Extreme Weather (Driving Rain and Snow) MSR Xplorer Adventure Motorcycle Jacket and Pants Test
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- Опубликовано: 28 авг 2024
- The new MSR Xplorer adventure motorcycle jacket and adventure motorcycle pants from Rocky Mountain ATV/MC are supposed to be a low-cost alternative to higher-end brands like Klim. This gear in particular is a direct challenger to the Klim Carlsbad ADV jacket and pants, but it costs just over half as much. Can a budget friendly set of adventure motorcycle gear actually be good? Will it stand up to the rigors of dual sport and adv motorcycle riding? I set out to find out with this extreme test of the MSR Xplorer jacket, pants, and gloves. I tested the MSR Explorer gear in driving rain on the highway, sleet, and full on snow in the woods, culminating with the most EXTREME test of waterproof motorcycle gear: the snow angel.
After all this, my MSR Xplorer gear review is incredibly positive. This adventure motorcycle jacket and pants kept me dry and warm throughout my multi-hour winter weather adventure. The features are comparable to the Klim Carlsbad but at half the price. This MSR adv gear gets my HIGHEST recommendation.
Stay tuned for a full MSR Xplorer Jacket and Pants review in the future, but for now, I very much recommend checking out what I think might be the best value in adventure motorcycle jackets and pants.
MSR Xplorer Jacket: bit.ly/3ZIPCjg
MSR Xplorer Pants: bit.ly/3XnE2IE
MSR ADV Cold Weather Gloves: bit.ly/3jsKhfx
MSR Xplorer Mid Layer Jacket: bit.ly/3XThqA4
MSR Dual Sport/ADV Socks: bit.ly/3lbjHZa
Video editing by Samuel of One Fuse Media. Contact him at contact@onefusemedia.com for all your video editing needs!
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MSR Gear in this video:
MSR Xplorer Jacket: bit.ly/3ZIPCjg
MSR Xplorer Pants: bit.ly/3XnE2IE
MSR ADV Cold Weather Gloves: bit.ly/3jsKhfx
MSR Xplorer Mid Layer Jacket: bit.ly/3XThqA4
MSR Dual Sport/ADV Socks: bit.ly/3lbjHZa
(affiliate links)
wish they had the pants in 44 or 46 and I would go for the set, but I gotta stick with my sedici Marco set for this riding season
Great teview Ben! Curious on your thoughts specifically on the gloves. No water leaks on the highway, and were they plenty warm. Over here in Idaho things are still pretty Chilli in early spring and late fall.
I think you’ve just sold a lot of gear for them. How does this perform in heat though? Would love something that’s at least 3 season, one of them being “dear lord, Idaho isn’t supposed to be this hot” weather
Good review!
Since you mentioned it in your video, here's a little background on Gore-Tex (waterproof, breathable fabrics). I worked for W.L.Gore & Associates (maker of Gore-Tex), so I write with a great deal of knowledge.
Gore-Tex is a membrane laminated between layers of woven fabric. The membrane is made from ePTFE (expanded PolyTetraFluoroEthelene; full density PTFE is best known by the DuPont trade-name Teflon); think of ePTFE as "fluffy Teflon". The "magic" making the fabric both waterproof AND breathable is the pore size when expanding the PTFE. Since liquid water has surface tension (i.e. it beads-up), but water-vapor does not have surface tension, it's a matter of creating pores in the membrane that stop water from entering, but allow water-vapor (in the form of evaporating perspiration) to escape, thus leaving the wearer dry, even during high intensity activities when the wearer might be dry from the elements, but get wet from their own perspiration evaporating then condensing on a non-breathable membrane in their outerwear.
The challenge with Gore-Tex is water pressure; rain falling from the sky has a relatively low terminal velocity so the sub-microscopic pores in the membrane can be relatively large for golf-wear or jogging-wear (making Gore-Tex fabrics intended for these uses very "breathable"). OTOH, fabrics designed for motorcycling require smaller pores (since riding in a downpour at 70 mph/110 kph results in more water pressure than rain falling from the sky).
