Aether’s Mojave Jacket and Pants

[MotoNews]

Published in: Gear

For the last few weeks I’ve been testing the Mojave jacket and pants from Aether, a Los Angeles-based boutique manufacturer of outdoor apparel and gear, including motorcycle gear.

One of their claims to fame is a grounding in modern urban design, which shows in the Mojave jacket. It’s not the most technical jacket, but when it comes to style, the Mojave has it in spades. It looks just as much at home on an R1200GS as on a vintage scrambler, or even a chopper. The clean lines and heavy-duty cotton canvas construction give it an old-school vibe that blurs the riding genres.

Aether partnered with D3O to produce a jacket and pants with the full suite of their Viscoelastic armor. D3O properties are excellent in that the armor is both soft when you want it to be and hard when you need it to be. The Mojave jacket is surprisingly comfortable on the bike. Off the bike, it tends to be a little bulky for general street wearing, but much less than more technical jackets.

Venting is just okay. You do get chest, back and underarm vents with the jacket, which provide a lot of air flow. But the problem is accessing the vents. The chest vents are easy to get to, however, underarms are difficult to open and close while riding, and you have to take the jacket off in order to adjust the back vents.

My one big gripe with the Mojave jacket is pocket space, or the lack thereof. You get one inside pocket, which fit just my cell phone; a back pocket, which I didn’t use due to its inconvenient location; and, technically, four hip pockets. “Technically” because they’re sets of two pockets overlaid on top of each other, the result being that once you fill up the inner pockets there’s no room available to fit anything in the outer zippered pockets. Ultimately the lack of storage is a concession you’ll make for the styling.

The complementing pants are an uncomplicated piece of gear, sturdy and capable. The D3O armor in the hips and knees is again excellent. The knee armor pockets allow for some height adjustability, a testament to Aether’s attention to detail. They also feature two zippered thigh pockets, which somewhat alleviate the jacket’s lack of storage. The pants also have an additional four pockets (two front and two back) around the hip, however, none are zippered or have snaps, so I wouldn’t keep anything in them that I’d be worried about dropping at speed.

Ultimately, the full Mojave outfit is a solid option. There are definitely some drawbacks to consider with both the jacket and the pants, but overall, for the right rider, they’ll fit right in. I found myself really enjoying this riding suit from Aether, and intend to keep wearing it long after this review is published. MSRP: Jacket—$550 | Pants—$425 AetherApparel.com

---

PROS:

• Great style
• Comfortable
• Lots of armor

CONS:

• Lack of pocket space
• A little bulky

View the full article