The opportunity to test gear isn’t something I take lightly, since reviews are the first thing I go to when looking to spend my hard-earned money. As someone who typically wears out his gear completely before buying new, I jumped at the chance to test some of the new MSR Xplorer ADV gear from RMATV. I was particularly interested to see how well it worked because the gear I was wearing before this was their 2018 RMATV A.R.C Battle Born jacket and pants. I put down a lot of miles in this suit, to the point where the Velcro closures at the wrist are both non-existent.
… and here it’s on test on a very hot day. Glen found it vented well. Photo: Zac Kurylyk
Construction details
The jacket and pants are both made with eVent DV Expedition 3-layer fabric that is both breathable and waterproof. MSR adds Superfabric in the key wear areas, like shoulders, elbows and knees. The removable armor is D30 CE Level 1 in shoulders, elbows, back, knee and hips. All zippers are waterproof-rated on pockets and vents. The main closure is a YKK Vision Waterproof zipper with a double flap as extra protection to keep out the wind and water. There is more than adequate high visibility reflective fabric for those rainy or night rides.
The jacket comes with a slot for a hydration pack (which I can tell you will also fit a two-pack of tomahawk steaks, should you forget your backpack).
For context, I’m a five-foot-10, 200-pound rider with a 34-inch waist, 30-inch inseam and 34/35-inch sleeve in a dress shirt and I found the Large jacket to be an ideal fit. The 34-inch regular-length pants were a bit tight, with details of that fitment noted below.
Superfabric reinforces the high-stress areas on the Xplorer gear. Photo: Zac Kurylyk
The Old vs. The New
One of the things that first jumped out at me was how stiff the new jacket and pants felt. With cold weather riding in front of me when I received the gear, I didn’t see how I would be able to layer under it. After breaking in the jacket though, this is no longer an issue. The pants are another story however, but it could be because I never skip leg day. Joking aside, for decades now I haven’t worn anything other than a base-layer underneath riding pants. The only exception is when I need to layer up for a mid-winter scoot to scratch the riding itch, so this really isn’t an issue. YMMV.
Looking back, I would order a waist size or two up from your regular pant size if that’s a concern as they fit true to size in the waist and hips and for me. I tend to wear my riding pants higher up than my regular jeans so that’s probably the primary issue. This isn’t really a deficiency of the equipment, but rather a deficiency of the guy who placed the order. Another item in the pants that was immediately noticeable is that the MSR version was missing any elastic in the waistband which the old A.R.C version had, a nice feature for those days when you’re carrying a little extra weight from a mid-ride meal.
Most of my time in the pants and jacket was spent in temperatures from the mid-60s through the mid-80s with high humidity. I can honestly say for that the Xplorer kit did an excellent job of flowing lots of air, considering it is full protection, non-mesh gear. Don’t get me wrong—it was still warm, but that’s to be expected. Zip up the vents and snug up the hook and loop cuffs as the sun was setting and things are just right as the night air chills. An almost perfect jacket for peak riding season in Atlantic Canada.
Glen advises going up a size in the pants if you’re going to be wearing a heavy liner underneath in cold weather. Photo: Zac Kurylyk
Being very familiar with the A.R.C kit (over five seasons with it), it was nice to see some minor improvements in the pocket system including a nice hand warmer side pocket underneath the main front pockets on the jacket. It didn’t take me long to find the key pocket, the wallet pocket etc. Nothing ground-breaking here, just some nice minor upgrades in the jacket pocket system and no major misses. The neck hook=and-loop closure also does a nice job of keeping wind and rain out when combined with my usual Buff on colder rides.
It remains to be seen how the waterproofing will hold up, but initial impressions were great and on the weeklong trip with this gear I never actually had to bring out the rain gear despite running through downpours. I also did a 45-minute ride in some particularly foul rain and the jacket and pants never let a drop in… again, I am not sure this will be the case over time, but I was pleasantly surprised. As is common with other breathable fabrics, one of the requirements to maintain the water proofing is to regularly wash gear, which shouldn’t be an issue thanks to the removable armor.
A lot of this test was on gravel and even fairly tight dirt two-track. Photo: Zac Kurylyk
The jacket and pants make a legit piece of ADV touring kit and over the course of my test I contend that I was able to put them through most conditions that buyers will find themselves in who are shopping in this price-point. Clearly a preferential thing, but the overall look of the grey kit when matched with the white MSR helmet is something both myself and other riders liked the look of.
Current pricing on RMATV’s MSR Xplorer jacket is $419.99 and up; the MSR Xplorer pants are $359.99. See more details on the lineup here, and below, with an explanation of some of the gear’s technical features.
