suit, the Explore-R pant matches the Explore-R jacket in all aspects relating to fabrics and construction.

So we are talking about a 3-layer, laminated membrane. An AA-rating for abrasion and tear resistance. Huge, bespoke, Level 2 armour in the knees and hips. And so on.

You get incoming and outgoing vents on the thighs. Large, water-resistant, flap pockets. A zip pocket. An adjustable, waist belt. Rukka's Air cushion and Antiglide systems in the seat. Leather up the insides of the legs for better grip on the tank, a full-length, connecting zip and sturdy Defence braces.

For added comfort, there's stretch in the crotch, in the thighs, behind the knees and in the back yoke.

The legs on the Explore-R are wider than the legs on most Rukka pants. And the zips are a bit longer. Both to accomodate a larger, adventure boot.

As with most Rukka pants, the Explore-R trousers come in three leg lengths, although the UK importer won't be bringing in the long leg. But here's the thing. If you're wearing a tall, adventure boot, which you normally would with a suit like this, you can usually get way with a slightly shorter trouser. There won't be many people who need the longer leg, especially as it's a whole 7/8 cm longer than the regular leg. That having been said if somebody does need the long leg, we will be able to get it in. It might take a while, though!

As we have made clear, the Explore-R is not what we would think of as a genuine 'adventure' suit, even though it very much looks like one.

But it's still a helluva suit. You'll never get wet in the Explore-R; and it really is as protective as any suit that money can buy. There are some AAA-rated suits out there. There are even a few Gore-Tex ones, but none of those has armour like the Explore-R's. Which tends us to the view that, right now, the Explore-R is about as protective as a motorcycle suit gets.

If you have ideas of heading south in search of the sun, forget the Explore-R. Much above 25 degrees, and you will start to melt, despite all those vents.

Head north, by contrast, in search of colder and wetter climes and this is a suit that will look after you.

If you commute here in the UK all year round on your big, adventure bike, the Explore-R would make a lot of sense, but perhaps in the black version of the jacket rather than the brown one.

But what you do need to know, and you'll only really appreciate this when you try it on, is that this is one heavy-duty suit. It will definitely fit better, and wear more nicely, than Klim's unwieldy Badlands suit, but with its eleven pieces of humongous, Level 2, D3O armour the Explore-R might even be heavier than the Badlands.

This is not a suit to be taken lightly. It is not the right suit for the rider who does 3,000 miles a year, mostly at weekends, and mostly when the sun is out.

This is a suit for the serious rider who does big miles, all year round, and who wants a suit for the worst the elements can throw at them. This is a suit for the long haul.

If that's what you need, go for it, but don't buy it just because you think it's cool-looking, because it goes with your bike, because you think wearing a Rukka will win you credibility or just because you can afford it. Do that and you'll have to live with your mistake for a long time. Because Rukka suits go on and on. They last forever!

For more information and to buy online, click Rukka Explore-R 2.0 suit.