Held Carese 3 adventure suit review

We often bang on about what we consider to be a 'proper' adventure suit. It might be that we are indulging in semantics a little, but for us any outfit with a laminated membrane, or indeed any suit with a membrane of any description, cannot be considered an adventure one because if you're adventuring anywhere exotically hot, or if you're working up a sweat off road in such a place, the last thing you want anywhere near your body is a waterproof membrane because you'll sweat your nuts off. A situation that can rapidly lead to heat exhaustion.

The fact is that whilst all membranes are more or less breathable, if you're sweating hard, your perspiration will not be able to escape into the ether at a fast enough rate. And it needs to do so to help the body to cool down. If you're riding somewhere hot or generating your own heat, you want to be riding in something much more breathable. Something without a membrane.

Not that everybody agrees with us. Everybody from Rukka and Klim to Halvarssons and Spidi produces what they call adventure suits with fixed waterproof membranes.

That's not going to change our view, of course. The kind of suits we're talking about here are really, in our view, just touring suits with lots of pockets, extra vents and an earthy colour pallet . They are not adventure suits in our book. Rather they are outfits designed to appeal to the kind of rider who rides an adventure bike, but who never ventures off the beaten track. And there are a lot of those. Truth be told 95% of adventure bikes never encounter an obstacle more challenging than a kerb!

Anyway, that's another typically long-winded introduction from Motolegends.

The suit we are going to be talking about today is a 'proper' adventure one in our book in that the waterproof membrane can be removed.

So, let's get into it.

The new Carese 3 suit

There was a Carese suit before this one. The jacket was called the Carese Evo. For some reason the pant was called the Torno Evo.

The new suit is very very similar to the old one. In fact, in many respects it is almost identical. The main difference, and the real reason for the revision, is that Gore has changed the composition and construction of all its membranes. And so, in common with many manufacturers, Held has taken the opportunity to create a new model.

It is environmental concerns that have caused Gore to create new membranes. Historically, all waterproof membranes have incorporated an element of Teflon. Now Teflon is what is known as a 'forever' chemical, and it doesn't degrade. Well Gore, as the world's leading membrane manufacturer, wanted to get out in front of the issue, and so they have stopped producing what were known as ePTFE membranes, replacing them with what are known as ePE membranes that are much friendlier to the environment.

Not that Gore's new membranes are any less effective. Their new membranes are just as waterproof and breathable as their old ones. And of course they are still guaranteed by Gore to be waterproof for life.

Anyway, let's take a deeper dive into the suit. We'll kick off with the jacket. Then we'll move on to the pants.

The Carese 3 jacket

The jacket 's outer fabric is a 500 denier Ripstop fabric. Ripstop is very tear resistant, as the name suggests, and a 500 denier weight is clearly sufficient to earn the jacket an AA rating for abrasion resistance under EN17092. It comes equipped with Level 2 armour in the elbows and shoulders. A back protector is not included, but we would recommend one from either D3O or Rheon.

As I have mentioned before, in a 'proper' adventure outfit the waterproof liner can be removed; and that's very much the case here with the Carese 3. But the difference between an average adventure jacket and a superior one is that with a superior one the waterproof liner, once removed, can also be worn on the outside of the jacket.

ow every manufacturer will tell you that their removable waterproof inner jacket can be comfortably worn on the outside. But the truth is that most cannot. For the waterproof component to be wearable on the outside of a jacket the membrane has to contain stretch; and very few do. The Gore-Tex one in the Carese does; and what that means is that there's virtually no change in comfort whether you wear it on the inside or the outside.

One difference between the old Carese and the new one is that on the new jacket the membrane zips in. On the old Carese it attached via a series of clips and, in all honesty, it was a bit of a faff. The zips work much better.

For when the waterproof liner is worn on the outside you get two pockets and some reflective banding.

Clearly, as we've already touched on, the important thing about an adventure jacket or pant is that it needs to be able to flow a lot of air.

Well, once the Gore-Tex inner jacket is removed, a certain amount of air will be able to pass through the jacket's outer fabric. But only so much. What will allow the jacket to flow much more air is the venting.

And for this you get two large flap vents on the chest. These vents look like pockets but they're not. Roll them down, and they will allow huge amounts of air to reach the body. You also get vents that run up the flanks and vents that run down the biceps and forearms. On the back there's a simply huge roll-down vent that will allow heat and sweat to escape into the great outdoors.

Another thing that adventure jackets are known for are pockets. Adventure riders expect a lot of them to house their maps, tools, hunting knives and so on. Well the Carese 3 has two external pockets that fasten by means of flaps. Whatever Held might suggest, we are claiming no more than that these pockets are water resistant. We would say the same about the two internal ones. There's also a 'key' pocket at the bottom of the left sleeve. On their website, Held claim that the Carese 3 has a pocket on the back, but if it does, they've hidden it well!

