REV'IT! SAND Jacket and Pants Detailed Review and Road Test - Long Post

For the past year and a half I have been using REV'IT! CAYENNE PRO jacket and pants pretty much on a daily basis. Even though I'm completely satisfied with my setup, I'm always on a look out for some new gear.

So when I got a chance to try on one of the pre-production samples at my friend's REV'IT! Store (Beach Moto, Motodisiac here on ADV Rider) the SAND suit immediately caught my attention. I always feel bad thrashing my expensive CAYENNE PRO during off road adventures, and at lower price point SAND was very tempting. I decided to pull the trigger and left a deposit at Beach Moto.

A couple of weeks ago very excited Motodisiac called me late at night. As it turned out my new SAND suit was due to arrive next day! Needless to say, I was at Beach Moto few minutes after UPS dropped off the shipment. My new SAND suit was stunning. Before I go into details, here are some pictures.











Since I already own a lot of REV'IT! clothing, picking the size was easy. I'm 6" tall with 42" chest, so I went with XL jacket and L Long pants. SAND jacket fits me very well, it almost feels like it was custom tailored for me. In comparison to CAYENNE PRO it's a bit more snug everywhere (especially in the sleeves), yet just as comfortable and light.

I purposely waited for almost two weeks before posting this review because I really wanted to see what it feels like on the road. It didn't disappoint. In fact, I'm even thinking about selling my CAYENNE PRO now.

Straight away I want to point out my three favorite things about this jacket - chest vents, sleeve design and the zippers. The SAND Jacket has a lot of nice touches but the latter three are on top of my list.

Unlike pretty restrictive mesh of the CAYENNE PRO chest vents, SAND uses really open mesh there. The result is much improved ventilation, and this is essential for So Cal desert exploring. In addition to open mesh, there is a 3D foam panel behind it. It helps to keep the jacket away from the body, thus improving the airflow. Compared to CAYENNE PRO, this jacket flows quite a bit more air. Here is what the vent looks like when it's closed:



Opening it is pretty easy, yet I would recommend to stop before you attempt to do so.



By the way the material is supposed to be tucked inward. This creates scoops of material and the air will funnel into the vent easier. With both vents open things get chilly quickly. Luckily closing them is an easy affair.



The sleeve design is just brilliant. If you are like me and take your jacket off a dozen times a day, you will really appreciate it. It makes struggling with glove gauntlets a breeze. Open the zipper, tuck the gauntlet in, zip up and away you go. With the zipper wide open, you have plenty of room there:



There is also a velcro on the other side, so if you ever need to change the cuff size, it's there for you. Because it's extremely thin, it will not interfere with your gloves if you prefer to wear the gauntlet on the outside.



Another advantage of zippered sleeves is easy access to the waterproof liner. It's a lot easier to remove it or install it if you can actually see what you are doing. In extreme rain it will be easy to pull the liner over the gloves (I haven't done this yet since late storms have been pretty mellow)



When the zipper is closed, the sleeve is very secure on your arm, the armor doesn't move much at all.



But wait, there is more This magic zipper also doubles as a vent, a very effective vent I must say. Compared to my CAYENNE PRO Jacket it flows better.



Another close look:



While we are talking about ventilation I want to mention two vents on the back. In theory they improve the flow of air through the jacket, even though I haven't noticed any dramatic difference.



Let's move on to my next favorite thing about SAND Jacket. Zippers. Unlike fine toothed zippers in my CAYENNE PRO, SAND suit uses very aggressive looking YKK zippers. I'm very confident that they will never let me down. They are silky smooth. In fact, in the beginning I was slightly worried about them being too smooth, I thought they would open while riding. However in about two weeks of using the SAND setup I haven't noticed any issues with that.



The jacket has several adjustment straps: two on each side, one in the bicep area and one closer to the wrist. These come handy when you pull the liners out and the jacket suddenly becomes a bit too big. Waist straps are supposed to be adjustable on the fly, however I find it quite difficult to tighten them while wearing the jacket. I guess I'm not flexible enough. Note to self - attend yoga classes with my wife.





After being spoiled by a dozen of pockets in my CAYENNE PRO jacket, it's a bit hard to get used to just two in SAND. At least they are very wide so you can access them without removing the gloves. They are also water resistant, I tested them during a mild rainstorm a couple days ago and my wallet remained dry.



There is a one big pocket on the back. You can store your rain liner in there, but I do not like using it too much because it feels pretty awkward to have it stuffed there.



The SAND Jacket is packed with small but extremely useful inventions that are so common for REV'IT! clothing. 5 Way adjustable collar is one of them



Then there is signature hook and loop system that is designed to prevent the collar from flapping in the wind. A sketchy shock cord used in older CAYENNE PRO jackets finally gave way to a strong nylon loop that will last for years.



