- Merlin Solitude Laminated Jacket & Condor Laminated Pants - August 10, 2025
- DJI Osmo Action 5 - August 3, 2025
- The Arctic Circle - July 30, 2025
I put together a new rider outfit for my moto tour of Norway where I was expecting cold and wet conditions.
Laminated gear
It has been my experience that all zip out removeable Gore-Tex liner rider gear will fail in steady rain once the outer layer becomes waterlogged (also referred to as ‘wetting out’).
Once that happens water that has soaked the outer layer can transfer and sit in between the outer layer and the Gore-Tex rain liner. From there it dribbles down the inside until it reaches the point where the rain liner ends then in very short order your lower waist becomes wet and then water continues to your crouch. Additionally if liner seams are not fully taped then they may allow water in and the front of the jacket can leak if the liner zipper is not waterproof.
I know riding in rain and cold well, I did so every year in Japan’s autumn as well as in Hokkaido. My Macna gear (lost in shipping) required regular application while on tour of strong water repellent to ensure the outer layer did not get waterlogged. In Japan I would have 2-3 cans in my panniers all the time. That particular repellent, the only one I found strong enough is not sold outside Japan but even if it was airlines don’t like a few large aerosol cans in your luggage.
With laminated gear the Gore-Tex is bonded direct to the outer layer and all seams are taped. Water is not able to build up in the outer layer and water is not able to run down inside the outer layer. This however means laminated gear is only suitable for cooler weather riding hence removable liners remain common for motorcycle gear while outdoor gear for hiking or climbing is laminated.
Solitude Jacket
I got the jacket from FC Moto Germany. I normally would not order clothing from overseas but I know my size in Merlin gear having already a jacket and pants from them. Then FC Moto were selling this jacket at 50% off so even with shipping I saved a HUGE amount over buying it locally. Very fast shipping and an easy transaction.
I chose to go with Merlin again as I am happy with their Mahala Pro Explorer jacket and pants and also because Merlin gear is priced reasonable. I don’t mind to pay more for gear but since I’m not planning on riding too many wet/cold destinations I did not want to over capitalize. Also I’d watched two guys on YouTube ride to Norway in Klim Badlands gear which failed and let water in so more expensive is no guarantee of better performance.
This jacket does not come fitted with chest armor however I could swap over the chest armor from my Mahala jacket to it as well I could transfer the CE2 back protector from my Mahala jacket as both are same size/shape thus further saving myself money. It has D30 elbow and shoulder armor fitted.
To try make the jacket work over wider temperature range there are 8 waterproof zipper air vents all of which vent directly to your skin/clothes. There are 4 in the sleeves which is more than I think I have seen in a jacket before. Another 2 at the chest and 2 more at the rear.
There is a removeable neck rain collar which is shown loosely fitted, this attaches by zipper at rear then magnets and velcro at front.
Laminated gear is said to be more stiff than non laminated but this jacket shows very little sign of that. It is hardly noticeable and my Macna gear I used in Japan was considerably more stiff than this.
That white front will no doubt get soiled but there are no issues to washing laminated gear that I am aware of as a strong DWR outer coating is not needed with the rain liner bonded to the outer layer.
There is a 125gm thermal liner included which is quick to install or remove compared to the one in my Mahala Pro Merlin jacket.
Condor Pants
These Merlin Condor pants besides being laminated are fairly simple. They have just two front pockets with a fold over flap, no hip pockets, no rear pockets.
Unlike the jacket there is less ventilation, only two with waterproof zips. They come with D30 hip and knee armor fitted.
The cut of the Condor pants is not to my liking. I want riding pants to be generous and a little baggy for comfort while riding and easy to fit over boots. My Mahala pants from Merlin are cut like that but the Condor are a slimmer cut and the waist which I expected to have plenty of adjustment bigger or smaller same as the Mahala offers limited adjustment to make the pants smaller but zero to let them out.
With the inner thermal liner fitted they are small inside. Imagine the cut of these pants to be more like the cut/shape of a pair of riding jeans. Rider jeans do not have to fit a thermal liner inside so can be more slim and denim can stretch a little. These laminated pants have zero stretch in them anywhere and then have a thick liner fitted inside them – it doesn’t work.
I won’t be using the included thermal liner. I actually prefer to wear a high quality technical base layer pant I got in New Zealand which I find is more versatile over wider range of temperatures than thick clip in pant liners which for me tend to get sweaty soon as the day warms up. But I would have liked to still have the option to use the liner and it is disappointing to find such an obvious design flaw.
The boot area of the pants are also a poor design. Instead of expanding wide to fit over boots like other pants they have zipper then an additional inner layer of what appears to be PVC but neither of these can expand wider and the leg is like a straight cut pair of jeans. The PVC does not slide over feet even with socks on it catches my feet making getting the pants on or off awkward. Merlin would have been far better to stick with a standard moto pant design where the base opens wide and has a gusset/gator inside. These pants are literally not wide enough to fit over the top of my other pair of ADV style boots and be zipped up.
