Hot weather jacket

[West_Coaster]

August/September in San Diego can get very hot, especially if you like to ride near the desert areas. Typically it can get to 100°.

 

In the scheme of ATGATT, I want to get a mesh jacket. The thought of wearing a jacket in near 100° heat makes me start sweating already, but I want to be protected more than I want to be cool. 

 

Anyone have a recommendation for a mesh jacket that really works well? I'm looking at the following ones on Revzilla:

REV'IT! GT-R Air 2 Jacket

Cortech Hyper-Flo Air Jacket

Dainese Air Crono 2 Jacket

Klim Induction Jacket

Olympia Airglide 5 Jacket

 

Should I be assuming the Joe Rocket is not that good of quality?

[Oldrider51]

I have the Klim Induction jacket and am pleased with it. I live in NW Arkansas and in the summer it can get anywhere from 90F to over 100F and although the jacket flows air very well when moving when you get into traffic or have stop and go traffic you will sweat. The mesh helps to mitigate this versus my perforated leather jacket, but I still get warm and sweat. However, I still always ride with ATGATT

[9Mary7]

 I have a Joe Rocket mesh that is ten years old and is a great jacket for the super hot days. I don't know about their current quality, mine is good.

[szurszewski]

I have had tourmaster, joe rocket, teknic (sp?), and Olympia mesh jackets. My wife has a scorpion. I think all of those are about the same quality - the more mesh the more air, but the more solid panels the more you’re going to feel protected. 
 

I started wearing motoport stuff about a decade ago. I’ve yet to feel any other mesh gear that feels even half as protective. It does not flow as much air as the lighter weight stuff, but I think the trade off is worth it. 
 

I do NOT have any experience with the Klim stuff - maybe it’s really sturdy feeling as well. 
 

I’ve also not crash tested any of them - so my opinions are clearly subjective. 

[RCS]

Hello,

 

I have a Rev It Tornado 3 that is good (i.e. no discomfort/sweating unless in city stop & go traffic) up thru 95 degrees of AZ summer heat. Above that temp I wear a totally mesh HD jacket...lighter weight/greater airflow/ less abrasion protection. I don't have any experience with your other choices.

 

Protection vs comfort/airflow is always a trade off that is up to the individual to decide.

 

regards,

[Paul4450]

Just north of you In San Marcos is Motoport. I have their Ultra II Air Mesh jacket and pants. Moto Mouth Moshe has his reviews on the Motoport gear. I really like mine. Even though the Kevlar weave mesh is black, the heat doesn’t seem to pass to the inside. I do get a bit of chafing on one side of my neck after a couple of days riding but that’s it. It weighs a lot so it gives me a sense of protection and once it’s on, the weight is a non issue.  I recently rode from Corbin in Hollister back to San Jose in mid 90’s temp with a cooling vest and it wasn’t that bad at all. 
 

I still have a Scorpion Yosemite jacket and pants, and for me, it’s no comparison. I feel the Motoport is better in terms of air flow, comfort, durability and protection. The mesh pants from Motoport are much cooler than the Yosemite pants, yet I’ve ridden in the upper 30’s wearing only jeans under the Motoport pants comfortably. 
 

I upgraded the padding, added wider reflective stripes, added the rain/wind liners, and suspenders. I ended up not needing the suspenders, nor liking them. It’s a custom suit so fit was not a problem. The Motoport suit is expensive however. If I remember correctly, it ran me around $1500-1600 and that was 4 years ago. But no regrets!

[Bill_Walker]

As I recall, you're still looking for a bike, and mostly leaning toward an RT.  I can tell you that while a mesh jacket is nice on the RT, there's still not all that much airflow, due to that big fairing and )windshield in front of you.

 

I've had mesh jackets from Joe Rocket, FirstGear, and BMW (still have them all, in fact), and I'd rate them in that order in terms of quality.  I've found I don't like a mesh jacket for touring, because it's all or nothing.  Either it's all mesh, full flow, or you put the liner in and there's no flow.  I prefer a jacket with adjustable vents, like my current BMW Rallye jacket, so I can adjust the airflow for different conditions, even while riding.  I do use my mesh jackets for local rides.  There's a huge difference between wearing a mesh jacket on my RT and wearing one on my KLX.  Probably 5-10 degrees difference in comfortable temperature (75 on the KLX is chilly).

