Textile or Mesh

[Zxtritan]

whats up everyone,
I'm a new rider. Did my research on riding jackets and I'm going to go with an Alpinestar T-Stunt jacket, but i need help choosing between textile or mesh. Now, I live in south florida where winter hardly exists, so please take that into account.
I understand that mesh is usually for wet, colder days and textile for dry hot days (which I would think is the pick for S.FL weather).
But I would like to know how much warmer the mesh is over textile because I'm not a big fan of the mesh appearance.
If its a major difference, than I'll go with the mesh. Basically I like the was the mesh looks over textile, but then again I don't want to go into heat exhaustion when riding around in 90+ weather.
Any help is appreciated. Thanx, -Anthony

[Alphamazing]

Actually, mesh is more for the hot dry days and the textile is for colder wet days. Since you live in Florida you might want to go with the mesh. They breath a LOT better than textile and are lighter.

Textile has a much tighter weave than mesh, and thus doesn't allow air to flow through as much. This means that the textile should be considerably warmer than the mesh, especially with a liner.
Mesh allows AMAZING air flow which keeps you VERY cool even on the hot days. I've ridden in 100+ weather with my mesh jacket and felt comfortable. Problem with the mesh is that when it gets even the slightest bit chilly you get cold VERY fast. Even with a liner in you can get cold at 60 or so. I wear my leather when it gets cold, so that temp is just a guess.

Anyways, if you're riding regularly in 90 degree weather then the mesh would be a good bet for you. The best thing you could do is get a mesh jacket for the summer and a leather/textile jacket for the winter.

[Trwhouse]

Hi there,
I'm with Alpha -- get both.
I've learned over the years that the wider the variety of motorcycle riding gear I have, the better off I am. A perfect answer for every kind of weather.
I have a Joe Rocket textile jacket with zip-in liner for fall, winter, spring, and it is waterproof and comfy to boot, along with having built-in armor.
Then I have a Joe Rocket mesh jacket with built-in armor and a zip-out waterproof liner for summer and hot weather.
I just bought a pair of First Gear textile Overpants with pull-out liners and full-length leg zippers to make them easy to put on and remove.
Now I am ready for any kind of weather and no longer have to carry an additional rain suit.
My boots are waterproof, too, and I have about 6 pairs of gloves to choose from, including three-season gloves with pull-over rain gloves that pop out of hidden pockets.
The more choices, the easier it is to be prepared.
I don't think it's easy for one garment to do it all.
Best of luck!
Todd

[RVertigo]

MotoGP makes a 3-way jacket...  It's mesh outside with a zip-in waterproof liner... Then it has an insulated liner that zips inside that...  3-in-1

Pretty cool...  It didn't fit me quite right, so I didn't get it...  But, it might fit you better.

Plus it doesn't really get that hot here.

[Zxtritan]

thanx for the replies guys. I'm definitely going to go with the mesh. I went ahead and tried them on today. I actually like the way the mesh looks with the T-stunt jacket.  Anyone have any opinions on that jacket?
-Anthony

[Hi-T]

I know how people get about oppinions on gear and heat- so I'll say what I came to say and leave it at that.

Try to get the heaviest ammount of protection available.  Leather being at the top of the list.  I'll also admit that some protection is alot better than no protection but mesh/textile have some draw backs.  Sure they're great in hot weather- specifically in stop and go traffic- but.....

I've seen a few textile jackets hold up in accidents.  These wrecks were under 40mph- city traffic.  The jackets were toast. Your ability to slide is seriously diminshed.  With mesh, you have little protection against puntures.  Textile jackets have a greater tendancy to "ride up."  And when nylon heats up, it melts.

There are alot of leather jackets out there with some awesome ventilation- the trick is you have to moving for it to work. 

My first jacket was a textile- the more I rode, the more I wished I had just saved the money and bought leather initially.  I live in the desert and have ridden in stop and go traffic at 110*F- so yes I know what hot is.  But I'll deal with heat over rash any day. 

[monopoly]

I know how people get about oppinions on gear and heat- so I'll say what I came to say and leave it at that.

Try to get the heaviest ammount of protection available.  Leather being at the top of the list.  I'll also admit that some protection is alot better than no protection but mesh/textile have some draw backs.  Sure they're great in hot weather- specifically in stop and go traffic- but.....

I've seen a few textile jackets hold up in accidents.  These wrecks were under 40mph- city traffic.  The jackets were toast. Your ability to slide is seriously diminshed.  With mesh, you have little protection against puntures.  Textile jackets have a greater tendancy to "ride up."  And when nylon heats up, it melts.

There are alot of leather jackets out there with some awesome ventilation- the trick is you have to moving for it to work. 

My first jacket was a textile- the more I rode, the more I wished I had just saved the money and bought leather initially.  I live in the desert and have ridden in stop and go traffic at 110*F- so yes I know what hot is.  But I'll deal with heat over rash any day. 

+1 Mesh and Textile jackets after one dump are usually toasted...I only bought another Textile one due to its amazing price and its actually really comfortable...Other Text ones ive tried on the other hand were not very comfortable at all the body armour tends to slide around alot compared to a leather.

Also Leather jackets can take a beating! i know from experience

[Alphamazing]

I know from experience that mesh jackets get considerably beat after being crashed. Not to say they aren't still useable, but they lose a severe amount of protection capability. I was wearing a Fieldsheer Mach 1 mesh jacket and it was still useable after I crashed it. Yeah it looked nasty and probably needed replacing shortly thereafter, but it still worked for the time being. The padding didn't even wear through to the armor.

Leather, on the other hand, can go through many crashes without losing protection capability. My leathers are still highly useable after I went down. They just have better abrasion resistance.

[that_guy]

I likw my teknic chicayne jacket I have.  It's perforated leather and it breathes like I don't have anything on.  You can feel the air flowing through it no matter if you have the vents open or not.  It really feels like you don't have a jacket on at all sometimes.  I love it..

http://www.newenough.com/teknic_chicane5_jacket_page.htm

[kimo3825]

I like my Joe Rocket Alter Ego Jacket. I have use it the summer when it was 110+ outside and in the winter 32 below. I have yet to use the rain liner that came with it. The major thing about summer riding is when you stopped with no brezee. I have really enjoyed have this jacket. it will work till i can afford better riding gear. for winter rider i found a cheap alterative for gloves. if you snowboard or sky just put you gloves over your riding gloves. you could also use you pants for wind protection.