Gear review: Rukka Energator suit

There is nothing better than Rukka riding gear, in my book. I’ve had a few sets of riding gear over the years, including some top-end suits, and Rukka’s stands out as the pick of them. So I’ve gone into the testing of Rukka’s Energator adventure-riding suit with very high expectations.

Rukka markets this as an adventure-riding suit but it’s more flexible than that in both its form and function. As soon as I tried it on I realised the cut was good for anything but the sportiest bikes. The jacket is shaped for anything from an upright riding position to a gentle sports-touring crouch, and the pants allow unimpeded bending at the hips and knees for anything bar rearset footpegs.

As for the look, the Energator is a thoroughly modern, extremely stylish looking riding suit that’s plain enough to not vie with your bike for attention but flash enough to impress.

So I’ve worn the jacket on bikes ranging from a Multistrada Enduro to an XDiavel and it has been excellent.

In all conditions, the Energator is tough and weatherproof. It’s Gore-Tex Pro outer material is a laminate of Cordura, GoreTex and a thin liner. Not only is it abrasion-resistant, it is absolutely waterproof, so you never have to fuss around with inner layers when the weather changes. To me, this is a massive win in the design stakes.It works, too: the materials and excellent design keep you completely dry.

Removable thermal liners for both jacket and pants add to the warmth when the weather is cool enough to justify it. Except in extreme conditions when it drops below zero, you don’t need more than thermal undies and a light pullover underneath — this is amazingly effective cold-weather clothing.

The Energator is less suited to riding on a hot day, though. It has some vents, but the Energator suit is not as open as some adventure-riding suits. Rukka does have mesh gear you can add to the ensemble if a warm-weather outback trip is on the agenda, but on its own the Energator is better when to temperatures below about 30°C.

The main sections of the outer layer get their strength from Cordura but the more vulnerable areas such as elbows, shoulders and knees are protected by Armacor, a more heavily abrasion-resistant material constructed from 700-denier Cordura and Kevlar; every fourth thread is Kevlar, laid in a grid. Inside you’ve got D3O Air armour in all the requisite positions.

This is the kind of suit that lasts a decade if you look after it — and heaps longer than run-of-the-mill gear even if you don’t.

The Energator’s price puts it right up among the top-shelf riding suits but it will out-perform, out-last and out-do everything on the next shelf down, and is at least the equal of what’s level with it. I make that last comment simply to be cautious, in case there is actually something as good that I haven’t tried. In my own experience, as I said, nothing’s better.

Pay the money for an Energator suit and not only will the quality last long after the price has been forgotten, you won’t need to replace it until you’d have been through several cheaper suits.

DETAILS
Sizes: 46–66 (XS–5XL) with long/short options on pants
Colours: Black, black/blue, black/safety
Current pricing and info: innotesco.com.au, 0414 814 194