Adventure motorcycle jacket buying guide | Why globetrotters all wear them and how to find yours

When you’re packing up for an adventure ride, your motorcycle jacket is one of the most important pieces of adventure kit to consider. Chances are you’ll be basically living in it the whole time, so before you head out you have to ask yourself if it truly is ready for anything your trip could throw at you.

Will it keep you cool while you repair a puncture in the scorching sun? Would it work as a makeshift camping tent if yours got stolen? Does it offer enough crash protection to reduce the risk of a major injury in a remote location?

Adventure jackets are meant to be technical all-in-one garments, as their riders demand rugged protection and all-day comfort in a huge range of riding environments. They will offer ventilation for hot rides, a thermal lining for cool ones, a waterproof and breathable membrane/lining for riding comfort, and lots of pockets for storage.

What to consider before buying

Breathability

The first to consider when looking at adventure motorcycle jackets is breathability. Unless you’re heading across the country in a hurry, riding on the road tends to be a relatively relaxed affair. But off-road, it’s much harder work, as using your legs to absorb all the surface irregularities is just like doing squats for hours on end. Handling an adventure bike off road is much more physically demanding, so you’ll need a jacket that has decent vents to get as much cooling airflow in as possible.

Removable liner

You also want to be able to warm up a little if, for example, you have an early start to get to the top of the trail before sunrise, so a removable thermal liner is pretty much essential for a motorcycle jacket made for adventure. And of course, it can – and probably will – rain on you at some point, so some form of waterproofing is also necessary. It can be built into the outer layer (as a treatment or a membrane), but this can leave it vulnerable to damage by vegetation, for example, so many use a removable waterproof and breathable lining as well to allow maximum airflow in when it is removed.

Related: Best adventure motorcycle helmets

Armour

Low-speed tumbles are a common occurrence off-road, so you need to know that the jacket’s armour is well located, and that it doesn’t move out of place. Shoulder and elbow protection are standard on most jackets, but look for additional back or chest armour for a higher level of protection.

CE Rating

As with any clothing, if you’re going to be using it on the road, then look for CE ratings – both for the garment overall (the more A’s, the better), and armour ratings (CE Level-2 is better than Level-1). Some adventure jackets are available with built-in airbag technology and the In&motion system now includes an ‘Adventure’ profile that will allow the knocks and jolts that accompany an off-road ride without triggering the airbag deployment.

Read our guide to motorcycle clothing CE ratings here.

The best adventure motorcycle jackets

About the testers

Michael Guy – MCN’s Sports Editor and consummate racing aficionado, he’s also appeared on numerous podcasts, has delivered live race commentary from the booth, and has competed in trials, enduro, rally and track racing to a high level. For this page, he tested the Alpinestars AMT-10R Drystar XF.

Justin Hayzelden – MCN’s Products Editor and resident bike kit guru, Justin has covered hundreds of thousands of miles on two wheels both at work and in his personal life. In this page, he tested the Rev’it Poseidon 3 GTX, and the RST Pro Series Adventure-X Airbag.

Michael Neeves – MCN’s Chief Road Tester, covering tens of thousands of miles all over the globe each year. For this page, he tested the Alpinestars Bogota Pro.

Ben Clarke – Deputy Head of Digital, Ben has worked at MCN since 2018 testing bikes and kit every opportunity he gets. For this page he tested a Bell Race Star DLX Flex, Shoei Ex-Zero, Arai Quantic and HJC V10.

Ali Silcox – MCN’s Office Manager, she loves nothing more than loading her bike up with kit and disappearing off for a solo adventure. For this page she tested the Rev’it Sand H20 Ladies.

Carl Stevens – Road tester and national level racer, he’s worked within the industry as a motorcycling journalist for several titles since 2015, and has covered a host of new bike launches, events, and interviews since then. For this page he tested the Alpinestars Andes V3.

How MCN tests adventure jackets

Here at MCN, we make it our mission to help you find the right kit for you, at the right price for your budget. We don’t crash test (on purpose), nor lab test; there’s no substitute for just putting in the miles with them. We test our jackets the same way you’ll use yours, by riding. And, we make sure to put at least 1000 miles in them before sharing our findings. Our word is backed by hundreds of thousands of miles in the saddle collectively, but our recommendations come from each tester individually.

While testing, we mainly focus on comfort, looks, build quality, protection, and value. When we write up our full reviews, we’ll give each jacket a rating out of five stars in each of these categories, and offer a final verdict too. This page is only for the best adventure motorcycle jackets, so every jacket you’ll see has been awarded at least four stars overall – that’s the passing grade – but here’s what each score really means:

1 star – Poor performance in this category or overall. A jacket with a single star rating has fallen below the expected standard and should be avoided.
2 stars – Basic performance in this area or overall. A jacket with a two-star rating has managed to perform to a barely acceptable level, and there is much room for improvement.
3 stars – An average performance in this area or overall. A jacket with a three-star rating has achieved a basic level of performance and is deemed adequate.
4 stars – A jacket has performed over and above the accepted averaged in this category or overall. A jacket with a four-star rating has surpassed expectation and delivered in a particularly impressive way.
5 stars – A jacket has performed at the highest possible level in a particular category or overall. A jacket with a five-star rating has delivered to the highest possible level, impressing the tester with its performance. We would happily spend our own money on it.

To find out more, head to our dedicated page explaining how we test motorcycle products.

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