The lower zips are not waterproof and the inner PVC affixes by a strip of velcro. The front zipper/fly is not a waterproof item however there is an inner gusset/gator which is waterproof material but not laminated.
On the Road
Australia
I recently completed an 8 day tour of the Victorian highland roads and the Gippsland region wearing this jacket. I wanted to test the waterproofness before going overseas but I had a dream like run of almost all fine weather.
I can however talk about at least one day in cold weather. Day one of that ride was cold and wet at times. I had the thermal liner in and this was very warm.
Then it was comfortable in mild weather but not suited to hot weather. Even with vents open and front zipper half down it is too hot past 25 degrees and best suited to temperatures below 21 degrees.
Compared to my Mahala Pro jacket which is constructed from Cordura this nylon jacket is much lighter. Whilst the Cordura jacket weighs more it still is far more comfortable in hot weather as Cordura can breath while this nylon jacket does not.
Being laminated means the rain liner is always fitted and thus the venting needs to be very good. The arms with 4 vents are good but the chest vents are not big enough and do not flow air like my Mahala jacket with its fold back chest sections. Instead of upper pockets this area would have been better used to make a fold back or scoop style of venting system.
The velcro on the cuffs and neck seemed to hold up ok. I find these are a weak point on jackets and usually I have to get the velcro replaced at a repair shop.
(I did not test the pants in Australia)
Germany and Norway
I ran smack into a heat wave riding Germany and the Alps. Most days were 30 degrees and one hit 33. This gear is not suited to these temperatures and if I was not an Aussie used to riding in high temperatures I think I would have had to buy a mesh jacket and rider jeans at a bike shop but I figured it would be cooler in the north so toughed it out and did not buy anything.
Riding north from Hamburg initially it was cool and I also encountered a little rain. Then by incredible luck I had fine and hot weather for most of my tour of Norway which was in the grips of another heat wave. I had one cool morning start in rain and the gear works fine in cooler temps. However the gear did not suit high 20’s which I then had most days but I again stuck with this gear expecting it to turn cold with rain any day.
My last day riding back to Hamburg I had 2 hours in cold heavy rain. I don’t think that is enough of a test because even zip in liner gear can make it through a couple of hours before getting waterlogged but this is all I can talk about as far as rain performance.
The KTM Super Adventure provides almost zero protection from rain so the gear was blasted with water on the autobahn and continued to be fully exposed on the minor roads but I arrived dry.
The pants did not get any waterlogging and the seat of the pants remained dry unlike zip in gear where the seat of pants seems first part to fail. The lower area of the pants with the inner PVC that fits around boots which I doubted actually worked fine in the rain as it is elasticated and thus was a snug fit around my boots letting no rain splash up. Pockets were totally waterproof. By the time I was leaving the bike shop after returning the KTM (about 40 minutes) the pants had dripped dry.
The jacket did not leak anywhere but I think there may be weak areas. The inner arms (shown in dark blue material on the jacket) I could feel were cold while riding and I discovered later those sections of outer material had become waterlogged. How is that possible if laminated? But those sections were soaked and took all night to dry. Also some sections of the side of jacket (also shown in dark blue in photo) were waterlogged and stayed wet but I can see the laminated liner is in place on inside of those sections so why does the blue outer material get waterlogged? (but the jacket did keep me dry)
The magnetic neck gator is an assistance in deflecting rain from neck but I still used my usual neck gator under the jacket. The neck enclosed well with decent velcro giving me a good seal around the neck and the combo of this and Merlin outer gator stopped all water. The waterproof zips were actually waterproof and the pockets were also waterproof.
Conclusion
I didn’t want to post this without being able to give a definitive thumbs up or down however I don’t have any more rides coming up this year where the gear is likely to be tested in rainy conditions and at this stage I have no rides planned for next year so I am going to publish this now.
I feel fairly confident these pants will keep you dry (and they were the item I had doubts on before the ride). They never became waterlogged and had been blasted with water on the autobahn then they drip dried quickly afterwards. However they are a odd slim cut. They will only work with mid height road touring boots and not with full height ADV or moto-x boots. If you were buying them you have to go up at least one size if you wish to use the thermal liner due to the cut of the pants not being generous enough.
The jacket I’m less sure about. The pants worked like laminated gear is described to but the jacket got waterlogged in two places which I think indicates something is not right in materials or construction – but I did arrive dry so perhaps these sections absorbing water are not a problem. That white is already soiled and washing did not really improve it much although I never used any bleach. Perhaps hand scrubbing that area could improve it. I’m not really too concerned.
My experience with laminated gear showed it is only suited to cool or cold weather rides. While I purchased it just for Norway I have a couple of destinations with cool weather I hope to ride where I’ll take this gear as despite it’s weak points I much rather use this than be stopping on side of road to put on and take off rain gear.