Bottom line: not all Gore-Tex is created equally (e.g. Gore-Tex membranes intended for golfing are not the same as Gore-Tex membranes intended for motorcycling). Although the patent on this technology expired, IMHO Gore does it better (i.e. controlling pore size for specific applications) than imitators.
Probably more than most people care to read, but for those techno-geeks in the audience... enjoy!
I very much appreciate the very thorough overview and explanation.
Awesome insight Daniel, thank you for sharing! Goretex is so good there's song about it! Goretex by Sir Mix-a-lot lol. I have several Goretex garments and I love em. Dork, I can't wait to see your side by side comps to the Klim gear. I have accumulated some Klim stuff over the years, most of it has been good.
Thanks for all the geeky details.
Love it! Thank you!
I love this level of info from someone in the know. Thanks for adding your $0.03 worth.
People should realize that what you are doing to produce content is super hard work.
I appreciate your appreciation.
Wow great test ride !! Thoroughly enjoyed it ! I can not believe how wet those Oregon puddles are, our Washington puddles are far less wet !! 😂
World record wettest puddles out there, for sure.
I’ve actually been comparing MSR vs Klim, so thx for the review! You are an iron butt to ride for 3 hours in that slop. This was indeed helpful. 👍
Loved this video! I'm a Texas rider so we don't see snow like that and I truly appreciate what you must have gone thru for this video! Thanks!!
It was fun, mostly ;)
Nice!
Looking forward to the side by side comparison and the in-depth review.
Even better that the mute button is that you come with a pause button. I don’t have to miss what you say or do because of other distractions. And, I can rewind if I did miss something. Lol
Cool review. I will definitely keep that gear in mind for upcoming purchases. ✌️
exactly,I never mute him, but pause many times so I don't miss anything.
What’s great about these Gore-Tec similar products is that they were created based on Gore-tec technology after their patent expired. It’s pretty much the same thing or nearly comparable without needing to give up your first born to wear Klim. Great vid dork!
I bought a pair of the pants, no need for a new jacket yet. So far so good. Higher quality than anything else in the price range I know of. The venting seems to actually be designed well which is nice.
Great Review Dork! I was watching and hoping for that last minute of video at home to find out if that driving rain soaked through and got you wet.. AWESOME REVIEW! Man be careful out there riding in the snow alone. I ride the Capital Forest near Olympia WA in the winter and I’ve been caught in those conditions a few times, scary to say the least.
Great vid Ben!!! Appreciate how many peoples’ comments you replied to! You’re back in your groove…please keep it going!
Looks great. I think this is the year that I buy some actual solid stuff like this.
I've had my fill of pulling over under an overpass to put something on after I'm already wet.
I live 20-30 min from the Rocky Mountain ATV (MSR) warehouse. I went there to try on the gear just below the explorer gear. They ensured me they both fit the same.
When I asked them when they expect any new Explorer gear to be available. They mentioned sometime around November possibly. I told them well that's when I'll be purchasing my new gear then. I fully intend on buying the jacket & pants as soon as it gets back in stock.
Sep. 2023
@@BretGashDJBFG The MSR stuff looks really nice. I always have to try stuff on. I'm a few hours from Columbus Ohio, which has a place called iron pony. I have to actually try things on, and it's worth the trip to do so versus shipping back and forth.
Wish I had some of these. I ride year round here in Texas. This morning it's 30°F. I wear a layer of thermals, t shirt and jeans, on top I also wear an insulated jacket with an oversized Columbia wind breaker that's waterproof on top. On rainy days I throw a pair of taped together Frogg Togg pants. The biggest savior has been wearing a Buff to protect my neck from wind and my Oxford heated grips. Can't wait to afford some real gear someday.
Great video. The gear looks very promising AND good looking! I did a very basic comparison with Klim Carlsbad and it has Level 2 CE armor versus MSR using CE 1 level armor. Klim has AA abrasion rating and I can't find one listed for MSR.
Hell yeah brother 👊 that was an awesome review. Doing such a great job
Thanks for watching!
