Hot Weather Riding Jackets

[pbureau69]

I have a fieldsheer johnny cool mesh.  Comes with a zip in liner and works pretty well. Too well sometimes...

I have the same but in blue..... LOVE IT !!

[VSG]

I have an Olympia AirGlide II - http://www.olympiamotosports.com/airglide/airglide.htm .  I've only been riding a week and have not used the removable liner yet.  This jacket is really nice for the warmer days though.  It lets a ton of air get through when your moving.  It's really comfortable too.

It has armor in the elbow, shoulder and back.

[scratch]

A review from one of our own:

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=6854.0

[frankieG]

fyi i was trying on some today and the icon jacket does not have wrist straps or velcro....so it will be up around your armpits in a crash

[Atkins]

I currently use the first gear mesh 3. It's a great jacket.

I had the mesh 2 and low sided in it at around 25 mph, probably slid around 20 feet at most on asphalt. After that I was in the water in the ditch. I had about 3 or 4 holes in it after that. They only tore through the first layer of mesh. The second layer was still intact at those spots. So it protected me perfectly.

PuddleJumper's temperature estimates are right on in my experience.

I bought both jackets from newenough.com. They were good to deal with.

[LeChatNoir]

Ditto from me on the Cortech GX Air. I tested it on a 50mph lowside and it protected my left arm. I hit and slid on the mesh portion, not the leather portion. As you'd expect, it wore through the mesh and part of the underlayer. I was wearing all three layers at the time, though, so I didn't suffer a scratch.

If I had had a properly fitting size (instead of one size too big) I would probably have hit on the leather portion and not worn through the mesh.

You're right, though--mesh is a use-once-throw-away proposition. IN cold weather, I remember that jacket being nice and toasty down to near freezing. In really hot weather (100+) nothing's going to be comfortable.

I have since bought a Cortech Coaster air perforated leather jacket. I would say that while you're moving, perf leather and mesh feel pretty close. It's when you're stopped for more than a few seconds that you appreciate the mesh.

[RedShift]

Interesting comments, Black Cat. 

I'm appreciating that you are sharing your experiences.  Hope others that are interested in this topic are getting as much from it as I am.

I'll continue to study what you nominate from these posts.  Will probably make up my mind in the next few weeks, but from what everyone's given, there are no bad recommendations here.   

[frankieG]

another thing to consider is color,  dark colors absorb more heat than light ones do.   so it would make sense, to me anyhow, that any hot weather jacket be a light color like yellow or orange.  buying a black, dark blue or dark red defeats the purpose of the mesh.

[RedShift]

Frankie, I hadn't thought about color other than as a safety issue -- I'm an "anything but black" kinda guy -- partial to RED for no particular reason.

Granted that darker colors absorb more heat, but how much of a difference does WHITE make over YELLOW or RED?  (I may have to google for an answer.)  Believe the greater need may be to wick moisture away while moving.  Unless I'm in Stop-n-Go I'd take any jacket off, even mesh, if I wasn't going somewhere on my bike.

What do you other responders say about color.  Do you notice a big difference?  Do you leave it open when you dismount, or take it off?

[manofthefield]

I have a Fieldsheer Mach1 (or 2?), more or less on Alphafire X5's recommendations.  He had crash tested one.  Plus I was able to get it very cheaply as it was an old model.  It doesn't come with leather elbows and shoulders like some of the newer ones, which I think would be nice to have.  It has a zip out liner, but the breeze gets through the zipper pretty easily.  I'll wear my textile jacket if it isn't supposed to get over 75, but this also depends on how long my trip is and how much stop and go there'll be. 

I chose grey (with black accents) so it would be a bit cooler than just getting black.  I find it hard to pick other colors, cause not much goes with a bright orange bike, and I don't really think I had many other choices because of the closeout status.  I generally take the jacket off when I'm at my destination/ on a break because it does get warm without the breeze blowing through.  Also my back gets hot because of the foam back protector; not much I can do about that unless I want to take it out. 

Overall I'm very happy with it; It was well worth the $40 or so I spent on it.  I would probably consider any brand though if the features and fit and price were right

[shinanigins]

i think im getting ready to pick up this jacket

[scratch]

What do you other responders say about color?  Do you notice a big difference?  Do you leave it open when you dismount, or take it off?

Oh, yes, definitely a big difference!  For the winter, I've been wearing my Fieldsheer textile over my leather (see avatar), and for those days that are cold in morning and hot in the afternoon, I found myself cooler with the textile over the leather, instead of just the plain black leather.  What I did was just leave the textile (completely) unzipped in the front for the afternoons.  But, the textile blocks too much wind (which is great in the cool morning air) in the afternoons, and stoplights are even more unbearable than just the leather jacket alone.