When it comes to adventure gear, it is crazy to skimp on quality and comfort. Whether it is hot and dusty or cold and wet, you need protection... The Dainese D-Explorer 2 ticks those boxes...
Adventure riding has become one of my favourite two wheeled pastimes and I had put a good seven years of adventure under the wheels wearing my previous adventure kit. It was time for a freshen up, something that would last even longer. I went for the D-Explorer 2.
Jeff’s returned love of adventure riding means he spends more time in adventure gear than he does in racing leathers these days, so he needs gear that is very tough and durable due to the amount of miles he covers testing bikes…
I do big, big miles in all weather conditions and my job is to put bikes, tyres and riding gear to the ultimate test. I’ve been doing this full time for 22-years now and have done extreme numbers of hours in just about every brand of riding gear there is, and just about most of the range of said brands.
It takes me about two hours riding to form a quick opinion of riding gear, and about a week of use to write a reasonable accurate first impression. But it takes months, sometimes years, to really settle into some gear and I reckon that mainly goes for leathers, and adventure kit…
These are the two sets of kit I keep the longest. In fact, the seven years I had my DriRider Adventure gear is the longest I’ve continually used one set of kit. Second to that are my race leathers, around five years. Both with thousands of hours of use and multiple crashes… Which brings me to my next point…
Before I continue and tell you all about this gear, I want you to know that I have complete trust and faith in this kit. Why? Because on only my third ride in the D-Explorer 2 suit, I had a massive high speed crash when I mucked up a jump landing for a shoot. I broke my hands on landing when the forks bottomed out, then lost control as a result, hit my own car, then went 20m into the bush at high speed.
Not long after this, a bit later in the day, it all went pear shaped for Jeff. The Dainese D-Explorer kit, SIDI Adventure boots and Shoei Hornet saved him from serious injury. Every dollar of the RRP was justified in that split second…
I walked away without as much as a scratch on my body thanks to the protection from the D-Explorer 2. There are plenty of marks on the fabric to tell the story, but none on me. It saved my elbows, knees, shins and my back and I am very, very grateful I was wearing it all. My shins hit the Guzzi cylinders hard, my elbows hit numerous gum trees, and when I went down, the bike landed on my back. The CE armour throughout absorbed all of those impacts, thankfully.
“I walked away without as much as a scratch on my body thanks to the protection from the D-Explorer 2. There are plenty of marks on the fabric to tell the story, but none on me…”
My hand fractures have healed, and I’ve had some ligament surgery, and should be back out adventure riding soon… But it has been a long year. I still look at the riding gear now, and feel grateful that I am in a position to have such good quality kit to ride in. I’m looking forward to doing more testing and writing the full gear review, so keep an eye out for that in the next few months.
In the short eight or nine hours I used the D-Explorer 2 kit as a complete set (I’ve since spent a month or so wearing the jacket), I found it really comfortable and very well ventilated. I’ll be back on adventure bikes very soon, so will do a complete review of the set then.
I had to take 9 months off riding, and have recently returned to only scooters for now (I can’t use a clutch yet). I’ve been wearing the D-Explorer 2 gloves daily. They are lightweight, comfy, easy to store in my open fave Shoei J.O under the scooter seat and perfect not only for adventure riding, but also for light scooter duties, enduro riding and commuter use.
So far, even after the beat up they got in the stack, they are not showing any signs of wear. They are strong, well made and a pretty good fit. Initially they were a bit tight around my thumb base, and the little finger tips are a tad too long, but they have now worn in nicely, but it took a good few weeks of regular use before they felt really comfy and easy to fit on and off.
The Dainese D-Explorer 2 has a heavy-duty waterproof zip-in/out liner for the winter and heavy rain, and plenty of ventilation for those hot days. When standing around between riding, the front and back can be completely opened.
Since jumping back on two wheels, just on the BikeReview Yamaha D’elight 125 for now, my go to jacket has been the D-Explorer 2. It has two very large, waterproof front pockets, a large rear vent that doubles as a storage pouch, and two large internal mesh pockets.
