Richa Armada Pro GTX jacket review

The Richa Armada is a high-end jacket designed to take the battle to Rukka, Klim, Stadler and Halvarssons. And this is ambitious because, historically, Richa has very much been a mid-market brand.
But the Armada does have a spec. that is truly a match for the best out there. In styling terms, it is a longer jacket; perhaps not quite ‘adventure’ long, but it’s going to be long enough for anybody, especially with its lowered back.
It’s a laminated jacket made from a Gore-Tex three-layer Pro Shell material. You get Level 2, D3O armour in the shoulders, elbows and back. On the shoulders and elbows, there are panels of both Armacor and SuperFabric. This is impressive, but given all these components we are surprised that the jacket is only A rated under EN17092.
One of the key benefits of laminated garments, other than their resistance to wetting out, is that they offer direct-to-body venting. And so the Armada has loads of vents. Two impressive peel-back panels on the chest. Zipped vents under the arms. Vents on the forearm. Two rather strange little vents on the belt line. And three exhaust vents on the back.
The rest of the spec. is equally impressive. An integrated kidney belt. Five outside pockets; the same again on the inside. A double storm flap. A storm collar. A perforated inner placket. A tab to hold the collar open. Adjuster straps at the waist and on the arms. A drawstring in the hem. Lots of 3M reflective material. Zipped gussets to allow the jacket to splay on the bike. Short and long connecting zips. The jacket comes in three different lengths, but the importer is only bringing it into the UK in the regular length
Nobody has crammed more into a motorcycle jacket than Richa has done with the Armada. But therein lies a potential problem. There’s a lot going on with this jacket, and the result is a garment that we simply feel is not going to be particularly nice to wear or ride in. Sometimes less is more, and whilst one can only admire Richa’s ambition in taking the fight to the big boys, the battle is lost if the jacket is not wearable.
There’s another issue. The price. Richa has no credentials or experience at this end of the market, yet they expect you to pay more than you would for some of the best, technical suits money can buy: for example, the Rukka Nivala, the Stadler Supervent or the Klim Kodiak.
Well that would be the case if you removed the thermals from the Rukka and the Klim. The Richa represents an amazing first attempt at a premium jacket, but we would do not believe that many will be prepared to pay Rukka money for a Richa!
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[@OldDogZeroTricks]

I enjoy watching your vids from Japan. As an older guy who's taken a long break from motorcycling, it's great to see so much motorcycle clothing nowadays that doesn't make you look like you are on your way to beat up a gang of skinheads. When I visit the UK, I'd like to visit your store.

[@The-Splat]

“Comfort often comes down to fit.” So true! And it’s a good reason to visit the Guildford store in person. The brand name and materials are irrelevant if the fit isn’t right. In contrast, my heaviest jacket is my most comfortable jacket because of its excellent fit.

[@kaiingarsandtren4067]

Have used this jacket and pants this season, about 10,000 kilometers on the road in Northern Norway. I really like wearing them. The only thing I have to complain about this far is that the ventilation is too poor when it went above 25 degrees C. and when it's cold, you get chilled on the forearms where the ventilation is, even with the zips closed.

[@stocks7765]

I have a Klim Carlsbad,it gets cold on the forearms also with closed zippers.Don't have this with the Rukka Realer(Nivala)

[@larifari4371]

How come there getting air i at the forearms ? Or just a lack of insulation? THX

[@kaiingarsandtren4067]

@@larifari4371 My thought is that air is coming through the zippers which are not sealed. And there is no insulation in the arms either.

[@larifari4371]

@@kaiingarsandtren4067 Not sealed? Sounds like water should go thru too then :-( I just ordered mine cus they sold it with a whooping discount. But I wonder how it will perform in rain?

[@kaiingarsandtren4067]

@@larifari4371 Haven't had any problems with water leakage in the rain.

[@baconbiketours9166]

I've never been that impressed with Rukka quality, but our entire riding group has had excellent service out of our Richa kit given some hard use. I'd definitely consider this suit when it comes time to change.

[@jamiek9907]

Again another great review, I have richa kit and and find it good value for money. I must admit when you said the suit was expensive I was thinking about £1000 ish but like you said ambitious... it looks a great suit.

[@SOLOMOTOUK]

I went from RST then my circumstances changed so bought Rukka Kingsley even though I feel like a cardboard robot in it also got the cheaper Rukka kalix 2 and there Orivesi 2.0 gortex textile which I find excellent for off roading. To buy this RICHA suit think I’d have to wait a while to see what people think of it and Dam right expensive like you say 👍👍

[@cliveadams7629]

Excellent review, I agree that people are far more likely to go with brands that have a strong reputation for high performance garments when it comes to paying top dollar. I have some Richa trousers which were very reasonably priced and have never let me down commuting in cold wet weather. They make great value and good quality gear but I doubt I'd pay Rukka or Klim money for Richa gear unless it offered a lot more than the competition. I suspect the price on these jackets will quickly drop to around the 7-800 quid mark to make them competitive. Getting Rukka performance at a knock-down price might make a difference. Whether that's a financially viable proposition is another question altogether.

