Oxford Rockland textile jacket review | A good budget option for all-year riding, except in the wet

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Oxford Products are one of the first brands I think of when I’m looking for good value motorcycle kit, and the Rockland is their four-season motorcycle jacket and trousers aimed at all-weather adventure riders. From Sahara to Siberia and everywhere in between, it’s meant to offer good protection from both the elements and the pavement.

Fulfilling that criteria without breaking the bank is a dark art, and the promised versatility for the price is the main reason why I opted to put it through its paces across the Welsh valleys. I’ve ridden with the Rockland for most of my day-to-day commuting, as well as en route to my regular hiking spots and on camping trips, with lots of spirited greenlaning, and some light trail riding thrown in for good measure.

How comfortable is the Oxford Rockland Jacket?

From the moment I suited up for its first ride out in the bleak grizzly nightscape, the Rockland has always been comfortable to wear. The small size I went for has been a lightweight and unencumbering jacket that fits true to size, and mostly just lets me get on with my ride — especially without the included liners in place. Though without them, the inner mesh material does chafe quite badly, so I recommend pairing it with some good base layers for summer use.

The armour is all relatively lightweight and comfortable to wear for long periods in the saddle. Even lugging a heavy backpack around, my shoulders don’t get overly sore like with some riding jackets.

For winter riding it performs admirably. The thermal liner keeps me cosy down to about 5°C, and the Velcro flaps at the arms and ankles allow you to seal yourself away from all the winter grime no matter how chunky your gloves or boots are. Although there’s enough adjustability to get the fit pretty much where you’d like it, the waist straps never want to stay in place once adjusted — the straps are too thin for the buckle to find any meaningful grip on them.

The vents do work reasonably well in hot weather; I never find myself overheating on the twisty A-roads on a British summer day, unless I’m caught behind a tractor for too long. If anything, it gets a little chilly when I do find the shade of trees across the road. But it certainly can’t compete with a full mesh jacket, and the large back vent is held back by how comparatively small the front ones are.

Why they’re sectioned off into four small panels instead of two larger ones is a mystery to me, since it reduces airflow, and makes it more tedious to open and close them all, without much of a benefit for protection. I’d be fully unzipped if I were going down to the tropics, or riding technical trails in the scorching sun all day.

Is the Oxford Rockland Jacket practical?

There’s a good amount of practicality on offer here, but I would expect no less from an adventure jacket. It’s as easy to put on and take off as any non-motorcycle jacket, though the internal liners can get in the way sometimes. The trousers are a bit of a pain to undo, so emergency bathroom breaks have lead to a couple of close calls.

The two available front pockets are quite spacious — big enough for a phone and wallet in each — and they both split into inner and outer flaps, with the right outer flap being zippable. The inner flaps on both sides are fully waterproof, and all the petrol receipts I leave in there remain bone dry, even after an hour of non-stop downpour.

The way they fold over themselves makes them quite difficult to use with just one hand though, which isn’t ideal since they’re the only accessible pockets on the jacket — though the trouser pockets don’t suffer the same drawback. The omission of a Napoleon pocket especially diminishes the feeling of being a true adventurer, though in a pinch I’ve used the space below the vents to stash small things when the main pockets were full.

There’s also a typical spine pocket beneath the back vent for extra carrying capacity, though you’d have to train as a contortionist to use it without taking the jacket off. You’ll always have easy access to an internal pouch though — one in each lining — which are useful for keeping an A5 wallet of travel documents close to your person.

The Rockland comes with Oxford’s Dry2Dry waterproof liner, which is rated for 8,000mm of rainfall. In my experience it’s more water resistant than truly waterproof, but it’s still better than being stuck with a leather jacket in the rain. A classic Welsh torrent will get me damp shoulders after about five minutes and slowly progresses from there, but I’ve never been properly drenched while wearing the Rockland. The main problem is when water pools around the lower groin it seeps through quicker than anywhere else, diagnosing me with a leaky crotch before my time…

How does the Oxford Rockland Jacket look?

With the vents closed, I quite like the look of the Rockland. It screams technical and utilitarian, and kind of reminds me of a space suit. The reflective accents are integrated well into the styling, and it looks right at home on top of the Welsh hills where I do most of my riding.

