Dainese Carve Master 4 GTX jacket in black
(DAN036)
£540.55
Finance available with Omni Capital Retail Finance from £ per month
More Info
Alternative Views
Dainese Carve Master 4 GTX jacket in black
x
If any UK retailer is selling anything at a price that is lower than ours, we will beat that price by a full 10%.For terms and conditions, click here.
(DAN036)
£540.55
Finance available with Omni Capital Retail Finance from £ per month
More Info
Dainese Carve Master 4 GTX jacket in black Product Information
At a time when most apparel sellers find it easier to go with the flow and sell their customers laminated, motorcycle suits, we take a different view. We reckon that for 90% of motorcyclists, traditional drop-liner clothing is a better bet.
Laminated suits tend not to 'wet out', by which we mean become water logged. But for a garment to reach this state a rider has to be out in heavy rain for four hours or more; and the reality is that very few motorcyclists ever find themselves in this position.
The Dainese Carve Master 4 is a drop-liner jacket. It is substantially similar, as they say in the legal profession, to its predecessor. Like the Carve Master 3, this is an incredibly comfortable jacket. The outer fabric still contains a lot of stretch, although in some places there's a bit less of it than there was on the old jacket.
The major change between the 4 and the 3 is that the 4 is accredited as an AA rated garment under EN17092, whereas the 3 was rated single A.
Now for testing purposes under EN 17092, a garment is divided into three zones. The shoulders and elbows constitute the higher risk Zone 1 areas; and it is here that, with the Carve Master 4, Dainese has placed panels of something highly abrasion resistant that looks a bit like SuperFabric. By strengthening the outer material in this way in these areas a higher CE rating has been achieved, but additional stretch panels in less crucial areas, such as down the middle of the back of the jacket mean that there is little if any trade off in terms of comfort.
As with the Carve Master 3, the 4 comes with Level 2 armour in the elbows and shoulders. There is a pocket for a back protector, although it does not come as standard. We would recommend something from Rheon or D3O. (A Level 2, Diablo, back protector is due to be released by the end of 2025).
The Carve Master 4's Gore-Tex membrane means that you’ll benefit from the highest levels of waterproofing that the industry has to offer, as well as the highest levels of breathability. And the waterproofing qualities of the membrane will be guaranteed for life. Because drop-liner jackets are inherently reliable, much more so than laminated ones, you may never need to call upon the warranty, but it's still good to know that if, in ten, fifteen or twenty years' time, your Carve Master 4 jacket springs a leak, Gore will simply replace it.
For a tailored fit, you get adjusters on the biceps and on the forearms. And more importantly for us, at the waist. We like it when a longer jacket can be cinched in at the waist. It allows you to wear a jacket tight when you're not wearing layers, and to increase the internal volume when you're wearing a fleece or some other form of thermal lining. There's a drawstring in the hem of the jacket.
The jacket comes equipped with a separate, thermal liner. Filled with some kind of un-named, hollow-form fibre it will provide a certain degree of insulation when it gets colder. It attaches to the jacket only at the ends of the sleeves, and will pass muster as a destination jacket. But it's not out of the top drawer. It ticks a box, but it's no Klim Maverick. It might be up to the job in Italy, but not here in our beloved, sceptred isle.
When it's warmer you can use the vents on the chest. You get two more vents on the biceps. There are then two exhaust vents in the back of the jacket. Now there are those who would suggest that the vents on laminated jackets work better than the vents on drop-liner jackets, because you get direct-to-body airflow, but actually a drop-liner jacket rides cooler because air can pass through the entirety of the outer fabric in the way that it cannot on a laminated one.
Suffice it to say that a drop-liner jacket like this will be warmer in winter and cooler in summer than a laminated jacket. And all year round, of course, it will be more comfortable, because laminated materials are always stiffer.
In terms of pockets, the Carve Master wearer does not go short. You get two, lower, bellows pockets with flaps and zips. Dainese suggests that these pockets are waterproof, but in heavy rain they won't be, so you should think of them more as water-resistant ones. There's an internal Napoleon pocket on the right side; this one will be waterproof. There's a large, netting pocket on the back of the jacket. That one won’t be! There are two more net pockets on the front, but we haven't quite worked out what they're for. Maybe for gloves?
What else can we say? You get a connecting zip to attach the jacket to a Dainese pant. Hard, plastic protectors on the shoulders. A fair amount of reflective highlighting. And Neoprene in the collar for comfort, and to absorb the rain to stop it running into the jacket.
When I first heard that Dainese was intent on upgrading its CE rating to AA, I was convinced that they would ruin the jacket's wearability. Well, I fear I was wrong. Through clever design, Dainese has achieved the near impossible. They have made the jacket notionally more protective. But they have done so without compromising the jacket's comfort. The Carve Master 4 represents a win-win for Dainese.
Now there's only one point I would make. The Carve Master is configured as a classic, touring and commuting suit. And as such one might expect the jacket to connect to a matching pant. And it does. But in our view none of the Italian brands does trousers well. As with many Alpinestars and Spidi textile suits, the Carve Master pants come in just one length. And that is simply not enough. The premium brands like Rukka, Klim and even Halvarssons will routinely offer two or even three lengths.
It is probably true to suggest that around 50% of people will find that the trousers work for them. Which means that 50% won't. And if you’re one of the unlucky ones, all I can say is that you can easily wear the jacket over a pair of motorcycle jeans.
This is increasingly how many people are riding. And that's because when you arrive at your destination you can take your jacket off, and put it in a pannier. Then go about your business. You normally can't do the same with your textile trousers. A textile jacket over a good, single-layer jean is, for many bikers, the way to go.
Specification
- Gore-Tex drop-liner construction
- Made from Mugello stretch fabric
- Removable, thermal liner
- AA certified under EN17092
- Level 2 armour in elbows and shoulders
- Pocket for back protector
- Pocket for two-part chest protector
- X2 external, water-resistant pockets
- Rear net pocket
- Stretch net pockets under arms
- Zipper to fasten jacket to pants
- Vents on chest, biceps and back
- Volume adjusters on biceps and forearms
- Adjuster mechanism at waist
- Adjustment at ends of wrist
- Drawstring in hem
- Reflective inserts
Warranty
Dainese jackets have a two year warranty; GTX guaranteed for life
Product Reviews
Leave us your review
Finance Options
Deposit Amount: £
Monthly Payments: £
Loan Amount: £
Payment Term: months
Total Amount Payable: £