 

Once the temperature gets over about 95, that hot air flowing through a mesh jacket is heating you up more than cooling you off.  Further, in a dry climate like ours, it evaporates your sweat so fast that you don't realize how much you're sweating, and you can easily become dehydrated.  When I'm hitting temps of 100+ (not unusual between San Diego and Torrey, for example, a trip I've made many times), I generally go for an evaporative cooling vest under a regular jacket with the vents open.  It'll keep me comfortable for an hour or two, at which point it's time to stop for a Gatorade or some such thing anyway.  Resoak the vest and then hit the road again.  I once wore the evaporative vest under a mesh jacket, and it nearly froze me for about 20 minutes (seriously, I was starting to shiver!), and then it was dry.

There are cooling vests specifically made to be worn under a mesh jacket.  I have one made by Macna.  Instead of soaking the vest, you fill it up through a fill cap.  It's _only_ good under a mesh jacket.  It provides very little cooling under a regular jacket with open vents.

[RandyShields]

Bill, this is the first I've heard of the Macna cooling vest.  I just did some research to see how they work.  What has your experience been with this vest?  Can you compare it to the more traditional cooling vest that you soak with water before you wear it?

 

Thanks.

[Skywagon]

I've been reasonably happy with my BMW mesh jacket now going on 10 years.  They are expensive but it has held up well with the exception of the high vis stuff which has faded quite a bit.  Summer here in SE Texas is a nightmare.  I generally park the bike from June to October as it is just too hot; however if I do ride I wear a cooling vest soaked in water.  It last for about 2.5 hours.  As Bill said it can be a little chilly at first even in 100 degree temps.  I carry a big plastic garbage bag.  When it dries out, I pull into a convenience store, buy a gallon of water, put the vest in the bag with the water, and I'm good for another 2.5-3 hours.

 

The mesh jackets as you know aren't all that protective, but certainly an improving over nothing. I wear mine year round. I put the liner in in the winter and sometimes even an electric vest.

[RandyShields]

4 hours ago, Skywagon said:

The mesh jackets as you know aren't all that protective, but certainly an improving over nothing. I wear mine year round. I put the liner in in the winter and sometimes even an electric vest.

Check out the Motoport Air Mesh Kevlar jackets.  They flow a lot of air and are rated to be more protective than leather.  They are the only mesh jacket allowed on many tracks.  And more and more motor officers are wearing them.  Expensive, but less expensive than fixing road rash or skin damaged by melted nylon mesh.  With a heated and/or regular liner, they are good down to below 40 degrees.

[Bill_Walker]

12 hours ago, RandyShields said:

Bill, this is the first I've heard of the Macna cooling vest.  I just did some research to see how they work.  What has your experience been with this vest?  Can you compare it to the more traditional cooling vest that you soak with water before you wear it?

I kinda did that already, didn't I?  It's meant to wear under a mesh jacket.  It doesn't work worth a damn under a regular jacket with vents open, I can tell you that, whereas the soak-type vests work quite nicely that way.  I don't recall how well it worked under a mesh jacket because, as mentioned above, I decided I don't like wearing a mesh jacket for touring, and that's the only time I ride when it's hot enough to need a cooling vest.  The big selling point is that it doesn't get you wet, unlike the soaker vests.

