Halvarssons Mora 2.0 jacket in olive

The Halvarssons Mora 2.0 does not signal progress over the original Mora in every single department, but it does in many areas, and overall we would have to suggest that it's a much better, more useable, more functional package than the version that went before.

 

Like the old Mora, the new one is AA-rated for abrasion resistance under EN 17092. Frankly, you wouldn't want, or need, more. Like the old Mora it comes with Level 2 armour in the elbows and shoulders, but the new jacket's armour is incomparably nicer; and that's because Halvarssons is now working with Rheon. And Rheon makes armour that in many respects is a match for D3O armour. The armour is soft, pliable, supremely comfortable and massively breathable.

 

And from the get-go this makes the Mora 2.0 much nicer to wear than its predecessor.

 

The good news is that there's now a pocket for a back protector rather than a Velcro strip. It will be much more reliable.

 

There's also an arrangement for Halvarssons' not-very-nice one-piece chest protector. Personally we'd go with a D3O two-part protector. It's neater, nicer and much easier to live with. It fits perfectly into the two chest pockets.

 

In terms of venting, always a major consideration with a jacket like this, one would have to state, quite categorically, that the plaudits go to the latest iteration. Okay, so you don't get the full-length vent zips that ran up the arms of the Mora 1, but you do get two huge zip-down venting panels on the chest and another one that covers the entire back. You still get two-way zips that allow the ends of the sleeves to vent air; they're just not as long as they were on the previous incarnation.

 

There were two major flaws with the waterproof inner jacket on the old Mora, but they have been addressed with the new one.

 

First, the waterproof was combined with a thermal component. And frankly that didn't work for a lot of people. There were times when you might have needed the extra warmth without the need for waterproofing. And there were times when you might have needed to stay dry without the need for extra warmth. The old Mora's inner was a bit of a cockamaney design. And it was in no way a destination jacket, so couldn't be worn off the bike.

 

But another major consideration is that on jackets constructed in the way the Mora is you ideally want to be able to wear the waterproof on the outside of the jacket as well as on the inside. And because of the way the waterproof was combined with the thermal you just couldn't do that with the old Mora. By contrast, the standalone waterproof on the Mora 2 is super stretchy, meaning that you can wear it inside the jacket if you want a bit of extra protection from the wind or if you're only going to be riding in lighter rain.  Yet you can easily wear it on the outside if you're going to be in heavier rain and want to avoid the jacket wetting out.

 

And with a 20/20 rating for waterproofing and breathability it really should keep you dry; from both outwith and within.

 

The separate thermal jacket on the Mora 2 is more than up to the job. It can be worn as a destination jacket, provided your destination is not particularly salubrious. But being filled with Halvarssons' hollow-form fibre known as Innoborne, and lined with Outlast, it will certainly pass muster from an insulation perspective.

 

The waterproof jacket does clip into the outer jacket. The thermal jacket doesn't; you either wear it or you don't. And we have no issue with that.

 

In some ways, all the other stuff is the kind of detail we have come to expect on a Halvarssons jacket. So we're talking about the most effective elasticated adjusters in the business to cinch the jacket in at the waist, elasticated Velcro straps on the biceps, a Velcro adjuster at the hem, two non-waterproof external pockets, two more inside the jacket and another two in the thermal inner jacket.

 

You get elasticated shirring in lots of places for added comfort. You get lots of reflective stuff; particularly on the shoulders. You get Neoprene lining the collar for comfort and to keep the rain out, and a zip-off storm collar. There's also, of course, a zip to connect the jacket to any Halvarssons, or indeed any Rukka, pant.