Rukka "Marco" Jacket

I have spent many months in search of a jacket that ticks all the boxes , not too long or too short , fits around my neck and arms , doesn`t ride up at the back or bunch up around the front whilst on a bike , the usual stuff . I tried Hein Gericke to no avail (that shop in chester is the hottest shop on Earth - I was seriously dehydrated coming out of there) . Frank Thomas gear just didn`t fit the bill at all with something not quite right in the fit department (shoulders too tight or arms too tight) . Anything made by the Italians just seemed to be FOR Italians , not great big 6ft 2 Badgers like me ....... it started to get depressing to say the least and I started to resign myself to looking like a sack of potatoes on a bike .

I commute to work daily and use my bike for pleasure here in North Wales .... and we all know that means some very severe weather . Snow , Rain , a Tad of sunshine and sweltering heatwaves , followed by hail , stones , Frogs , plagues of Locusts ....... and thats just the Summer . So my gear needs to be all year round gear . I gave up and popped in to Colwyn Bay Motorcycles to check out their Halvarssons equipment , all very nice but not in my size , the lad there suggested Rukka and right away I could feel my bank account whimpering like a kicked Dog and retreating to somewhere safe ........ Like Mars or Jupiter . I said no and he persisted with "look your here now and may as well throw it on for good measure ...... Damn him , Damn him to hell and back .

The second I put an arm into the jacket I knew it was for me , The jacket was zipped up and adjustments were made to take up any slack in the arms and waist and the sales lad had that look on his face as if to say "see , told ya" ...... I headed for the Mirror and stopped . The sunbeams hit my form , choirs of angels started to sing and Bluebirds floated down a banner from the skies with the words "Perfection Achieved" . The jacket has a neoprene collar to stop that Trickle from ruining your day , cuffs that can fit over bulky gloves , a cut out in front of the "Man" area so the jacket doesn`t bunch up at the front when on a bike . Rukka AIR system Armour is provided on Back , Shoulders and Elbows .... a side note here is that the armour is honeycombed to be light but still provide the protection required . The collar velcroes up and has a neat tab on it to velcroe it to itself if the jacket is left open a bit , this stops it from rasping against your jacket and furring it up if you choose to ride like this .

There is the obligatory zip out lining , 3 exterior pockets (not waterproof but the internal pockets are) , waist and hem adjustment and zips for joining to trousers . It has a Cordura construction with Gore Tex Liner to resist all weather thrown at you , the outside is also treated with something to stop the water soaking into the Cordura and there are 3M Scotchlite logos and piping on the jacket to reflect back any light at night that is cast upon it . I hung my head and decided that I would take it off and start the haggling process .

"Well then we can obviously see that this is the jacket for me , how badly do you want to sell it to me?" , he made some calculations and did that fake thinking thing they do . The jacket was 400 quid , he mentioned how much I was willing to pay for it . "As close to 300 quid you can get" , he was horrified and said there wasn`t much markup on these as dealers were few and far between and Rukka kept a close eye on things . He did some more thinking , of the fake variety and said "350 quid is about all I can do on it but the boss may lower it a bit more" . So off I go to see Justin , Justin and I always talk about Mountain Bikes and trails we have ridden so it`s good to natter with him .

I walk over with the jacket in hand and place it on the counter in front of him , and he instantly halts whatever he is doing as he knows what`s coming next ...... "Justin my old Mucker , no `messing` about , no stupid offers , get to the bottom price you can do this at" . He taps in the code number on his computer , grasps a calculator and taps in a few quick numbers and utters "330 quid mate" . A tray is dropped in the background , His father faints , people inhale sharply and the bank account peers out from behind Mars . I tell him to put it to one side and I will be back for it later .

That evening I hit the Net and search every nook and cranny for a better price (just in case) and come up with the princely discount of 6.99 , not even worth the time and effort . I sleep very badly that night with Rukka logos floating in and out of my dreams and I get up after a fruitless and restless night . I go back to the shop and they bring the jacket out , I whistle for the bank account and it comes out from behind Mars and walks towards me slowly and rolls over on the counter for a belly rub "There There girl it`ll be fine" . I pay for it and mention that I`ll be back for the trousers before the Autumn and want a deal on them too , the Bank Account Yelps and heads for the next Galaxy ......... "Arf Arf arf arffffff"

Well so far I have ridden in the most horrendous weather this week , not the best weather for biking but the best weather to test this out . It kept me dry as the weather did it`s best to infiltrate the jacket between Telford and London last week , rain so bad I was wiping the visor every 10 seconds and dodging cyclone whipped carboard boxes on the M1 . I was dry , relaxed , less tired , warm and most of all ...... laughing at the weather and then the laughter stopped as I forgot about weather forever and got on with what I wanted to do , munch some miles and ride my bike

Thoroughly recommended and gets a 9/10 from me , lack of waterproof pockets on the outside loses it a point .

[embee]

I got some Rukka stuff a couple of years ago from a German store, A-Tech which was being superceded so selling off stock. I have to say the only bits which have got wet were sleeve ends where I didn't get the glove/sleeve right. It is nice stuff.

Great write up and your bartering techniques certainly paid off. Shame about the waterproof pockets but at least you are pleased with the rest of the jacket. It certainly looks good

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by xXBADGERXx

Wrote a book...

Great review matey. Do you look as sexy as the guy in the photo wearing it?

If you mean by tall , rugged , chiselled features , probably owns a Ferrari from his modelling wages ....... and probably smells of expensive aftershave , Then I fit one of these statements .


I`m Tall and that`s about it :P
And of course I wrote a book , wouldn`t be a xXBADGERXx review of proceedings if it wasn`t told in my own special way

[Biker Biggles]

A mate of mine got one of them for £80.
Very impressed with it too.
I should add it was second hand though!

[breakz187]

Where about did you find it for 6.99 cheaper? I need a decent online supplier for some rukka stuff. Dont know if i can wait until the NEC show to see if i can get a discount. Its raining too frequently.

It wasn`t 6.99 cheaper anywhere else . 6.99 was all I could find off the retail price total . My local shop did way better than ANYWHERE else in the world . I saw Rukka`s stand last year and they were charging retail ...... didn`t see anywhere else discounting or even selling it