Great review. I purchased the same pants and jacket and so far perform awesome in rain and cold -- will see how the venting works when it warms up. That said, your complaint about the bend in the inner elbow (for lack of a better name) part of jacket being not just hard to move -- due to fitting strap and zipper -- was spot on. I can barely get my arm bent enough (and it's a bit painful) to synch my helmet d-ring. Also, as you said, some time to connector on back of pants to attach to matching jacket would be nice (and common on most ridding "suits).
Glad you finally got your hands on the new kit!
Solid review, thank you.
30 seconds in... You had me scared you dropped the intro song! The suspense was excruciating! OK, back to watching.
Awesome thanks for the review. Will recommend to all my friends that aren't die hard dualsport
Take a ride up on the back side of Bay City sometime. Thank you for sharing. I love your ride vids.
Thank you so much for the video! What is the backpack you're wearing? Is it waterproof?
Thanks for the test, you're suffering helps us get quality gear. 👍
You had me at blue and orange 💙🍊
…also, spam comment reported 😂
It seems that MSR is also competing well with the riding gear made by Mosko Moto. A lot of the Mosko Moto gear is made with the same eVent water proofing and Superfabric for abrasion resistance. I am happy to see there are high quality alternatives available at competitive prices.
Excellent! Looked fun if not a bit hair raising. I think I’ll put that stuff on the wishlist…. Looking forward to the full review.
I have some MSR Explorer gear from before RMATV took over licensing and production. Been quite a while actually. 2017? Gear was somewhat modeled in the vein of Klim's Dakar line. Good solid stuff. Sounds like things haven't changed much and that's a very good thing.
just mount some studded tires and you can go on even longer.... learn by Canadians and Norwegians... and some crazy Finns...
That was a cool ride 👍
I am cold 🥶
Highly recommend ⚙️
😆 loved video
I was just looking at this gear last night.
I’ve got a set of the Klim Badlands Pro but I’m looking to put together a set of gear that fits tighter for warmer weather. I sized my Klim gear large enough to get multiple layers, including a jacket liner underneath.
This gear is priced low enough for me to experiment a bit.
If I get a set I’ll use your link. 👍
It's very impressive gear. You won't be disappointed.
love the content.. your new direction is point on..... keep up the vids bro.
Nice test video, like the gear, thanks! I'll be putting MSR on my radar when I need more gear. Just got a Scorpion Optima waterproof street jacket a couple months ago and love it for cold weather commuting because the shell is waterproof and doesn't use a liner for the waterproof layer so it's like the best windbreaker ever and warm with the thermal liner installed...not sure how waterproof it is yet tho.
Love your new videos!!!!
Hey bud love the content just to let you know someone's trying to scam on some of your videos. Love the content 👌
Nice! I've got the same gear picked out, just can't decide if I'm ready to switch from being green to orange ha ha.
Excellent review.
Hey Dork - thanks for the preliminary review. One question - How heavy is it? I'm looking for a mid-weight set that I can layer under if it is cold - and I have mesh for the really warm days. I am not a fan of the multi-layer gear (with removable liners) that ends up so heavy and bulky. I want something that allows freedom of movement, etc. but still is waterproof, protective, etc. So, how would you rate its weight - maybe relative to the Sedici Garda.
Thanks!
Still waiting for those dirtbikes to take off of the starting line in your intro LOL
Honest review, nice!
I went out during that same weather even in the cascades with sedici "waterproof" jacket. Soaked...to ..the...bone when I got home an hour later. My $70 waterproof (unbreathable and uncomfortable) "wicked stock" pants from Amazon did the best. Best in comparison that is, lol. Expensive gear isn't necessarily the best, but the best gear will have a hefty price tag. I'm curious how the msr holds up in comparison to klim or other well know waterproof advenure gear. Like 1 year later and poorly maintained.
They look good been eyeing them off for a while but at $2054 aud shipped think I'll look at other gear
Curious on the weight compared to the Klim Carlsbad, any idea?
I’ve never ridden in snow before, maybe patches of slush on a dirt road but I grew up in Southern California and that’s where I did most of my writing. Since I moved to the Midwest, I’ve always just run my ATV in the snow, the thought of two wheels on snow or ice seems kind of scary.😂
I'm shocked that you have never done a test ride on a Suzuki DR650! Wow!
