Dainese Carve Master 4 GTX suit review

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 slightly different view. We reckon that for 90% of motorcyclists, traditional drop-liner clothing is a better proposition.

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 most motorcyclists only very rarely find themselves in this position.

Of course, we acknowledge that a jacket or trouser that doesn't 'wet out' has, on the face of it, got to be a good thing. But there is a problem with most laminated gear. And it’s that laminated clothing has a high propensity to fail, and thereby let water in. Most laminated gear simply isn’t very reliable.

And the reason for this is that making laminated gear is not easy; the problem being that the joins between every abutting panel have to be sealed with waterproof tape. If you don't do this the way it’s meant to be done the rain will find its way in.

To do the job properly, you need to use the best quality tape. You need to use a lot of it. And you need to apply it with great care. But in the pursuit of ever lower price points, most manufacturers don't do the job properly. They use inferior tape. They skimp by using less of it, and they apply it super fast, in a slapdash manner.

Invariably, these manufacturers will give their wares the shortest warranty they think they can get away with. What they hope is that the warranty comes to an end before the leaking starts. And sometimes they get lucky! But after the warranty period, normally one or two years, you are on your own with no recourse. And an expensive jacket or pant that is fit only for the bin.

The only exception to this problem is laminated gear that uses Gore-Tex laminated fabrics. And that's because Gore offers a lifetime warranty on all products using its laminated membranes. So if a Gore-Tex laminated product leaks, they’ll simply send you a new one.

Now the more traditional form of construction sees the waterproof membrane being sewn permanently into a garment. Jackets and pants made in this way are known as 'drop-liner' garments. They can eventually wet out in a heavy and prolonged downpour, but drop-liner clothing tends to be massively reliable. Even the cheapest drop-liner jackets and pants rarely fail. By and large, drop-liner garments just don't leak.

Well, that's our typically long-winded way of introducing the Dainese Carve Master 4. It's a drop-liner suit.

Because of that it will not let you down in the rain. You won't get wet riding in the Carve Master 4. But drop-liner outfits have a couple of other tricks up their sleeves. They tend to be more comfortable, and they tend to be warmer in the cold weather, and cooler in hot weather. As we said, for most people we reckon drop-liner is the way to go.

The Carve Master 4 jacket vs the old Carve Master 3 jacket

I don't do huge miles on the bike these days. For most of my riding, I wear a Klim Marrakesh with whatever layers are most appropriate at the time. But occasionally, and especially if I’m anticipating bad weather, I prefer to ride in a waterproof, textile suit; and for the last few years that suit has been this outfit's predecessor, the Carve Master 3.

And it has served me well. I have never got wet in it. I always liked the way it looked. I find it super comfortable, and I have always appreciated the fact that it comes fitted as standard with Level 2 armour.

What made the suit so comfortable was that the outer fabric was infused with Elastane that imbued the jacket with a huge amount of stretch.

But as with the Klim Latitude, the Klim Kodiak and the Rukka Nivala, it was the stretch that caused the abrasion rating to be reduced to the single-A level. I have to say that this never bothered me because, for us, the armour is far more important than a garment's outer chassis. The outer material might in some circumstances save your skin, but it is the amour that can help prevent broken bones and internal injuries. And Level 2 armour can do that twice as effectively as Level 1 armour.

Well the new Carve Master 4 has the same armour as the 3. But Dainese has been able to upgrade its CE rating to AA.

Obviously, we understand why Dainese has done this. There are a lot of people who won't countenance an A-rated garment. And so Dainese has taken the view that the Carve Master will be easier to market and reach a far wider audience if it's AA rated. And they may well be right. In fact, they almost certainly are.

But normally when a manufacturer does this the result is a jacket or pant that is less comfortable to wear. We have seen this with both Rukka and Klim, but with the Carve Master 4 Dainese has been able to tread a very fine line.

They have managed achieved a higher CE rating largely by reinforcing the elbows and shoulders, which constitute the higher-risk, Zone 1 areas. But by using stretch inserts in strategic places they have not compromised the jacket’s comfort. And that’s impressive.

The jacket in detail

The new Carve Master is substantially similar, as they say in the legal profession, to the old one. The outer fabric still contains stretch, although in some places there's a bit less of it.

