Held Hakuna Matata 3 jacket review

This is the third iteration of the Hakuna Matata adventure suit, although the outfit is new to us.

Now there are, in principle, three types of waterproof, textile motorcycle jacket/trouser, insofar as their method of construction is concerned.

Historically, the most common has been the drop-liner format. Here the waterproof membrane is sewn into the jacket. (I’m talking about the jacket, but everything I talk about here applies equally to a trouser). Such jackets are called drop-liner jackets because the membrane ‘hangs’, or 'drops’ from where it is sewn into the garment; in the case of a jacket from the shoulders.

It is easy to make a drop-liner jacket. There needs to be some taping where the membrane is sewn into the fabric, but that is fairly straight forward. And this is why, when it comes to waterproofing, drop-liner jackets tend to be very reliable. They go on for years, and will rarely fail.

The downside of a drop-liner jacket is that after many hours in heavy rain water can pass through the outer chassis of the jacket. This will not find its way through to the body because of the waterproof membrane. But eventually the amount of water absorbed by the jacket can make you feel cold, as we lose body heat 20 times faster through a wet environment than through a dry one. The other problem with drop-liner jackets is that, once they have absorbed a lot of rain, they can take a long time to dry out.

Laminating the waterproof membrane to the inside of a jacket’s outer fabric overcomes the ‘wetting out’ issue; that state we referred to where the jacket has become heavy from holding large amounts of water. And it does so because the membrane prevents the wet stuff from entering the jacket’s outer chassis. Laminating the membrane onto the fabric makes the material a bit stiffer, but the the problem with laminated gear is that every panel join has to be sealed with a special waterproof tape.

Now when this is done properly, such jackets can be extremely waterproof and very reliable. But most manufacturers, in their race to the bottom in the search of an ever-lower selling price, cut corners. They use cheap tape, they don't use much of it, and they try to do it too quickly.

The result is that most laminated, motorcycle jackets fail. Laminated gear, especially inexpensive, laminated gear, is notoriously unreliable. In fact, it's only if a garment uses a laminated membrane supplied by Gore that you can really rely on staying dry. And that's for two reasons. First, Gore themselves oversee the entire manufacturing process. Second, they guarantee the waterproofing of their membranes for life. And so if a Gore-Tex, laminated jacket fails, Gore will simply send you a new one!

The third form of construction, as employed here on the Hakuna Matata, involves a removable waterproof membrane. In jackets put together in this way, the waterproof layer and the protective layer are totally separate.

When the waterproof liner is in place inside the jacket you will enjoy waterproofing similar to that of a drop-liner jacket. In fact, in some ways jackets with removable liners can be more waterproof than drop-liner jackets because in really heavy rain the water does not get trapped between the outer chassis and the membrane. It just runs out the bottom.

But the main benefit of a jacket with a removable membrane is that when you take the membrane out, the jacket becomes much more breathable.

And that's why they are so popular in the adventure world. If you find yourself riding somewhere really hot, or if you are working up a bit of a sweat off road, you don't want any kind of membrane anywhere near the body. Not having a membrane will allow you to sweat so much more effectively, and of course sweating is how the body cools itself down.

You can wear a jacket with a removable membrane in a much broader range of conditions. With the membrane in place you will stay relatively warm. When it rains you can stay dry. And when it's hot you can remove it, and stay nice and cool. There is no one jacket that does everything, but a jacket like this gets as close to that Nirvana as it's possible to get.

The Held Hakuna Matata 3 jacket in detail

The outer fabric is a 500 denier Cordura; very similar to that which is to be found on the Klim Carlsbad, for example. This makes for a very lightweight, yet very abrasion and tear-resistant chassis. One that passes the EN17092 abrasion test at the AA level. The other half of the protection equation, of course, is the armour. And so it's good to report that the Hakuna Matata comes with Level 2, D3O in the elbows and shoulders. There's a pocket for a Level 2, D3O back protector.

Obviously, as discussed, the jacket has a removable, waterproof inner jacket, but the trick to getting the best out of a jacket like this is to have a waterproof liner that can be worn on the inside, or on the outside, of the protective layer.

Now, most of the time you would wear the membrane on the inside; and indeed to this end it can be zipped into the outer jacket. In this configuration the membrane will serve to combat the effects of the wind chill factor, and to insulate heat generated by the body. You would also be protected from the rain.

But when you wear the membrane on the outside of the jacket you create a level of waterproofing that is superior to that of a laminated jacket. Let's say you ride for two or three hours, and it's bucketing it down. When you get to your destination, and take your waterproof off, the main jacket below it will be bone dry.

