PRICE COLOUR
SIZES
Jacket $ 549; Pants $ 379 Blue / sand, Silver, Black S to 5XL
CONTACT: www. nwa. co. nz
Photos: Andrew Gosling
PRICE COLOUR
SIZES
Jacket $ 549; Pants $ 379 Blue / sand, Silver, Black S to 5XL
RST’ s Adventure III suit is for those riders who don’ t just ride on tar-seal but enjoy getting away from it on gravel roads, and beyond. I used this suit for a hot, dusty and humid ride on the launch of Suzuki’ s 2017 V-Strom launch. This was a tour of some of the dustiest, sandiest roads and trails that Northern Queensland has to offer. The outer shell of both the jacket and pants is made from heavy duty 500D Cordura and Ballistic 1660 material that’ s double and triple stitched in high stress areas. The jacket features CE Approved armour for the back, elbows and shoulders, while the pants get CE Approved knee armour. There are removable thermal and waterproof linings. The waterproof lining is Sinaqua which offers 10,000mm / cm2 of waterproofing and 5000g / m2 / 24hrs of breathability. What does it mean? Well, that’ s a pretty decent waterproof rating and ok breathability for a zip-out waterproof lining. I’ m not normally keen on removable waterproof linings for general road use, but the benefits of this kind of system suit hotter, more active environments. When riding reasonably slowly in tougher terrain and it’ s hot, the removable lining type of suit allows for far more breathability and airflow to keep the rider cool compared to a material with a bonded waterproof outer fabric. With both the thermal and waterproof linings removed, and all of the vents open, I found the suit nicely comfortable to wear even in the 30-odd degree Aussie heat. I could easily feel the air coming through the vent mesh, cooling me down; it’ s clear the Adventure III suit is focused on hot weather performance. There’ s also an elasticated under-crotch strap to stop the jacket rising up. There are a heap of pockets, including four in the pants, while the jacket gets two internal and two external as well as a removable bumbag / rear pocket. On the venting front, there’ s a huge range from mild to fully vented, with vents on the chest, back, full-length arms, full thigh and‘ exhaust ports’ on the back. If you can’ t stay cool in this suit, it’ s stubbies and vest as riding wear for you.
It’ s well cut and well spec’ d and at $ 549 for the jacket and $ 379 for the pants, the Adventure III suit is certainly good value for money, which has become something of an RST trademark.
~ BEN WILKINS
CONTACT: www. nwa. co. nz
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