Rukka RPS AFT D3O trousers

The RPS AFT trouser is really designed for off-road riding, although there is no reason why, in some circumstances, it could not be used on road.

 

It is basically a highly breathable, knitted, mesh base layer that is designed to carry knee and hip protectors. There’s an elasticated waist band with a drawstring. You also get elastication at the ankles.

 

The armour is Rukka’s Level 2 LP2 Pro armour. It is huge, as Rukka’s armour always is. It is comfortable, as D3O’s armour always is. And it is well vented, as the Finnish company’s LP2 Pro armour always is.

 

When we come off the bike, we always want the armour to be in the correct place. But when we ride off-road, the pants we wear are often wider, and fit somewhat looser. That’s partly down to the need to get them to go over large, plastic, off-road boots. But also because, when we are stood up on the pegs, and moving about the bike for balance, one doesn’t always want a tight-fitting pant. The problem with such trousers is that, when we do fall, we cannot usually be confident that the knee armour in particular is going to be sitting where it is meant to sit; namely on the knee.

 

With a pant like this, you can be confident that the armour will always be positioned correctly. In truth, this set was designed for Rukka’s own Rimo-R pants, but you could wear them beneath any wider-legged pant. It is possible that you could fit them inside some road trousers. This might make you feel slightly better protected, but this armour is quite bulky, and so the RPS AFT pant won’t work on all road-riding trousers. Jeans? Forget it!