Scott Dualraid DP
Jacket: UK £400.00 Pants: UK £280
Contact: www.scott-sports.com
What is it?
An adventure jacket and pants. With the usual removable liner and various vents (including chest, back, sleeves and thighs). Only it’s more than that. Much more.
Our thoughts
Can I say this? This is the adventure suit I’ve been waiting for. Unlike most adventure suits this one feels made for the dirt bike rider, rather than for the road rider. It’s much lighter than the usual fare and when it’s on you feel that lightness, it’s like wearing regular dirt kit (and that’s such a relief). That means it’s super comfortable and never too hot. An adventure suit made by dirt bike guys for sure.
It’s still good for the road though, as the basis of the suit is tough 500D Polyamide with double layering in key areas, plus the usual armour and there’s a significant degree of water and wind proofing. In the US I was riding in this suit in everything from sub-zero snow to the pretty warm Utah canyonlands and it was great in both. It’s waterproof too, but for serious downpours both Warren and I didn’t take chances and elected to wear Scott’s excellent Ergonomic Pro DP (packable) rain jacket over the top (with some standard walking kit Goretex trousers) and with this setup we were toasty and dry – but still mobile on the bike. Perfect!
The vents are excellent and easy to deploy with little magnets keeping the flaps in place. On the back there’s a pouch that’ll take a standard 2-litre water pack – and there are loops and holes to properly route the water tube too. If you wear a neck brace, the suit can accommodate that as well. The neck closure doesn’t chafe, the sleeves are long enough, there’s even a pocket for a timecard on your sleeve. The pants zip to the jacket if you want, which is something I like as you don’t want the jacket riding up if you take a skid along the hard top.
While you have all the usual armour inside there’s no back protector as standard, but I liked this as it meant I could wear my back and chest protector of choice. And when the suit gets dirty it’s an easy 30º machine wash to clean – two washes and its still coming up like new each time. Seven months I’ve had this suit now and it’s all good – I even wear it on my CBR600 road bike because it is so comfortable and versatile.
One negative – the closure on the bottom of the trousers is just a little too tight to ease over motocross boots. It can be done but everything is getting stretched more than seems good for longevity. I’d like to see this made more generous when Scott update this suit. But that’s about all I’d want changing.
All told, this is the best adventure suit I’ve worn, especially for those of us who like adventuring more off-road than on. It’s fit for purpose and looks great. And the price point, given the stratospheric tickets found on some comparables, is very reasonable for the quality and features it packs. That said – and this leaves me sore – Warren’s grey/olive combo looks so much better than my black/orange suit. Next time, I get to pick the colours! And yes, Warren loves his suit too, five stars is his (shorter) evaluation.
UPDATE 2020:
As you can see from the images, I got a second 2020 edition of the suit. It’s the same suit, just in new colours. And now, not looking like a KTM brochure model I’m super happy.
Jon Bentman