Now every manufacturer of jackets like this claims that their waterproof liner can be worn both inside and outside the main jacket. And technically most can be; at a pinch. But it only works well in both scenarios if the membrane contains stretch. Many of them don't. The Held jacket's membrane does contain some stretch, but it's not super stretchy. It can fairly easily be worn on the outside of the jacket, but some brands do it better.

In terms of the detail, you get two supposedly waterproof pockets. We'd stick with water-resistant. There are two inner pockets. There's another large pocket on the back of the jacket.

For ventilation, there are two zip-down panels on the chest that will flow a lot of air. At the back of the jacket there are two long zips that act as exhaust vents.

For adjustment, you get a central waist belt that secures with Velcro. We always like a belt like this on a longer, adventure-style jacket. There are adjustable, Velcro flaps on the hem of the jacket. You also get volume adjusters on the biceps and forearms.

There's some softer material to cushion the Adam's apple. The collar is lined around its edge with something similar. You'll find reflective detailing for better nighttime visibility. And there's a zip to connect the jacket to the pant.

What you don't get with the Hakuna Matata is any kind of thermal liner, but that's always the way we prefer it. A fleece would work, but either a synthetic, or a genuine, down jacket would work even better.

The Hakuna Matata 3 pant

As is nearly always the case with a suit, the pant will match the jacket in most respects pertaining to materials and construction.

And that's very much the case here.

You get the same Ripstop fabric, the same AA rating under EN17092, the same Level 2, D3O armour, the same removable waterproof liner that can be worn on the inside or the outside.

But in some ways the Hakuna Matata pants are somewhat more detailed. So stretch fabric above the knees and in the crotch. A grippy material inside the legs to get better purchase on the tank. Something similar on the seat to prevent sliding in the saddle.

You get four pockets. Two small ones. And two, larger cargo ones. There are long zips to help get the trousers over off-road boots. And to cinch the hem in you get Velcro flaps.

The waist belt is adjustable. There's a connecting zip. And you get snaps that allow you to wear Held's excellent braces.

Now even though the suit comes in four colourways, rightly or wrongly we went for the brown jacket, although we can get any of the other versions in within a few days.

But we have gone for the all-black trouser. And we did this for two reasons. A full-on matching suit can be a bit too much. A bit too in-yer-face. And for us a colourful jacket with a black trouser is nearly always preferable. Black pants are universal, they're practical, and they work with even the most colourful of jackets.

But there's an added dimension here. The brown trousers only come in one leg length. The black trousers come in short, long and regular lengths. And for us, therefore, the choice was made easier. An all-black trouser it is.

In conclusion

We like jackets like this; and that's because they offer a kind of one-stop, layering solution.

Now we like layering. For us, for many motorcyclists, it's the way to go. It's not the way for winter commuting. And it can be too much hassle for the really high-mileage and professional, or even semi-professional, rider. But for the weekend rider, for the off-road rider, and for those who like to travel to warmer climes, layering works.

The Hakuna Matata ticks most of the right boxes. Coming from Held we have no qualms about build quality, reliability, and so on.

You'd want a thermal layer, and in our view the most appropriate would probably be the Rukka Lahti. It's very warm, easy to wear, lightweight and very insulating. There are more expensive options from Klim and Rukka, but from our perspective the Lahti would seem to hit the mark.

There are cheaper suits with removable waterproof liners that purport to do the same job. I'm thinking of the Richa Infinity, in particular. At about the same price point is the Fuel Astrail and the Spidi Hard Track. In truth, the Fuel is technically not on quite the same level. The Spidi suit is quite similar to the Hakuna Matata, but it doesn't come in so many sizes. At the other end of the scale there's the Held Carese Evo and the Rukka Trek-R. Both excellent outfits; but both much more expensive.

These days, there are lots of options if you want to layer. There's the Marrakesh, the Induction and the Baja S4 from Klim. There's the Vihti and Karvik from Rukka. All have matching pants, or you could wear them with single-layer jeans and a pair of Scotts.

The Hakuna Matata does everything you would need or want a suit like this to do. Pay much less, and you'll be compromised in several areas when it comes to functionality. Pay much more, and you'd have to be doing something pretty serious to notice the difference.

The Hakuna Matata is a very good suit that's going to be more than up to the job for most people. It's commendably protective, it's well vented, comfortable and will fit a lot of people.

You can buy the Held Hakuna Matata 3 jacket with free next day UK delivery online, or visit our store in Guildford to try one on.