I opted for the Khaki colour variant with this in mind, but I think the charcoal and black versions both channel the adventurous spirit the jacket is meant to embody too. I can’t imagine wearing the arctic one though — it’d make me feel like a sunburned penguin.

With the vents open, I’m not so keen on its looks. The top flaps make it look like you’re flashing at everyone as you cruise down the road, and I can’t ride with a straight face with that mental image. But, exhibitionist undertones aside, it does look the part for an adventure jacket.

Is the Oxford Rockland Jacket good quality?

It definitely feels like a budget piece of kit, but by no means bad quality, and after four months testing it’s holding up pretty well. The main zip is especially smooth and easy to use, and all the poppers have a noticeable ker-chunk feeling when securing them.

My guess is it’s going to last a good couple years of hard riding before I see any signs of wear to any of the frequent contact points. All the zips, poppers, hooks, loops, and stitching are plenty tough enough for the job they need to do, and nothing’s failed on me yet except the collar-holding loop.

That one’s hardly the end of the world — nothing a bit of superglue won’t fix in a pinch — but it was unexpected to find it pull away from it’s rightful place like melted cheese, after only 800 miles of riding. The rest of the garment is hard to fault for the price, and it leaves me wondering what’s going to go next… But I’ll keep you posted.

Protection and CE ratings on the Oxford Rockland Jacket

I think Oxford have scored a decent balance with protection. It’s AA rated for abrasion resistance, the highest you’ll find on a textile jacket, with extra polyester reinforcement in key impact areas. The included impact armour included is only CE level 1, but the trousers include large hip armour, and it’s all upgradable to level 2 if you wish.

The armour does move around a bit — especially without the internal linings in place — and this combined with the supplied armour being so small wouldn’t help my prospects in a higher speed crash. But for light trail work, I’m confident enough taking a few tumbles in the Rockland.

Oxford’s back protection comes as an optional extra here, as per usual. At £15 for the level 1 version, or £30 for the level 2 one, I would consider adding it in for a budget adventure trip. It’s always good to have the option, but I think it’s a shame it’s not included as standard.

Is the Oxford Rockland Jacket good value for money?

For me, the Rockland sits in a sweet spot of price to performance, and I think it’s a good investment for a riding jacket that’s good to go whatever the weather. At its RRP of £250 you won’t find anything else that offers all its features, but its extra versatility and higher abrasion rating make it worth the upgrade from cheaper textile jackets. Outside of special offers and deals, you won’t beat what the Rockland’s cooking for less.

The only place the Rockland really loses out value-wise for me is the level 1 armour. But, you can replace all the jacket and trouser armour with level 2 inserts for £82 at time of writing, including a back protector, which is about as cheap as armour upgrades come. All told, you’d still be spending roughly the same, or less, than you would for a competitor’s jacket and trousers that come with them included.

If you are willing to spend more, you can find better quality and more practical adventure jackets around — I’d recommend looking to the likes of the Alpinestars Bogota Pro if you have the cash for it. And, if you’d rather spend less, the Pharao Cedar jacket is significantly cheaper, with better waterproofing, at the cost of some ventilation.

It’s certainly not the best in its class, but the Rockland has never limited me in how I ride, when I ride, or where I ride. That’s what makes it good value.

Oxford Rockland Jacket – the bottom line

What Oxford have come up with in the Rockland is a true jack of all trades, master of none. Yes, the ventilation could be better, but it’s leagues ahead of a leather jacket in sweltering weather. Sure, the waterproof liner is more like water-resistant, but I always regret riding through a storm without it.

The Rockland is a lightweight and functional garment that keeps you cool in all but the roasting hot, warm in all but the icy cold, and protected for all but the worst accidents. I’d definitely consider something else if I wanted better performance in any of those areas, but the Rockland has never limited me in how I ride, when I ride, or where I ride. For the price, that makes it a winner for me.

I’d wholeheartedly recommend the Rockland to any rider who’s budget conscious and demands versatility above all else. If you’d use the extra money you saved buying it to ride somewhere remote and have fun in it, that’s a big win. But it also makes a lot of sense for year-round commuting, touring, or trail riding without breaking the bank.

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