Rukka Coriace 2.0 jacket in black

The Rukka Coriace is a laminated, waterproof, leather suit. And in that it is unique. The thinking behind it is impeccable, if somewhat niche. There are those who like to wear leather, but who would like some degree of waterproofing should it rain. The problem with any leather garment is that the material is hydrophilic, meaning that it will will suck moisture in; and this isn’t great in the rain. A drop-liner membrane may keep the wearer dryer for a little longer, but won’t prevent wetting out. And so there are those who, historically, have thought that the solution would be to laminate a waterproof membrane to the leather. A number of people have tried this including Rukka with their Merlin suit and, more recently, with the original Coriace R. Well, this is the new version, the Coriace 2.

One of the key problems with laminating a membrane to a fabric is that it makes it stiffer. That can be bad enough on a textile garment, but with a leather one the result can be almost unwearable. The original Coriace R fell into that category, hence the Coriace 2. But there is a problem, in our view. The original was not nice to wear, but frankly the new version is not much better. It may be made from thinner leather, have more stretch panels, and come fitted with lighter armour, but in a world where rideability is inexorably linked to comfort, the Coriace scores poorly.

The Coriace 2 jacket is made from a perforated, aniline leather. The membrane that is laminated to the leather is, unusually for Rukka, not from Gore-Tex. You get two external, water-resistant pockets, a removable neck collar, concertina stretch at the elbows, stretch panels under the arms, ventilation zips up the flanks, zips at the sleeve ends, Gore-Tex style waterproof cuffs, a zip-out thermal liner, adjusters at the waist and a connecting zip.

The D3O Level 1 armour comes as standard in the elbows, shoulders and back. The jacket is rated AA under EN17092