Riding jackets, which do you recommend?

[SacramentoMike]

If the OP is still looking around, or for anybody who wonders which jacket/gloves/boots/etc. is "best:" IT'S UP TO YOU.

First, you have to decide what you want. Then you can ask "what jacket does XXXXX best?" Fill in the blank with "keeps me warm." "Keeps me dry." "Keeps me safe in a crash." "Is comfortable." "Doesn't make me look dorky?" Or some other criterion that's most important to you. Pretty sure no one product can do ALL of them, in ANY category.

I will add what I always add in jacket/riding suit question threads. Get good rain gear that you can get on over your other gear. Rain liners are inconvenient to put on after the rain starts, can be too hot, often don't work especially well anyway. But rain gear over your jacket and pants adds a level of warmth, whether it's raining or not, and you can get rid of it when you're done with it. (I don't mean throw it away when the rain stops. You might want it again.)

 

[JustinNck1]

For warm weather, I really like my Rev'It Airwave. They have now release the Airwave 2.

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/revit-airwave-2-jacket

 

[Hudson]

What SacMike is trying to say is he owns a Motoport among other jackets, and sometimes he wears it.

Motoport here too. I won't bother with a lesser-priced jacket just to save a $300, because when I am sliding down the road is not the time to learn that cheaping out on protective gear is a bad idea.

Luckily, I didn't cheap out and six months after my order I had to put my Motoport to the test at 65mph. It passed with flying colors.

It's only expensive until you crash, then it's the cheapest insurance you can buy.

 

[KYCHERRY]

I just got my REV'IT Airwave in today to replace my Joe Rocket Phoenix. As JustinNCK1 mentioned that he loves his - I think I definitely will be the same way. It is a very NICE jacket. As he mentioned, the AIRWAVE 2 is out now - I got my AIRWAVE from Motorcyclegear.com - $139.

 

[gapiob]

I have the REV'ITit for summer too since 2 years

 

[Happytrails63]

Another Badlands Pro owner here and its pretty awesome gear. A little to hot in the summer though. Currently using a Tourmaster Intake 3 mesh but browsing around at other options. Picked up a pair of Firstgear HT Overpants and that may have been a mistake. It doesn't zipper to my Klim jacket and the knees are entirely too baggy if I went down I doubt the armor would do anything to save my knees. My first pair of motorcycle pants... live an learn. They are waterproof at least I hope so. Firstgear, Olympia, Tourmaster and Revit all seem to be within reach of your budget. If you can try the jacket on in a store that would be ideal. If not Revzilla has a great shipping and return policy so if it doesn't fit you can return it. I ordered my Badlands Pro 1 size down due to reviewers recommendations but was skeptical. But they were right on the money.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

I highly recommend First Gear HT overpants. They are excellent. Great quality, fit (for, me, anyway), and protection. Not a summer pant, but the best I've ever had for cooler weather. I bought the Olympia mesh pant recommended on a recent thread, but haven't really used them much. I may have to try a Badlands Pro.

 

[hppants]

Plus 1 to the F/G overpant. MikeP gave me a pair about 4 years ago that he must have put 50,000 miles on. I used them for cold weather pants ever since. I still have 'em in my closet - faded and the zipper pull has been replaced with a paper clip. But all of the seams are still in tack, all of the zippers still work, the armor stays where it's supposed to.

Damm good product.

 

[kbuicker]

I highly recommend First Gear HT overpants are excellent. Great quality, fit (for, me, anyway), and protection. Not a summer pant, but the best I've ever had for cooler weather. I bought the Olympia mesh pant recommended on a recent thread, but haven't really used them much. I may have to try a Badlands Pro.

I have the same over pants... got them out of the attic this last weekend... they're ready to go.. now to find my jacket

... I've never done soooo much research.. guess it's good to do, and fun to boot! I just keep adding more and more to my Revzilla cart... everything from a Rukka AiRider Jacket to a Alpinestars Quasar...

How do you guys feel about the 'Speed & Strength' brand.. is it just crap? I like the 'LOOK' of their 'Power &the Glory hi viz jacket' but know nothing other that it looks cool.

Have yet to try on more than a few Bilt jackets at the local CycleGear shop. I do like the RevIt brand, and plan to try on a number of them this week.

 

[Happytrails63]

I highly recommend First Gear HT overpants are excellent. Great quality, fit (for, me, anyway), and protection. Not a summer pant, but the best I've ever had for cooler weather. I bought the Olympia mesh pant recommended on a recent thread, but haven't really used them much. I may have to try a Badlands Pro.

