We've been testing budget ADV motorcycle gear all year to see what's actually worth buying in 2025. Here's our recommendation for the perfect head-to-toe kit.
Klim's latest Badlands Pro A3 adventure suit retails for an absolutely eye-watering $2,500. We've literally spent less money on entire running motorcycles than that, and that figure doesn't even include a helmet, gloves, or boots.
So what's a would-be adventurer on a budget to do? We can all agree that we don't want to go too cheap and end up with sub-par quality or protection, and that means we need to be smart about where we save and where we spend.
Below we'll outline the approach that's worked for us over the last decade of riding, guiding, and scouting adventure tours around the world, and share a few of our favorite recommendations the team has tested this year.
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Bell MX9 Adventure Mips |
A lightweight and well-ventilated ADV lid that works great on and off-road. | CHECK PRICE |
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Alpinestars Andes Air Drystar Jacket |
Affordable, highly breathable, weatherproof, and built to last. | CHECK PRICE |
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Alpinestars Andes Air Drystar Pants |
Matching bottoms with all the same perks for even less cash. | CHECK PRICE |
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Leatt Moto 3.5 HydraDri Boots |
Dirt-grade protection with a waterproof membrane at a fraction of the cost. | CHECK PRICE |
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LS2 All Terrain Gloves |
Quality materials, ventilation, and versatility at an outstanding price. | CHECK PRICE |
Before we dive into our current picks for budget ADV motorcycle gear, let's take a moment to explain how we arrived at our decisions from head to toe.
These are the short-and-sweet universal rules we apply to get the best bang for our buck.
Our take on a proper adventure helmet is simple: it should be protective and aerodynamic enough to wear on the highway, but it should also flow enough air to stay comfortable in hot weather and challenging off-road riding.
We recommend prioritizing a lightweight "ADV-style" lid with room for goggles. Inexpensive options that meet these criteria are typically pretty noisy on the highway, but earplugs are cheap and the reduced head and neck fatigue is a welcome tradeoff.
If you're on a tight budget, warm-weather gear is your friend. True, there are some "four-season" options out there for less money, but in our experience, they're all painfully under-ventilated for warm weather or off-roading.
We find the best value is in mesh gear that comes with removable waterproofing. A good rain layer provides the wind protection as needed in cooler weather, and you can always add more or less insulation as needed with the right base and mid-layers.
Going adventure riding without some way to keep your feet dry is a recipe for disaster. You could pick up a cheap pair of generic black touring boots with a waterproof liner, but we prefer the added protection of a tall motocross-style boot in the dirt.
To that end, we recommend looking for an affordable off-road boot with a waterproof-breathable membrane, and don't limit yourself to traditional brown-leather adventure boots. Budget-friendly versions of those are usually way too flexible anyway.
Waterproof motocross boots have grown in popularity in recent years, and the trickle-down tech is starting to hit the budget-conscious segment. Options are limited, but these are our top suggestions whenever possible.
We've been leading adventure tours for over a decade, and regardless of your budget, our advice has always been to pack two pairs of gloves. One short-cuff, breathable glove for good weather, and one waterproof gauntlet for everything else.
Luckily, lightweight summer gloves are already some of the cheapest on the market. Just make sure whatever you choose is protective enough for street use, which means knuckle protection is mandatory, as is a leather palm.
As for the gauntlets, there's no need to get fancy. Pick up a cheap set from a reputable brand that uses a proprietary liner like Alpinestars' Drystar or Dainese's D-Dry. If your pair of choice isn't insulated, consider adding a cheap pair of glove liners as well.
The Best Budget ADV Motorcycle Gear of 2025
There are a few different ways to skin this particular cat, but if you're looking to save cash without losing out on quality, our strategy revolves around building the most versatile kit possible.
Here are our favorite picks that deliver quality materials, solid protection, and multi-terrain comfort head-to-toe for a fraction of the price of that shiny new Klim kit you've been eyeballing.
There's no affordable adventure helmet we recommend more enthusiastically then Bell's MX9 Adventure Mips. We've worn this thing all over the world over the last several years, and it's just an outstanding helmet for the money.
This lid is impressively light, comes in three shell sizes for an ideal fit, flows air like an actual motocross helmet, and does it all for just $250. It also fits any size goggle without issue, and even comes with an ECE safety certification.
