FS Rukka All Road, as new (U.S.)

[Jonathan Hanson]

I have a Rukka All Road jacket and liner, only worn for a magazine review several years ago, then stored, thus pretty much as new. $1300 retail, please read the entire review below. Size 38 Men's U.S. Asking $400 plus actual shipping cost. Thanks!

What makes the Rukka AllRoad worth $900 more than several jackets here? Honestly, I can’t tell you it’s worth $900 more—that’s strictly a personal decision. But I can try to tell you why it costs $900 more, and maybe that will help.
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First, the Rukka is made in Finland, where it costs more to make stuff than it does in large oriental countries. But that’s a comparatively minor point. Much more importantly, the AllRoad comprises a carefully considered suite of premium-quality fabrics, laminates, armor, and design features that add up to both a technological tour de force and a motorcycling garment that combines versatile weather-resistance, crash protection, and comfort in a way I doubted possible until I tried it.
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The AllRoad’s shell combines Cordura 500, Schoeller Dynatec, and stretch Cordura (all nylon derivatives) to achieve a wind- and abrasion-resistant outer layer of moderate weight—it’s middle of the pack at 4 pounds, 13 ounces. The Dynatec offers extra abrasion protection in contact areas such as forearms and shoulders, and the stretch Cordura keeps the arms and shoulders comfortable and flap-free at speed (augmented by snap sleeve adjusters). Each section of fabric is double-row stitched to its neighbor for strength. There’s a soft, zip-on, Gore-Tex-lined collar muff that fills in the drafty area between collar and helmet. The two bottom front pockets are also Gore-Tex-lined; the left chest pocket has a cunning, leashed insert that holds your passport. If a border official hassles you after you flourish your ID from that, the man is dead to the very concept of panache.
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The AllRoad’s sleek, waterproof liner jacket is protected with Gore-Tex, rather than a generic substitute or a cheaper polyurethane coating. Inside that is a soft, lightweight insulation called Outlast, which incorporates microcapsules of a substance that changes from a liquid to a solid state (known as “phase change”), depending on body temperature. Essentially the material has the capability to preserve body heat when you need it, and let it escape it when you don’t. The liner is very thin, but comfortable over a wide range of temperatures. (Small—no, mediumish—gripe: I could do without all the Outlast/Gore-Tex/Cordura logos stitched to the AllRoad’s shell. For $1,300 I shouldn’t feel like a walking product endorsement.)
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The Rukka passed my hose test; the only moisture to reach the liner entered through the arm vents, which are situated to scoop air and thus do so with water as well, even when closed. The liner itself remained inviolate. After several minutes of blasting the breathable outer shell did start to absorb and hold some moisture—to be expected of the construction.
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Nice features and excellent performance, to be sure. However, perhaps the single most impressive characteristic of the AllRoad is its armor. Despite EN 1621-1 certification, the RVP Air armor system—in the forearms and elbows, shoulders, and back—is so light, so breathable, and so flexible that I literally could not tell I was wearing an armored jacket. It’s not foam, but an open-grid-pattern, rubbery material called SBS (Ready?: Stureme Butadiene Styrene), which *feels extremely resilient despite being mostly air space. Compared to rivals that offer a taste of what it felt like to be a competitor in a Medieval jousting tournament, it’s an awesome achievement. The Rukka was far and away the most comfortable armored jacket in this review.
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And there’s where the question of value arises. The Rukka comes closer than any motorcycle jacket I’ve worn to achieving the impossible: an armored jacket that doesn’t feel armored, an insulated jacket that doesn’t feel bulky. Additionally, the construction is flawless, no matter how closely I looked. I freely admit to being a sucker for flawless construction. Whether that’s all worth the extra cash, only you can decide.
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Is the AllRoad perfect? No. For example, the main zipper is covered with a single flap unworthy of a jacket a quarter the price. Also, the sleeves and shoulders incorporate ventilation slots, but the jacket is devoid of an exhaust vent on the back, without which incoming air has nowhere to exit. On a near-90°F day I had to partially undo the main zipper to retain circulation through that wonderful airy back armor. Those whines aside, there’s no jacket here I’d be as likely to choose for a long, long trip.