“I love it, and particularly the generous length, something that is a pet hate of mine is a short jacket… and they all seem to be getting shorter in the torso…”
It also has a really soft, comfy and easy to adjust collar and once I got the waist and arms adjusted right, the jacket fit me like a custom made one. I love it, and particularly the generous length, something that is a pet hate of mine is a short jacket… and they all seem to be getting shorter in the torso…
The jacket is heavier than a traditional summer road mesh jacket of course, being a heavily optioned and armoured adventure jacket, but it is still light and feel it to wear. It also packs up compactly so is easy to store, although the waterproof liner is thicker and bulkier than needed for Aussie conditions – it is more designed for really cold winters I suspect. I’ll find out in winter I guess. For the few rain showers I’ve worn the jacket in, I’ve just zipped it up and left the liner out and stayed dry anyway!
Once I can do some more touring, big rides and adventure work I will update you more on the jacket but so far, I’m impressed. The D-Explorer 2 pants are something I have not had anywhere near as much use of as the jacket, but for the time I did use them, I found them great.
The Dainese D-Explorer 2 pants have side pockets but no front pockets. They retail for $879 RRP.
They come with knee/shin guards which are super comfy and well molded as well as height adjustable, two large pockets and they have elastic braces to help hold them up for us old farts! They too are ventilated and come with a waterproof liner. They also zip to the D-Explorer 2 jacket. I found the side pockets handy but would appreciate front pockets at the sacrifice of some of the vent size.
At a pinch, you could carry lightweight stuff in the vents, but the bottom is velcro so nothing of any weight or it could fall out of the bottom. The waist clip is super secure, but still tight on mine – they just need more use once I’m back on deck fully…
All up, this is all pretty impressive, super high-end gear for the serious adventure rider or tourer. I will bring you a full review and video as soon as I’ve got enough data for you. There are plenty of good tech features worth checking out, too, and a variety of colours and sizes that you can peruse here.
DAINESE D-EXPLORER 2 TECHNICAL HIGHLIGHTS
Dainese D-Explorer 2 Gore-Tex Jacket – $1449 RRP
1 pocket on inner liner
1 pocket on left strip
1 pocket on thermal liner
1 pocket on waterproof liner
2 external waterproof pockets
2 outer pockets on front
2 rear pockets
Pocket for documents on sleeve
Pocket for Double Chest protector
Reflective inserts
Anti-floating sleeve adjustment
Drawstring adjustable jacket bottom
Elasticated inserts
Gaiter on sleeve bottom
Jacket-pants fastening system
Neck adjustment
Air vents on sleeves
Breathable mesh lining
Dainese modular flap system on chest and back
External fabric with water-resistance treatment
Removable liner with breathable waterproof GORE-TEX® membrane
Removable thermal liner
Waist adjustment
Wrists adjustment
Back protector Wave G2 certified to CE – Cat. II – EN 1621.2 included
Removable composite protectors certified to EN 1621.1 Standard
Thermoformed shoulders covered in D-Stone™ fabric
Duratex fabric
Mesh fabric
Mugello fabric
QuickDry fabric
Dainese D-Explorer Gore-tex Pants – $879 RRP
2 outer pockets
Adjustable height of knee protectors
Calf zip with VELCRO® of regulation
Elasticated inserts
Duratex™ fabric
QuickDry fabric
TRIXIOR D-TEC Engineered Textile on high impacts areas
Removable composite protectors certified to EN 1621.1 Standard on knees
Breathable mesh lining
Dainese modular flap system on tights
External fabric with water-resistance treatment
Removable liner with breathable waterproof GORE-TEX® membrane
Reflective inserts
Dainese D-Explorer 2 Gloves
Dainese Smart Touch
Dainese Visor Wiper on the left thumb
Micro-injection inserts on the fingers
Palm reinforcements
Reflective inserts
Soft inserts
Elasticated inserts
Micro-injection reinforcement on the back
Neoprene cuff
Pre-curved fingers
Tightening strap
Breathable and elasticated fabric
Goatskin leather palm
Mesh fabric inserts
Gloves certified to CE – Cat. II – Pr-EN 13594 Standard lev. 1
Inserts in polyurethane on knuckles
Reinforced goatskin leather palm
The Author
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