I know this shouldn't matter, but it looks good too. YMMV, but i dig the look/colors. Ride safe
when you spend this much money, it really helps to like how the gear looks. I think it absolutely does matter, it's just not priority number one.
I recommend looking into a pinlock visor or one of the adhesive options, they are gamechangers in our pnw weather
Yeah I have one in the Klim helmet I'm wearing in this video. They don't work well with cold rain pelting the outside of the visor, sadly.
@@DorkintheRoad gotcha, shows what I know! Rain x plastic is handy for visors if you hadn't tried it
@@DorkintheRoad I use a product called “spit” on my shield to prevent it from fogging up. However, I don’t ride in the snow. Spit is a liquid that was developed to prevent scuba diving mask from fogging up. It’s called spit because we use to spit inside our dive mask before we had products like this. Yes real spit works, but not near as good as the formula.
Good video man
Oh you said … MSR SOCKS… at the beginning 😂. Thanks for this info, I just ordered the jacket.
I'd say you over-achieved your mission. Good job Dork (no offense lol).
So, I'm picking up a T7 on Tuesday. I'm also looking for a 4-season jacket and pant combo. You definitely covered the winter weather base, I wonder if this is too much for summer? Thoughts on sizing?
4 season gear is almost never great at any of them. I personally prefer to combine gear like this (comfortable up to 75 or 80 degrees) with true summer/mesh gear. Summer gear is cheaper. Otherwise you're fighting your gear all year long. Not cool enough in the summer and not comfortable to wear with all the layers in the winter.
Definitely about to pull the trigger on this jacket. How cold of weather have you using it in? An how many extra layers were needed to stay warm. And how does it do in warm weather. I’m in the PNW, Yakima WA.
I wear an MSR mid layer and a wool base layer under it in the winter and I'm good down to freezing or so. Not great in temps above 80 but great otherwise.
Could you talk about abs in one of your vids? I am a very unexperienced rider and i would really like to hear what you have to say on the topic before I make a first bike purchase. I was looking at the xt250 but was unsure if that is what I would go with because of its lack of abs. Also, is this something that could be added to bikes to make the rider feel safer? Love your videos man keep up the awesome content!
I don't think the dork has abs...he's a big guy.
I tried msr and ended up going back 2 Hwk products..HWK is warm dry and no issues..im in ny so it gets cold n wet here also....But each 2 their own.great vid..do winter camp out nxt time..b safe.peace
This is 100% brand new gear they just launched, so if you had a bad experience with MSR in the past, I'd encourage you to give the new gear a try.
@@DorkintheRoad I'll have np trying it again..everthing deserves a 2nd chance w out judgement.ty 4 reviews or I would have not tried them again 2 b honest.ty.peace
I would have waited until I fell over before I made my snow Angel!
Cool video. I am really looking forward to your complete review. I saw this on their website and am very interested. The problem is I really don't need another jacket. I have 3 Olympia jackets already, but you never know. One question would be is how was the neck sizing. I have a fat neck 18.5" and can never seem to fasten my jacket all the way to my neck. Even my XL Olympia has a too small neck size. Like your reasoning about MSR cost savings, but I will also add that KLIM's advertising budget has to be huge and that is paid for in the cost of goods. Keep the content coming
This is the only jacket I've ever owned where I can fasten the neck with the velcro and still have room to like breathe and swallow
@@DorkintheRoad well then, I guess I’m buying one
@dork... have you considered getting pin lock for your visor?? I know it's made a HUGE difference on my helmet to prevent fogging / steaming up. I highly recommend.
I had one on this ride. Doesn't help after 3 hours in the rain and snow in cold temps. The inside of the pinlock fogs up ;)
@@DorkintheRoad I see... unfortunate!!!
How's the collar on this? Looks like the wide open bucket of Klim? Maybe, a little more adjustment? I've always gotten water down the back which is a deal breaker. Or, can it close?
Look forward to xry & not too cold ride to see if wet insixd from condensation.
Half price and not handing over my retirement savings is something I can get behind. If only I was retired.....
