Anyone considered trying this?

[sgendler]

I'm going to be riding across the southwest next week, and while I've done it before at this time of year, I'm not going to pretend that the long desert runs are fun. I tend to soak down inside my jacket for the really nasty weather, but I'm considering dragging one of these jackets along, so that I can wear something lighter over the top. Sure, I'll lose abrasion protection, but the most vital, high abrasion impact points would be well protected. It seems like one of these, plus a long sleeve shirt over the top would be ideal when rolling through high desert regions where temps are under 100 and the roads are fun. I would feel much better about the level of protection offered by one of these than a Joe Rocket mesh jacket where the armour is much freer to move around in an impact. The biggest concern, I think, might well be adequate SPF.

 

 

 

--sam

[ghaverkamp]

I've never tried it. From what I've read from some folks, here and elsewhere, very high-flow materials tend to kill evaporative cooling, because the air flow quickly dries out wet shirts.

 

Whether that's correct, I do not know.

 

Greg

[sgendler]

Incidentally -

 

On the protection front, you get

 

- EC homologated composite protection on the shoulders, elbows, forearms and back.

- Soft inserts on the shoulder blades, humerus and chest.

 

On the comfort front you get

 

- Adjustable waistbands to improve comfort during use.

- Removable back protection.

- Protective waistcoat produced in large-knit fabric to guarantee maximum permeability during use. Equipped with soft inserts on the shoulder blades and breast-piece over the bust.

- The shoulder and elbow protections are mounted on a soft support.

- The back Wave has an innovative corrugated structure with greater mechanical resistance than the previous versions, yet is exactly the same weight, plus a brand new ventilation system.

- The waist joint, introduced with Back Space, has been kept as it enables the protector to follow the torso’s lateral movements.

- Straps to adjust the fit of the sleeves and tie straps for shoulder protection are also included.

[sgendler]

I've never tried it. From what I've read from some folks, here and elsewhere, very high-flow materials tend to kill evaporative cooling, because the air flow quickly dries out wet shirts.

 

It is definitely correct, to a certain degree. The problem is that evaporative cooling isn't much of an option when you are going to be riding hard, as being buttoned up inside a jacket in that heat makes real exertion impossible. There's also nighttime, when it is still warm, but you don't really want to be soaking wet wen you go over passes and such. My thinking is I can pack this and a normal riding jacket without armour. When I want evaporative cooling, I put the jacket on over it with a Hoon Cooler, otherwise, I'd ride with a dirtbiking jersey or something similar on over the top of it. It seems a better option than my usual solution of packing an airflow and a regaulr BMW jacket with only a single set of armour and swapping it back and forth as I go between the two modes. I'd lose some abrasion protection but gain convenience. It would also kick ass on my commutes and rides into LA.

 

--sam