[@martijnschumacher8132]

Very strange, I’ve got this jacket and pants now for a few months and just double checked. They are AA rated, instead of single A as mentioned in the video. This is in fact one of the boxes I wanted to check in my search of a jacket and pants.

[@bikersquest]

He mentions the change at the end, it's AA rated indeed.

[@Motolegends]

Yes, in the summary I do state that the jacket had been upgraded to AA. All our stock has A labels, but the importer tells us that the labelling was incorrect! Whatever the reality, the suit is now AA rated. CP.

[@mikeball5883]

Nice honest review Chris

[@johndoe-pm7up]

what surprised me is that Chris kind of talked down the suit while still offering it in store. How does that supposed to work? unless someone comes and demands Armada or orders it online

[@sortaaa]

The jacket is OK, but the cuffs leak. The zipper isn't waterproof and the ventilation is bad. For a jacket at this price point with laminated goretex it's incredible that they missed that. The storm collar is just annoying when it's flapping about with its symbolic magnet. I just bought the Rukka Shield-r and Rapto-r pants, and my god what a difference. The Rukka is well ventilated in the summer heat, very warm with the down set, and feels safe. Costs a pretty penny, but it alone has increased my level of enjoyment on the bike by a lot. A comfortable rider is a safe(r) rider and so forth.

[@SouthwestBlue1]

I have this jacket and trousers for work. I also have the Rukka Nivala and Coriace. I'd give the Richa 7/10 and the Rukka 9/10. The Nivala is superbly comfortable and the features are well considered and feels developed . The Richa, although it provides very good protection and feels it when when wearing, has a couple of features that don't work well. The cuffs need to be GTX and are too narrow making it difficult to fit gloves, the left chest vent isn't that effective as internally there is a neoprene phone pocket behind it, the neck collar could do with being a little higher. It is almost as if Richa looked at all good stuff from the high end manufacturers and thrown it at the suit without giving it much thought.

[@whatsgoingon71]

Looks like they let an AI look at the high end market and design a suit full of surprising omissions and unexplainable design decisions. 😂

[@martinfoster5163]

I like your videos but I don’t like textiles for motorcyclists PPE. These £2000 suits are rainsuits with poor protection I prefer leathers with a low cost rainsuit for when the heavens open.

[@Motolegends]

We take a different view. Leather may be very strong, but it doesn’t breathe when it’s hot, it has no thermal qualities, and it is totally useless in the rain. We are more interested in the concept of passive safety than protection for its own sake. With a leather suit you might bounce better, but by ensuring that you are always riding in a comfortable state, a good-quality textile suit will lessen the chances of you having an accident in the first place. CP

[@cliveadams7629]

@Motolegends Except the Rukka Coriace which is superb in hot weather with its perforations and vents, has seen me bone dry through long and very wet rides without the leather getting waterlogged and heavy and is extremely comfortable! But as a rule, I tend to agree.

[@martinfoster5163]

@@Motolegends I respect everybody's choice. I might consider textiles if I lived in England but I don't. Of course I have them but find that I wear them less than my leathers. I live in very cold and dry place called Mongolia. It only rains a bit in Summer. That being said, when I grew up in England, I did ride in full leathers and carried a rain suit. I had no issues with cold or wet with this combo, even riding all year round. Motolegends even recommends a very good rainsuit, the Scott. Over leathers and other thermal layers, you'd be as warm with leathers as a (non-insulated) technical textile. Leather isn't as cold as you say. It's typically 1.4mm thick and spongy in nature - compared to 0.5mm thick nylon, it beats it for insulation. In very cold temps, layering is a good idea with either - fleece, down, underneath and a shell to keep out the drafts. I ride down to -15C and thick nylon tends to get very stiff in the cold. Leather doesn't. So leather would be more impact abrasion resistant for active safety AND more flexible for your passive safety. Ultimately, cold is more of a problem than wet and hot for me.

[@johndoe-pm7up]

@@martinfoster5163 just wondering, what do you do in Mongolia? in general and for living? how's dealership network out there, how do you get service and spares?

[@martinfoster5163]

@@johndoe-pm7up I took early retirement so I more or less do what I fancy. Hobbies mainly. I ride motorcycles and also do research on protective gear for crashworthiness. We live in a yurt camp in the mountains in a scenic area so we might run adventure tours in the future. Regarding dealers, there are just a few for motorcycles in the capital city, Ulaanbaatar which is 32km from my home: Surron, KTM, Yamaha and maybe Honda. I have my own American mechanic who I trust with mechanical repairs. For my Surron Storm Bee (electric enduro), I can take it to the Surron dealer distributor but being electric there's really not much to do. It's also possible to get parts shipped from abroad and do the repairs yourself or by a local mechanic.