Product Review: REV’IT! Component 2 H20 Jacket

Having enjoyed a cool week Adventure Riding in New Zealand, I’ve now landed back in WA, and therefore back at work. Adventure riding was new to me. I have previously written about the dichotomy between my on-road, off-road motorcycling preferences but, if one is to truly enjoy New Zealand by motorcycle, one must cover all forms of terrain with equal vigor. The KTM 690 was the perfect choice. A weapon both on and off road that will quickly propel the rider into licensing-losing speeds. Hold the throttle open a bit longer and you’ll soon be into vehicle seizure legislation - which would be awkward because I was on a hire bike. I could rave all day about the virtues of the 690 KTM but this is a piece about riding gear choices.

I left WA with my REV'IT! Component 2 H2O jacket and an RST jacket. The Component is perfectly suited to a wet day on an enduro machine, whereas the RST is my choice for cold weather road-riding. We will talk about the RST at another time, this review is about the REV'IT!. The Component is described by REV'IT! as an evolution of their DIRT Series modern classic range which is claimed to embody form and function in fashionable harmony. Let me say at the outset, fashion is the last thing that comes to mind when you’re charging through the rain and snow.

My immediate observation of the Component is a light-weight jacket of sturdy construction. I get the impression I would have to slide a long way before the fabric gave out. I chose to purchase the jacket for those rare (in Western Australia) rainy days when I’m out enduro riding. Riding single track can be quite strenuous and will quickly warm most people up, even on those single-digit temperature days. Boosting down a New Zealand highway at 100 km/h is an altogether different thing.

On its own, the Component would not have been enough for highway riding but I had a secret weapon. Beneath my jacket and jersey was an electric thermal vest. The vest has a small battery that will last from four to six hours, depending on the setting. Very often the electric vest is the difference between a miserable ride and an enjoyable one. With the Component jacket zipped to the neck, the cuffs in tight and tucked into the gloves I was comfortably warm. When we turned off the bitumen, I turned down the vest. This worked well but I discovered the limits of the REV'IT Hydratex waterproof outer shell. Hydratex is described as a breathable membrane that is designed to let perspiration escape and prevent rain from penetrating. I think I broke it.

On one particularly wet day, riding down the entire West Coast of the South Island, I was saturated by the lunchtime break. The ride was a 450 km, in the driving rain for the entire length. There was very little off-road riding to distract and warm the wet body so it was basically grin and bear it. I wasn’t alone, out of the seventeen other riders only one of the team remarked he was dry. That rider was clad in REV'IT! Sand H2O and he was quite chuffed standing there amongst our sodden crew. However, the very next day, Chris was heard to comment how hot he was. Of course, all Chris needed to do was remove one or more of the inner liners. This is
the quandary: which jacket do you take? My piece of advice is, take everything you have. If you’re going off-road and want a sturdy, breathable jacket that offers some protection against rain, you should pack a Component jacket.