Wish they would just offer a bib option.
Nice test! I do not know what MSR stands for, but I'd like to think of it as Mud, Snow, & Rain after watching your video. Too bad they do not come in short sizes like the Klim Carlsbad. Short riders are an underserved segment by the ADV motorcycling industry.
Malcom Smith Racing 😉
As Ben said Malcom Smith Racing. If you don’t know who Malcom is google him or watch On Any Sunday. The guy is a motorcycle legend. I will assume you are too young to know about one of the greats to ride off road. No disrespect since it was a long time ago
Check out movie, “ On Any Sunday” staring Steve McQueen and Malcolm Smith circa 1970.
My first pair of motorcycle boots were MSR and I got to meet and have lunch with the legend himself about 9 years ago in Baja. Sitting on the beach I looked back and said, man that guy looks familiar. So I went up and met the legend himself. He and his wife were having lunch and his son had a group ride in Baja a day ahead of us. At the end of the day if is says MSR, you can believe it will be good, just like the man himself. Great review Dork! Keep up the good work. I live in Vancouver WA so you are making this decision pretty easy for me living in the PNW!
As usual, I waited to long to order, sold out until November,
I ordered the pants but should I wait for the jacket or get the voyager model
I envy you.. I bought a Grom for commuting and small trips. But I f#cked up, I should have bought the 300L or the cb 500x cause I always end up looking at off-road videos 🙄🔫
The problem is bikes is very expensive in my country, but should have saved and gone the adv road.
Great review but my only question is, what is that white crap on the ground?
What temp do you think you'd be comfortable riding down to with this setup? I've never ridden cold weather but if like to start to ride year round and I'm in Colorado. I love your reviews man.
Cold weather is all about the base and mid layer but I'd go close to freezing with this setup and good layers underneath
looks like good stuff. Nice they offer tall pants, but those jackets look cut for the American gut. There's almost nothing out there for skinny dudes with fairly broad shoulders.
Are you using USWE CORE 16 L? Can you make a review of this bag as well? Thanks! I'm planning to get one soon.
Thanks for your videos. On another topic, if you had to travel from Quebec Canada to Alaska via Prudhoe Bay and Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territory in Canada and back to Quebec. I want to camp every day and I want to ride from 6am to 9pm. I am 6'-1" 95 kg. Would you take a CRF 300 rally or a T700?
Probably a T7 with that much highway riding.
Thanks a lot
Honestly I think Klim is overhyped, I have tried the pro helmet and to me, the wind noise in that thing is crazy.
Rad
Is USWE a waterproof bag as well? How well the bag managed the rain?
Do they ship to Canada?
The real question I have: Did the forest smell like the forest?
When I’m in Alaska I feel like the forest smells like mud.
Is it a layered system? Or just shells?
Shells. No zip in liner BS.
Holy $$$$$ I don’t consider that gear cheap at all
How did those tires perform in these conditions? Still the MT21 and D606 combo?
MT21 and D606 did well.
Seems like I watched this before, same video hmmm.Reposted?
I'd be surprised unless you have a time machine?
@@DorkintheRoad youtube playing tricks I guess. Anyway a good test of gear.
It's the extended edition. Colder, Longer, wet... I should stop now.
Pretty sure your Klim gear sponsorship is gone if you had one. I doubt it. If it isn’t Gortex with a company that will back it with an incredible warranty. Hard pass. Buy once cry once.
Looks great how is the sizing ?
Very comfortable. Similar to Klim.
@@DorkintheRoad Thanks !
Any idea how it will do in warmer weather?
I'm gonna find out when I wear it in Mexico for ten days starting next week!
@@DorkintheRoad nice, wave hi on your way by. I live two miles from the border, amazing riding down there.
@@DorkintheRoadHow’d it do?
Looks like you forgot to buckle your helmet
I did but I caught it shortly after.
Need a high vis option! They should offer an option without the armor in the jacket because I use a Forcefield EK harness and it rocks!
The armor is removable. ;)
Great video! I’ll be using your links.
Looking forward to a video about the new Trailmax Raid ⛰️🐐