Little flap that covers the zipper protects your gas tank:



Hidden pocket that is built into the waterproof liner:



Speaking of liners. The jacket has two of them, both are removable. In addition, the outer shell is treated with water repelling agent. It washes off pretty quickly, I will probably treat the jacket with Nikwax next time I wash it.

Waterproof liner looks and feels exactly like GoreTex liners I have seen in BMW jackets.

Theoretically, thermal liner is not as sophisticated as the one in my CAYENNE PRO jacket, however I could not feel any difference in warmth. Perhaps it doesn't get cold enough here in California to benefit from the high tech CAYENNE PRO liner. Either liner could be used by itself or together with the other liner. Thanks to the sleeve design described above it's really easy to remove them. Here is what the thermal liner looks like:



It is attached to the jacket at the cuff so you do not pull it out while removing the jacket:



If you decide to zip the jacket to the pants during the rain, you better feed the zipper through this opening. This way you stay warm and dry, and the moisture stays outside.



This time of year I keep the waterproof liner in the jacket because it also acts like a windbreaker. The bottom of the jacket has a shock cord, if it gets cold it helps to prevent any wind drafts:



The jacket could be connected to pants via either long or short zipper. I prefer using the long one, it really makes the suit feel secure. The zippers come with connecting sides attached, so if you have your favorite non REV'IT! jacket or pants you can still use them. Nice touch. The bottom of the jacket is waterproof on the inside, this prevents water from coming in through the bottom.



Elbows have a wax like coating, it feels like rubber and appears pretty durable.



A closeup of the material.



The jacket has two reflection panels on the chest



... and one long one on the back. According to my wife who was following me in a car they really light up at night.



Both jacket and pants come with CE approved Pro Life armor. It's Italian made and feels very rubbery unlike harder Knox protectors I have seen in other jackets. Supposedly REV'IT! uses the same armor in their racing suits, so I fully trust it's ability to absorb the impact and protect my limbs.



And here are a few words about the SAND Pants. There are two things I particularly like about them: the way the venting works and the fact that the lower part of the pant is roomier that my CAYENNE PRO, thus allowing me to use full off road boots I was never able to use with the CAYENNE pants.

Unlike the DAKAR pant that the SAND pant replaces, the seat area material is doubled just like in CAYENNE PRO.



Cargo pockets are very handy because they are easily accessible and even if you stuff them with your personal belongings it doesn't make the pant uncomfortable. A really unexpected benefit of a cargo pocket is the amount of air it channels into the vent. I didn't realize it until one day I look down at the vent while riding. The pocket goes out in the air and acts like a scoop, therefore vents are really effective. I could sense a noticeable difference compared to my CAYENNE PRO pants.

Like I mentioned above, bottom pant openings are great.



You can make them looser if you are using bulky off road boots



Or you can really tighen them around the boot (or even tuck them in the boot)



Inner knees are covered with the same wax like coating found on the jacket's elbows. This is great for extra grip when standing up on the pegs.



Knee armor is height adjustable. Since I already got size Long, I didn't have to touch it, but it's nice to have such option.



In addition to ProLife knee armor, SAND pants have pretty substantial and bulky hip pads. I chose to remove them and the pants instantly became even more comfortable. I'm sure I lost a little bit of extra protection, but to me the comfort is one of the most essential things when it comes to gear.



Just like the jacket, SAND Pants come with two liners - one thermal and one waterproof:



The liners are attached to the pants with the zippers. Zippers are colored so you always know where they go.



Unlike older DAKAR or my CAYENNE PRO pants, SAND does not use Velcro for waist adjustment. New adjusting strap will last much longer. Unlike waist straps on the jacket it's easily adjustable while the pants are on you.



To me, the CAYENNE PRO suit was always a benchmark of comfort. Well, if I dare to say it, I find SAND is even more comfortable. I'm not sure what kind of magic REV'IT! engineers do when designing their gear, but it seems like the newer models always fit better than the old ones. I think one of the things contributing the the comfort is the generous use of stretch panels, they are found in elbows, lower back and knees.



I think REV'IT! learned from their past mistakes so a lot of places prone to tearing have these extra reinforcements:



I put this suit through two weeks of hard riding. Commuting, touring, wind, rain, mud and even snow. I'm very surprised to say it, but there is not one thing I would want to change. It fits like it was custom tailored and performs like a swiss army knife. Competitive pricing doesn't hurt either. The jacket costs $429.99 and the pants are $299.99. This is almost exactly the same as Olympia X Moto suit, and REV'IT! is considered to be a high end brand!