But under EN 17092, a garment is divided into three zones. Now the shoulders and elbows constitute the higher risk Zone 1 areas. By strengthening the outer material 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.

This is still an amazingly comfortable jacket.

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 the Level 2 back protector from Rheon.

We have spoken already about Gore-Tex, and about why you need to go with a Gore-Tex membrane if you are going down the laminated route. Gore-Tex is less crucial perhaps on a drop-liner product because such products are inherently more reliable, but nonetheless that's what the Carve Master 4 comes with: a Gore-Tex, drop-liner membrane.

This does mean 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 as with Gore’s laminated gear, the waterproofing qualities of the membrane will be guaranteed for life. You may never need to call upon the warranty, but it's still good to know that if, in ten or fifteen years’ time, your jacket springs a leak, Gore will simply replace it.

For a more 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’ve got on 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 or Rukka DownRide-R. It might be up to the job in Italy, but not so much up here in our beloved, sceptred isles.

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 simply cannot on a laminated one.

Suffice it to say that a jacket like this will be warmer in winter and cooler in summer than a laminated one.

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 will not go short. You get two, lower, bellows pockets with flaps and zips. Dainese suggest 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? 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.

Some years ago I fell in love with the Carve Master 3. 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 it to connect it 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 trousers, 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 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 jeans.

That's how I have always worn my Carve Master. Indeed, 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 therefore the way.

Just carry a set of waterproofs for when it rains.

The trousers in detail

There is nothing wrong with Carve Master pants, other than the fact that they only come in one length.

In most respects they mirror the jacket in terms of materials and construction.

And so that means lots of stretch in the outer fabric for a comfortable fit. A Gore-Tex, drop-liner, waterproof membrane, so waterproofing guaranteed for life. A removable, thermal liner, Level 2 armour in the knees and hips, and so on.

To achieve the AA rating for abrasion resistance, Dainese has put large panels of the same ceramic-style protection you get on the jacket on to the knees. For the hips they will have added an extra layer of some abrasion-resistant fabric internally.

In terms of other details, you get two 'water-resistant' zip pockets, two large vents on the thighs, an adjustable waist and long zips with some concertina stretch panelling to allow the leg to fit over anything this side of a full, off-road boot. You also get a connecting zip.

As with the jacket, these pants are incredibly comfortable, and easy to live with. If you're of average stature, with legs that are proportional to everything else, you may well find the trousers perfect.

But we meant what we said about wearing the Carve Master jacket with jeans. It's the way the market is going. It’s certainly the way the Italian market has gone. The reason the Italian makers only do a regular-length trouser is that very few people wear textile trousers at all, so in Italy the market for different leg lengths is tiny. It's actually the same in France and Spain.

We just think riding with a textile jacket over jeans is so much more practical. Jeans are nicer on the bike and nicer off it. Where this mode of attire doesn't work of course is if you're professional rider, or if you're somebody who finds themselves riding a lot in the rain. If this is you, jeans won't work as well because you'll spend too much time in lay-bys putting your waterproofs on.

So, what do we think?

I was convinced that I was not going to like the Carve Master 4.

I knew why Dainese had felt the need to pursue an AA rating, but I feared that in doing so they would sacrifice what made the Carve Master such an easy suit to live with.

Before the new Carve Master was even released I had written the summary to the review that I knew I would have to write; namely that the old Carve Master was nicer, despite its lower EN17092 classification. I had steeled myself for the rebuke I would inevitably get from Italy.

But actually this suit is a revelation, and what Dainese has achieved is to be lauded.

Technically, one might suggest that the 4 is a more protective suit than the 3. Yet it's every bit as comfortable as its predecessor.

And for me that makes this one of the most impressive suits out there.

Okay, I don't see it as an alternative to a Rukka. Your average Rukka wearer revels in the cold and the wet, and will do a lot of miles in it. And for such riders a Gore-Tex, laminated outfit is perhaps the best option.

But for your average, weekend rider on a sports-tourer, an upright bike or an adventure bike, the Carve Master 4 could be seen as the perfect compromise.

For more information and to view online, click Dainese Carve Master 4 GTX suit.