Rukka Trek-R pants in grey / black

As the name would suggest, this pant is the matching lower half to an adventure jacket called the Trek-R jacket. Now in the world of adventure riding, which is a classification that covers everybody who rides an adventure bike, there are two basic types of adventure suit. There are adventure suits with fixed membranes, and there are adventure suits with removable membranes. 

Those with fixed membranes are not, in our view, ‘proper’ adventure suits. They may look as though they are ready for an adventure. They may have lots of pockets, they may have lots of vents, they may be light-coloured or earth-toned in their design, but really such suits are simply touring and commuting suits created in the adventure style. Proper adventure suits have removable membranes, and this is so that you can keep cool when the going gets hot; that is when the temperature soars, or when you are working hard off road.

The Trek-R pant, therefore, is a proper adventure pant. The outer shell is a relatively lightweight 500 denier Cordura, although this is supplemented on the knees and hips with panels of stronger 1500 denier Cordura. 

For protection, you get Rukka’s huge, Level 2 D30 in the knees and the hips. Ventilation comes courtesy of incoming, and outgoing, vents at the front and back of the thighs. There are two sets of pockets on the Trek-R pant; a set of higher-level zip pockets, and a pair of larger, cargo-style pockets on the thighs; the right one being water resistant.

There’s an adjustable belt at the waist, but we always to prefer to wear a motorcycle pant slightly loose, and suspend them from the shoulders with a set of braces. Rukka’s Defence braces do not come as standard with the Trek-Rs. The bottom of the legs can be opened wide to allow an off-road boot to be worn inside the pant. A long zip and a Velcro flap at the hem will allow this to be easily achieved. Obviously, there’s a full width zip that will allow you to connect the pant to any Rukka jacket.

The waterproof liner is made from a three-layer Gore-Tex stretch material, and the beauty of the stretch component is that it will allow the liner to be worn on the inside, or the outside, of the pant. Heat-resistant leather patches run up the legs to protect the material from the heat of the exhaust. This leather extends into the seat area to prevent sliding on the saddle. The seat is equipped with what Rukka calls their AirCushion system. This adds some comfort, but also allows the pant to breathe more easily to prevent water ingress. Finally, stretch panels in the crotch, in the thighs, above the knees, and in the back, serve to make the pants easier to live with.

The Trek-R is a fabulous, proper, adventure suit. Everything has been designed around making life as comfortable as possible when riding in extreme conditions. And that applies equally to the Trek-R jacket, and this Trek-R pant.