To hone the fit, and to allow layers to be accommodated, you get adjusters at the waist. You get more adjusters on the biceps and forearms. There are stretch panels down the arms, up the flanks and across the chest, as well as concertina banding in the elbows; all of which contribute to the comfortable fitting of the jacket. And we would say that Held really has got this aspect of the jacket right. The Carese 3 is as comfortable an adventure jacket as you will come across.

The one thing you don't get with the Carese jacket is a thermal liner, but that's never a problem for us as most experienced riders will have their own solution to the problem of staying warm, be that something in Merino, a fleece, a down jacket of some description or even a heated jacket.

There's not a whole lot more to say. You get a full zip to attach the jacket to the matching pant. You get lots of 3M Scotclite reflective highlights. You get Neoprene in the collar. Velcro flaps to adjust the sleeve apertures. And a vented zip placket behind the storm flap, although as the main storm flap cannot be fastened open, as it could be on the old version, we don't see that this will work as well as it did on the old Carese Evo.

But that aside, the Carese 3 wants for very little. It is not far from being the complete and definitive adventure jacket. It comes in eight sizes. In five of those sizes it comes in a short body version. In four sizes it comes with a longer body and arms. And that's an impressive sizing matrix; pretty much as good as it gets.

Let's now look at the matching pant.

The Carese 3 pant

As is nearly always the case a suit's pant will pretty much match the jacket in terms of materials and construction.

And so you get the same 500 denier Cordura Ripstop material for the chassis. And, as with the jacket, that delivers an AA rating for abrasion resistance. The pants come equipped with Level 2 armour in the hips and knees.

The membrane is removable, and as with the jacket the Gore-Tex waterproof liner can be worn on the inside or the outside. And, as with the jacket, because it contains stretch you can accomplish this quite comfortably. Being a Gore membrane, its waterproofing qualities are obviously guaranteed for life.

The pant is furnished with four external pockets, two of which are slash pockets, two of which are cargo pockets.

There are incoming and outgoing vents that run down the sides of the cargo pockets.

For fit and comfort you get an adjustable belt at the waist. To the same end you get stretch material in the crotch, and concertina banding above the knees.

Up the insides of the legs are faux leather panels for better grip on the tank. You also get a couple of patches of something like Armacor in the seat to prevent sliding around on the saddle.

The rest, really, is detail. So a connecting zip. Buttons for the attachment of Held's excellent braces. Areas of 3M Scotchlite reflective material. And long zips with two Velcro flaps to allow the trousers to be worn with either touring or adventure boots.

Now Held offer two colourways of pant to go with the Carese jacket. There's a black trouser, which is this one. And there's a black and very light grey one. We have gone for the black one because, quite frankly, its so much more practical, and unless you're starring in a photo shoot a light grey trouser just isn't.

As with the jacket the pants come in a wide array of sizes. So eight waist sizes in the regular leg length, five in the short leg and four in the long. Again, as with the jacket, that's pretty impressive. Even Rukka can't match that.

In conclusion

Adventure suits like the Carese 3 represent the last word in versatility.

When it's super hot, or when you are generating lots of your own heat, you can remove the membrane for extra breathability.

Wear the membrane on the inside, and you will ride warmer. The membrane will insulate body heat and will protect you from the pernicious benefits of the wind chill. And of course you will stay dry. The only issue is that after three hours or so in the rain the jacket and pants could start to wet out.

But wear the waterproof layers on the outside and that won't happen. Do this and you will enjoy a level of waterproofing that is better than a laminated jacket, for there's simply no better protection from the wet stuff than to wear the waterproof component outside the protective layer.

And what all this means is that the Carese 3 will look after you wherever you find yourself, whatever the climatic conditions. In the deserts of Sudan. In the cold of the mountains of Norway. Or in the Highland storms of Scotland's west coast.

Wherever you ride, the Carese will protect you from the elements.

Now, the motorcycle world is not short of 'proper' adventure suits; that is suits with removable waterproofs.

But there are very few that can be compared to the Carese 3. The Held suit is a superior offering in a number of respects.

It is supremely comfortable. It is AA rated. It comes with Level 2 armour. It has excellent ventilation. The Gore-Tex membrane contains stretch so that on both halves it can be worn on the inside or the outside. The suit is highly adjustable, and comes in an impressive array of sizes.

The only suit that we know of that, in our view, is in the same league as the Carese is the Rukka Trek-R. On a purely protective level the Rukka suit is superior to the Held on account of its absolutely huge Level 2 D3O armour. But the Rukka is nowhere near as comfortable as the Carese. It is heavier and stiffer, and whilst impressive, it is just not so easy to live with. It is also some £600 more expensive than the Held; and that's not nothing.

But if you are looking for the best 'proper' adventure suit that money can buy, I think we can be fairly confident that it would be one of these two. Come and see us, and you can try them both on back to back. We aim always to have all the sizes in both suits here on the shelves in Guildford.

For more information and to buy online, click Held Carese 3 suit.