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Firstgear Adventure Mesh Review?


Pappy35

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I currently have, and love, a Tourmaster Transition 2 jacket which has proved to be a reliable and comfortable 3/4 season jacket. It's served me well for a very long time. It's got character (which is a nice way to say that it's filthy from riding the crap out of it). Unfortunately though it's just too hot to wear here in the Mid-South summers and I find myself in search of a 1/4 season jacket.

 

I just bought a Sedici mesh jacket but I just can't get myself to really like it. First, it's not as cool as I'd hoped, the collar tends to dig into my neck when I do that blind-spot-clearing thing, and finally, it just doesn't have enough hi-viz material for my liking. I'm about to order a Firstgear Adventure Mesh (hi-viz of course) and thought I'd poll the collective and see what you folks think. I am not going to pony-up the better part of a thousand dollars for the really high-end gear, this jacket will be used primarily for daily commuting so I'm not concerned about being hermetically sealed against rain. Just looking for something to bridge the hot-weather season until I can snuggle back into my now-tortuous Tourmaster.

 

So, what do you think?

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I had a transition 2 jacket and recently upgraded to a Transition 4 jacket which is really not any better, just newer. Following Moshe Levy's advice, I have stopped wearing mesh gear, even here in Southern AZ in the summer. I just open all of the vents on the jacket (8 of them) and pour some water down each sleeve and enjoy evaporative cooling. Keeping the sun off your skin is critical as is not allowing too much hot air over it. (Think convection oven) Of course evap cooling works best in low humidity environments and we have that in spades!

 

Before I went this route I wore an Olympia mesh jacket which was very well built. My experience with First Gear is also excellent as I have a pair of their boots and a pair of shell overpants for wintertime.

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After years of wearing my Fieldsheer Mesh jacket that I loved I decided it has seen better days. I recently purchased the Olympia Dakar 2 jacket that I really like a LOT! While it has some mesh panels it is not all mesh so it allows some air flow but not too much and allows for the evaporative cooling when I wet my shirt under the jacket. It is a 3/4 length or just below the waist actually which I prefer and has a lot of adjustability in waist and arms to ensure a snug fit and keeps the armor in place. It has an over or under rain jacket that I like as well. It was not a low price jacket but not super expensive either. It has good armor and a back protector. Wore it on a 12 day trip to Americade last month as its maiden voyage and it worked like a champ and most important was VERY comfortable.

 

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/olympia-dakar-2-jacket

 

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I've owned a little bit of everything over the years, but looking at my closet now, there are only 2 brands of stuff that have stuck around......BMW and First Gear. Their availability of the tall sizes make all the difference for me. I wore a FG Kenya for YEARS......like 10+. I ended up passing it on to a new rider at work and he still uses it. My 3-season jacket is an old BMW Savannah 2. I'm going to cry when I have to retire it. I've worn it from cool 50 degree mornings to 119 degree scorching heat. It has been the best piece of gear I've owned, and by far the most versatile. My cold weather jacket is a First Gear Kathmandu and it also has been flawless in the years I've owned it. I just don't dare try to wear it when its over 75 degrees out. I also have a pair of their HT overpants that are probably creeping up on 20yrs old. They look like crap (faded), but all the zippers/velcro still work, and they are still waterproof.

 

If the Adventure Mesh jacket is like the rest of their jacket lines, I would imagine you will be happy with it. I'm not sure there is a better value out there for decent gear.

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Thanks for the input guys. I went ahead and ordered it last night.

 

Edited by Pappy35
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Let us know what you think of it, after a few use! I am looking to replace my Tourmaster mesh gears as well, since I have had it a few years, and it had traveled with my, over the years, to many parts of the world.

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Late to the conversation, but my wife gave me an ultimatum of three choices last year: find her a cooler jacket, no jacket, or no riding.

 

We found this:

477-8037.jpg

 

When it says "mesh" it means mesh. It is almost completely mesh.

 

I don't know if they make anything equivalent for men.

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