[RPondaRoad]

Even though I live in a warm climate, it's not a one jacket does all life out here on the west coast.  I'm wearing a Cortech VRX Air 2 for spring/summer/early fall and am really happy with the comfort where I ride.  Cortech and Tourmaster are different brands from the same company as I understand it.  The jacket is well made, has great shoulder and elbow armor and has a rain liner (I also put in better back armor than what came with it, which is common).  The fit on my somewhat "mature" body is great.   I live east of Sacramento where the temps hit 100 to 107 frequently.  Even though I prefer to get out of the house early on the really hot days, I usually ride into the mountains and then have to ride through the worst of the heat on my way home.  I like mesh.  Each of our bodies control temperature differently.  So what works for me, may not work for another.  But, here's how I work my mesh jacket.  I sweat profusely in the heat and the mesh keeps me much cooler than the vents of my non-mesh jacket which makes me feel New Orleans muggy in the summer... even with vents all open.  Often when I tour I deal with wide temperature swings.  For instance,  on a summer tour I may start a day on the coast and end up in the Sierra mountains in Bishop that afternoon.  The coast is cool, and sometimes foggy, but by afternoon Bishop can be in the 90's.  But, the next morning, leaving Bishop it may be below freezing.  When it's cold, I just throw my heated jacket on and if needed I'll light it up.  If not, it's a great warm layer.  If I just need a momentary extra layer I'll put on my light rain jacket instead of the mesh jacket liner which requires zipping in.  If I'm leaving on a late fall or very early spring tour though, I'll be wearing my vented jacket.

 

Bill Walker may have sold a Macna Vest today.  I wear a wet vest from HyperKewl which does an excellent job of making me comfortable.  The only downside of the wet vest is that if you're out in the heat for more than an hour and a half, it needs to be recharged while sitting in water.  I've tried plastic bags, dry bags, running water...and it's all a pretty messy deal.  The sink in a gas station bathroom...uh...no.  So, a vest that you pour the water into looks pretty good.  Thanks Bill...I've never heard of those before!

 

[RandyShields]

20 hours ago, Bill_Walker said:

I kinda did that already, didn't I?  It's meant to wear under a mesh jacket.  It doesn't work worth a damn under a regular jacket with vents open, I can tell you that, whereas the soak-type vests work quite nicely that way.  I don't recall how well it worked under a mesh jacket because, as mentioned above, I decided I don't like wearing a mesh jacket for touring, and that's the only time I ride when it's hot enough to need a cooling vest.  The big selling point is that it doesn't get you wet, unlike the soaker vests.

Well, I was looking for more, so thank you.

[West_Coaster]

I ended up with an Alpinestars air jacket. I found that I apparently do not have a European body, very few jackets fit me correctly. And what up with the frickin backwards zipper? 

 

The one that fit me the best was the Alpinestars Air, and I got to test it today. I bought a bike today and had a 2.5 hr ride home in 93-95 degree heat. I drank 3 big bottles of water on various stops and really the heat didn't bother me. 

 

Funny how you do the research and when the rubber hits the road, the plan goes out the window.

 

I really liked the look of the rev'it, but the cut was for tall lanky racing guys. I'm 6ft and 240 lbs and a 3xl didn't fit me. But the 2xl aplinestars fits great.

[Hosstage]

Aren't the zippers on women's jackets opposite of men's jackets? I'm not saying you're wearing a woman's jacket, but...

Maybe it's a European thing?

Just busting your chops, glad you found a jacket that works for you, it's tough to find a good fit when you're not a perfect size 32. Luckily, I'm  a perfect 32, but the jackets I wear are mismarked 54!

 

[West_Coaster]

1 hour ago, Hosstage said:

Aren't the zippers on women's jackets opposite of men's jackets? I'm not saying you're wearing a woman's jacket, but...

Maybe it's a European thing?

Just busting your chops, glad you found a jacket that works for you, it's tough to find a good fit when you're not a perfect size 32. Luckily, I'm  a perfect 32, but the jackets I wear are mismarked 54!

 

Its a conspiracy I tell you!, the europeans are putting zippers on the wrong side to make us look uncoordinated, and purposely marking the sizes 2 or 3 times larger to create the illusion we are fat. 

[szurszewski]

The zipper only moves for us guys. The ladies get the same side here and abroad.

[Bill_Walker]

On 8/23/2020 at 3:49 PM, West_Coaster said:

And what up with the frickin backwards zipper? 

It's typical on European jackets.  I don't know why.