Meet the Brand: North of Berlin
We’re happy to introduce an all-new gear brand to the U.S. market. Meet “North of Berlin,” an upstart motorcycle collection with a smart mix of well-made, highly functional jackets, pants, and rain gear.
We’ve found North of Berlin products to be a good quality blend of understated styling and thoughtful functionality, and we are excited to add the brand to the Union Garage catalog.
North of Berlin jackets and pants are now available both in-store for real-life try on, and on our web store, for immediate shipping.
Inventory note: As of this writing we are fully loaded with every available size of the Desert Rider summer mesh jacket, which here in peak summer is proving to be the most immediately popular item in the catalog.
We’ve got good stock of the rest of the line, too, but if you see a size/color missing from our inventory that you’d like to try, shoot us an email at Support@uniongaragenyc.com and we’ll make sure to earmark for you the next available unit coming in from Deutschland.
Who/Where/What is North of Berlin?
North of Berlin is the brainchild of Berlin-based designer Karsten Merz, who has been designing and developing motorcycle, military and workwear clothing for more than two decades.
Merz is formally trained in fashion and design, having graduated from Berlin’s HTW School —aka Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft.
After building a portfolio of work with motorcycle brands like BMW and Hein-Gericke, just to name a few; as well as a range of other clients in workwear and military markets, Merz decided to leverage his experience and factory connections to start his own company.
In 2024 Merz (pictured at the top of this post on his Harley, and below on a BMW) launched his own brand of clothing, which is directly inspired by the riding found in the vast and varied terrain that is reachable for Merz by motorcycle—wait for it—North of Berlin.
This brand was born around the concept of riding the wild landscapes of Scandinavia that Merz is so fond of exploring. Depending on the season, the weather in Norway/Sweden/Finland can deliver the full spectrum of riding conditions, from cold and driving rain to dry high-altitude summer sunshine.
As such, the North of Berlin range is built with a clear nod towards versatility. We are fans of the approach and the product, and think you will be too.
With promo photos like this one from North of Berlin, it's clear they know what it's like to encounter weather while out on the bike.
Product Talk // The Short Story
“Motorcycle Weatherwear” is a key slogan for the North of Berlin brand, and it delivers on this promise with a mix of jackets, pants, and rain gear that cover a wide range of riding conditions—from dry and arid, with the summer-mesh Desert Rider Jacket; to wet and harsh environments, with the rugged Moto 65 family of jackets and pants.
In between these two products is a fantastic middle-child model, with a slightly confusing name: the “Dryzone.” One might assume the Dryzone to be a waterproof jacket, but thankfully it is not. More on that below—scroll to the bottom of this post for a full product overview—or go to the "North of Berlin" brand page to shop the gear directly.
North of Berlin also produces some high-quality taped-steam rain gear in its Swamp Series of easy-to-pack rain jackets and rain pants.
Where it’s Made
We import North of Berlin products directly from the North of Berlin warehouse in Germany, where they go through quality control after being received from the factory in Pakistan.
While some other more established brands like Merlin and Roland Sands Design make their products in Pakistan, (versus Bangladesh for John Doe, Belstaff, etc), much to his credit Merz actually regularly visits his factories in person, closely monitoring the production, and making sure the material sourcing and execution is up to snuff.
Armor and Protection
All the North of Berlin jacket and pants we carry use ripstop Cordura construction for their shells, which reaches the required abrasion resistance values for the CE AA rating.
Furthermore, all jackets come with a full five-piece armor complement of Level 2 armor, spec’d by SasTec, another German brand, which is also found in our Bowtex abrasion-resistant layers.
This super thin armor variant comes with a fabric backing that we recommend facing outwards when installed in the jacket. We’ve found the armor to do a nice job "disappearing" to the point you know it's there, but it's not obtrusive at all.
Product Line Overview // The Full Spiel
As of this summer 2025 writing, the Desert Rider is certainly a clear early brand favorite, with its ample airflow and easy-to-wear, good-looking disposition.
It is decently priced, too, and its striking dark blue chassis with rich brown leather accents will stand out in a sea of black and/or overly branded summer mesh jackets.
Note, the branded horizontal patch on North of Berlin jackets is only held on with Velcro, and can be removed easily. We could have done without any Velcro or exterior logos at all, but brands are gonna brand, and we appreciate the relative restraint.
As with all North of Berlin jackets, the Desert Rider comes with Level 2 Sas-Tec armor throughout—elbows, shoulders, and back.
It’s got plenty of pockets for everyday use, including two inner zippered pockets, two patch chest pockets, and “hand warmer” pockets that are secured by a central snap.
Pair with your favorite pair of riding jeans, or zip the jacket into any of the North of Berlin riding pants to make it a complete riding suit.
The Desert Rider is ideal for summer, but if pressed to pick a year-round overall favorite, the North of Berlin “Dryzone” is probably it.
As of this writing we've already sent one intrepid customer riding across country in a Dryzone jacket, and so far the report from the field is 5 stars.
While many rugged adventure jackets on the market come with full Gore-Tex laminate construction, equipped a number of vents, the Dryzone keeps a relatively lower price tag, overall lower weight, and a relatively lower-key aesthetic compared to most of the available competition, both from American brands like KLIM, and Euro offerings from Alpinestars and REVIT.
By skipping the mandate to deliver Gore-Tex levels of waterproofing—or any formal waterproofing story, really—the Dryzone ends up being a sturdy, yet relatively lightweight jacket option. It’s easy to wear and exceptionally well-vented, flowing air as well or better than any other 3/4 cut jacket on the market.
Like the Desert Rider the Dryzone is offered in the brand's trademark dark blue, as well as a lighter tan color option.
The Dryzone series is designed for everyday use and bigger adventure rides, on or off-road. It sports 6 conventional mesh-backed zippered vents. Plus as a welcome bonus on those hottest days—seventh vent in the form of a big old 2” central-zipper mesh panel that can be deployed for extra airflow, right down the center of the jacket.
The matching Dryzone Pants have front and rear thigh vents, leather panels at the inner leg for cushioning while riding on the pegs and gripping the tank, and it a hip-to-hip zip for connecting to any of the jackets in the North of Berlin catalog.
For cooler weather and/or bigger trips, opt for the Moto 65 Series, a rugged all-day adventure jacket and pant combo.
Available in a black or North of Berlin's trademark blue, the Moto 65 jacket and pants are made from Cordura reinforced with a Sympatex breathable/waterproof membrane.
The Moto 65 jacket is at once lightweight, and heavy duty. Pull it off the rack by the hanger and set it on the ground, and the jacket will stand up on its own.
The jacket’s general 4-pocket silhouette is a nod to the so-called M65 Field Jacket, a benchmark standard-issue piece introduced by the U.S. army in 1965.
If you opt for one of the non-waterproof options, and don't want to be stopped by unpredictable weather, pack along rain gear. North of Berlin produces a blessedly simple set of waterproofs called the Swamp Series.
Both the Swamp Jacket and the Swamp Pants feature flexible stretch construction that’s fully seam-taped for no-nonsense waterproofing on the run.