I have the same over pants... got them out of the attic this last weekend... they're ready to go.. now to find my jacket

... I've never done soooo much research.. guess it's good to do, and fun to boot! I just keep adding more and more to my Revzilla cart... everything from a Rukka AiRider Jacket to a Alpinestars Quasar...

How do you guys feel about the 'Speed & Strength' brand.. is it just crap? I like the 'LOOK' of their 'Power &the Glory hi viz jacket' but know nothing other that it looks cool.

Have yet to try on more than a few Bilt jackets at the local CycleGear shop. I do like the RevIt brand, and plan to try on a number of them this week.

The speed and strength stuff does have some good looking gear but dunno how good it is.

The Rukka stuff is intrigueing and super expensive but if it works. Have an outlast shirt and it works pretty good for regulating temperature although I dont like how it makes me feel like spandexman.

 

[GrumpyMike]

I have a First Gear Kilimanjaro Jacket and have been really happy with it. It's water proof and has good venting. With the liner in, it will take you into the colder temps easily. The storage is excellent.

 

[kbuicker]

Fellas, I ended up getting the KLIM Induction. I was shocked to see I fit into a large..

 

[FJR-Pilot]

Fellas, I ended up getting the KLIM Induction.

I really like the grey(ish) Klim Induction jacket a lot too but I want matching pants to go with it so they zip together correctly. But Klim does not have a good choice of non-black summer pants and neither does Rukka. wtf? They both have acceptable grey sun-friendly jackets but black pants do not work for my preferences. There is the Klim Adventure Rally Air Pants in Grey but they are marked as adventure pants, have no rain liner, and are $919 for the pants alone .... so I am not enamored with Klim for that reason.

So for those reasons I am seriously looking now at the Revit Tornado 2 jacket with matching pants (which are both available in a lighter grey and have excellent armor and abrasion resistance. I also like the the Olympia AirGlide 5 jacket and pants but I'm not sure about armor quality so I need to research that a bit more.

 

[painman]

Say what you will but I find myself wearing the Bohn gear for local rides in the heat. Cant beat the mesh system in any heat and 100+ days are common here. Never tested by me in a crash (knock on wood), but the protective pads do not move around at all and I could see them staying in a get-off. Normal temps I usuallly wear the regular Bohn pants under jeans and wear the Moto-Port mesh jacket. For longer trips I wear the full Moto-Port mesh jacket and pants. Both brands will give you years of service imo. pm.

 

[airboss]

I use the Bohn gear around town under jeans, nice and comfy in the heat. Touring no, that's what the Aerostich Transit suit is for.

 

[FJR-Pilot]

Here's another thought to back me out of my jam: does anyone know if it's fairly easy for a seamstress to make a Klim or Rukka jacket zip to RevIT or Airglide pants?

 

[SacramentoMike]

Here's another thought to back me out of my jam: does anyone know if it's fairly easy for a seamstress to make a Klim or Rukka jacket zip to RevIT or Airglide pants?

I have a Motoport kevlar mesh suit, and as Hudson pointed out, I don't wear it all the time. It's bulky and not the best for comfort in all riding conditions, but it's just SO protective. And I will be wearing it this weekend for a trip I'm taking. But I did have a complaint about the wind blowing the back of the 3/4 length jacket up in the back on the highway and giving me some unwelcome cool air, and of course the concern about it riding up in a slide.

So a few weeks ago I sent Moto Port an email to ask what they could do about it. I could send it in and they'd sew in a heavy duty zipper the same weight as the one on the front closure, or they'd send (sell) me a zipper to put in myself. I didn't want to pay to ship it twice, so I paid ten bucks for the new one. Didn't even need a seamstress--just my wife and her standard sewing machine. She put the zipper in in just a few minutes. Looks and feels good. Just make sure you get a heavy enough zipper. I had tried a fabric store first and all they had were standard-weight zippers. I'll feel better wearing this now, zipped up nice and secure.

Edit: looking at what I wrote I didn't really answer your question directly. The Motoport suit was not made to zip together; it's just a matter of putting the two parts of the zipper in the right places and stitching them in. Brands shouldn't matter. Good if you have another suit that zips together to copy though.

 

[SCOTTIE]

When you buy a jacket or pants it usually comes with both sides of the connector zipper so if they mis-match then just get someone to sew the Jacket side of the pants zipper to the pants side of the Jacket zipper. This is how I zip my FirstGear Teton jacket to my Olympia pants.

I also like how Olympia give you loops that you can loop round your belt to connect that together. Don;t know which other manufacturers do taht.

 

[mikerider]

I thought Motoport's Kevlar material can't be sewed by standard sewing machine?

 

[Spork]

Dainese Airframe for summer and my leather jacket or R3 for the other two seasons.