Rukka RPS AFT D3O shirt

This is the new-for-2022 iteration of Rukka’s RPS AFT jacket.

It’s a very specific bit of kit that will be useful for some, but next to useless for most.

It is an armoured under-shirt. Now, in theory, you could wear it beneath a casual outer jacket in order to achieve high levels of impact protection, but that’s not really why you would wear one of these. It would OTT used in this way and, frankly, there are better options out there if this is how you want to ride. Both Bowtex and Pando Moto do armoured under garments. They would be lighter and nicer to wear than the Rukka and, more importantly, they would deliver a certain degree of abrasion resistance. So, if what you want is protective layers for road riding, the Rukka RPS AFT is not for you.

This particular jacket is very much aimed at the off-road rider. It is classified as a  ‘C’ garment under EN 17092. And that means it is a carrier of armour and little else. It offers virtually no abrasion resistance, and so to wear it under a casual jacket would still leave you under protected.

When you ride off-road, abrasion resistance tends to be less of an issue. One tends not to slide down the road at great speed when you’re riding off the beaten track. What is important is impact protection, because far more likely is that you’ll hit something. And so what you need are protectors that will absorb the energy in the event of a coming together with something hard and immovable!  

The Rukka RPS AFT jacket comes equipped with D3O’s latest Level 2 LPro protectors. They are fitted in pockets in the elbows, on the shoulders, in the back and across the chest. It won’t make you invincible, and it won’t ensure you don’t break something, but all the most vulnerable areas of the upper body will be covered.

The armour is D3O’s most vented, and this is important because if you’re working hard of road you will be getting hot. The venting in the armour will allow cooling air to reach the body, and will also make it easier to sweat, which of course is the body’s natural mechanism for cooling itself down. The jacket, if one can call it that, is made of a strong mesh, so it too will aid venting and breathability.

The jacket contains a lot of stretch as it is designed to be be worn tight. And it needs to fit tightly because the whole idea is that the armour will be kept anchored in position. And that’s important because if you do part company with the bike the armour will be able to protect the parts that it’s meant to protect.

What you wear over it is a personal choice. There will be times when a lightweight breathable shirt will be totally appropriate. Or it might be a lightweight, over jacket, either with or without some kind of waterproof component.

There are jackets on the market like the Knox Urbane Pro, but that is aimed more at the about-town rider, as the armour is only Level 1. The RPS AFT is not designed for the casual rider. It is a serious bit of kit for serious off-road riding.

Some off-road armour suits come with hard outer shells, but the main role of armour is not to prevent penetration as much as to absorb energy. And so we would suggest that this jacket gives you all the protection you will need. Importantly, it does so without impairing mobility. Jacket with hard shell protectors may might make you look like an invincible comic-book hero, but this jacket is nicer to wear and easier to ride in. And if something is nicer to ride in, you might just be able to avoid an accident in the first place.

We have decided to offer the RPS AFT jacket because we know that, for some riders, it is the right garment, but we think that most riders most of the time will be better off with something like the Klim Marrakesh. The Klim would be much better on-road. It is highly abrasion resistant, delivering an impressive AA rating under EN 17092. It will flow large amounts of air because, in essence, the whole garment flows air. The stretch in the fabric makes it one of the nicest and most comfortable motorcycle jackets ever. We love this jacket, and for us it forms the basis of a system that will allow you to be optimally comfortable in all conditions and in all temperatures.

But it is different to the Rukka. The Rukka will flow even more air obviously, and the armour is Level 2, as opposed to the Level 1 D30 in the Klim. Of course, the Rukka also has a chest protector.

It’s a matter of horses for courses. For some the Klim will be the one; for others it will be the Rukka.