I cannot say enough good things about the SAND suit. As I continue using it, I keep wondering how it could be improved even further. Short of adding a real back protector, I fail to come up with any ideas. It's that good.

If you have any usability questions about SAND suit do not hesitate to ask them here. If you have technical or sizing questions, you better ask them in Motodisiac's REV'IT! Thread. Of course I can only recommend purchasing REV'IT! gear from Beach Moto. Dennis knows far more about REV'IT! than most of us here. He has helped hundreds of Adventure riders (myself included). By supporting him you are supporting one of us. I can't say enough about his excellent customer service. He is a wizard with sizing and will be able the size you up over the net :). I don't know how he does it. Trust me though - this is not an urban legend. Try it yourself and you'd be surprised.

Thanks for tuning in.

Thanks for posting this. I've been anxiously waiting for your detailed review as I am in the market for pants and have been eyeing up the Sands for awhile now but wanted to hear some firsthand rider experience.

Too bad I'm not in the market for a jacket right now because the Sands looks really nice.

How much do you weigh? I'm roughly the same height as you but am currently about 210 lbs. Tying to get down to about 190-195.

I'm also within driving distance from Revzilla in Philly so will probably be making the trip there within the next couple of weeks to try on some stuff. If I were out west I wouldn't hesitate checking out Beach Moto's place as he also seems to know his Rev'it products inside and out.

Just kidding.


Looks like a really nice piece of kit.


The AGTATT (All GoreTex All the Time) crowd and the "too much bling" crowds are going to hate it.

The redesign of the vents and that new cuff system look really clever.

I like it. Too bad I bought a Cayenne Pro jacket a few months ago. They changed a lot of the things I am not that crazy about with my jacket

-Zippers for the wrists again
-Getting rid of the velcro flap for the main zipper
-Slimming the cut.
-More adjustment.
-Pro-Life armor is more comfortable in the cold(<20F), even if it doesn't protect as well as the SaS-Tec pads (I had the original Cayenne as well). SaS-Tec gets hard, and stays hard.


Overall, I'd probably get one if I ever wear out my CP. Or anyone wants to overpay me for a used one .

Looks like a few good improvements over the previous versions of the jacket and pants - Off-road / Dakar.

However:

• Does back armour come standard now, or do they still have that measly thin foam back armour that is no use at all? WIll ittake the SAS-Tec protection, or do you have to go with the Knox?
• Did they do anything about zipping up the pants to the jacket and allowing the waterproof liner to shed water outside of the pants? The warm liner has a slit for the small zipper, but the waterproof line has nothing. It basically means that you can not really sip the jacket to the pants when it rains.
• Did they increase the size of the cargo pockets on the pants? The old pants leg cargo pockets are quite small and difficult to access expecially with gloved hands.

Great suit altogether, and I agree with you that the Off-road / Sand jacket fits better than the Cayenne Pro. I have both (Off-road and Pro) both in XXL, and I never wear the Cayenne Pro any more (it is for sale). I do not miss the additional features of the Pro, except for the elbow coverings and the far superior SAS-Tec back protection.




.

I weigh 195lbs, medium to athletic built, probably more medium than athletic at the moment due to winter hibernation .

It does not come with the standard armor. I think you'd have to do some cutting for the SAS-TEC to fit in. Not that difficult though. I've done it before on other jackets.

Not too sure about the water shedding. I've ridden in a rain a few times and nothing was getting through.

I can't tell you whether the pants cargo pockets got bigger comparing to the Dakar pants. I've never owned the Dakar.

Hope that helps.

I think you've covered everything - except where's the WOMEN's version!

That is an amazing write-up. I have zero need for a touring suit, and I still want to go buy it. If you aren't on REV'IT's or Beach Moto's payroll, you should be. Well done.

He may not be actually on the payroll, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Beach Moto had a little bit to do with it...

Nice review and pictures, if only every piece of gear had the same for me to weigh when considering!

Nice review. I want to try the jacket and pants on, alas the only place I've found around Atlanta with Rev'it gear is not getting them and has said they are going to cease selling it

Are you talking about BMW Motorcycles of Atlanta?

Yup

Just curious, why did they say they were discontinuing the Rev'It line? (I just happened to be in the store when Lynda was putting up the displays when they started carrying Rev'It.)

nice looking gear. i don't see a backflow preventor on the water supply for the irrigation system.

oser

Note: This is NOT from the owners mouth but from an employee, but what was said was that Rev'it was hard to deal with from a dealer standpoint. Returns, Re-stocking fees, etc.

Cool. Thanks. I was just curious, that's all.

Ya. I really want to try on the Sand Jacket and Pants before I buy. I tried on a Scirocco they had and liked it