And, as the name suggests, the latest iteration of the MX9 Adventure helmet includes a Mips slip-plane liner, which helps reduce the impact forces transmitted to your brain in a crash. FOR $250!
We've really only had one complaint with the MX9 Adventure over the years, and that's that its about as loud as your average motocross helmet, even with the visor down. Throw in a set of 20 cent earplugs and that problem is solved. This one's a no-brainer.
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When you go adventure touring, your jacket and your pants are the crucial "first line of defense" protecting you from the elements. They do the lion's share of the work in keeping you dry in the rain, cool in the heat, and warm in the cold.
Unfortunately high-quality, all-weather jackets typically start at around $400, which most folks on a budget will find prohibitively expensive. Our solution? Stick with a warm-weather jacket, and let your layers handle the rest.
Our favorite option currently is Alpinestars' new Andes Air Drystar jacket, which combines a mesh-heavy outer shell that flows enough air for summer off-roading with a removable waterproof liner for all-weather versatility.
During the shoulder seasons, combining the rain liner with good base layers and an insulated mid-layer will keep you comfortable down into the upper-50s. If you want to ride in colder weather than that, just order a size up and go heavy on the insulation.
We dig that the Andes Air sneaks in just under the $300 mark, which is about the best deal going for a proper adventure jacket. It's not ideal for cold weather, but we'll trade insulation for ventilation any day, and have a jacket that works better during peak riding season.
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The Alpinestars Andes Air Drystar pants are here for the same reasons as the jacket above: they're mesh-heavy, come with a removable waterproof liner, and work well with layers.
As is often the case for pants, the bottom half of the Andes Air setup is even less expensive than the jacket. These typically run just over the $250 mark, so if you're looking for a matching set, these are the obvious choice.
A word to the wise here: these pants seem to run smaller than other Alpinestars gear we've owned in the past, so we'd highly recommend going up a size from your usual (or what's in the sizing chart). As noted above, you'll need room for layers too.
Our biggest gripe with the Andes Air Drystar pants is that they're clearly built to budget. The stuff that needs to be tough is tough (fabric, zippers, etc), but the pockets are held shut with basic velcro, for instance, and hip armor isn't included in the price.
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As we stated above, our recommendation for budget ADV motorcycle boots is actually a waterproof motocross-style boot. Options are limited here if you're trying to keep costs down, but Leatt's 3.5 HydraDri boots manage to fit the bill for under $300.
Truth be told, the only other boot we'd really consider in this segment around this price is Alpinestars' new Tech 3 Enduro Waterproof, but they run an extra $60+ and offer less protection, so the choice seems pretty clear at the moment.
The Leatt 3.5 HydraDri boots are a little clunky, but they offer full-height protection that's backed by a waterproof-breathable liner. We also dig that they've got an old-school MX-style sole with a proper steel shank for added rigidity and crush protection.
These are solid all-around boots that offer more protection than your typical "ADV-style" boot for less cash. They aren't as bombproof as our go-to MX boots like the Sidi Crossfire or Alpinestars Tech 10, but for the money, they're tough to fault.
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This spot used to be reserved for Klim's outstanding-meets-affordable Dakar Pro gloves, but unfortunately, they discontinued the design back in 2022. It took some searching, but we think LS2's new All Terrain gloves have finally filled the void.
We dig the All Terrain because it punches so far above its price point in terms of materials. A $60 glove has no business including goatskin leather on both the palm and top of the hand. The fact that the upper portion is perforated further seals the deal.
Elsewhere, the LS2 All Terrain gloves are all fabric and neoprene, which is enough to keep us comfortable for hot weather off-road sections. They're the perfect blend of ventilation-meets-protection, and the price is impossible to beat.
As for downsides, we don't have anything major to report. The leather-reinforced design isn't quite as breathable as a dedicated off-road glove, but that's about it. We'll also note that because this is a new model, we can't speak to its long-term durability just yet.
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Hey Riders, thank you for visiting our blog. We hope this helps you piece together a travel-ready set of budget adventure gear. If you've got an alternative you'd recommend, feel free to drop your favorite bang-for-the-buck picks in the comments below!
→Read More:
The Ultimate Summer ADV Motorcycle Gear Set up
7 Best Summer Motorcycle Gloves
5 Best Modular Motorcycle Helmets We've Found Yet