VTR1000.ORG

OK, with it being hot as it has been these last few days, I'm thinking of getting a mesh textile jacket.

The newer ones are almost as good protection wise as full cordura type textile jackets and have CE armour.

ICON do some very nice ones, as do Alpinestars and I'm gonna have a looksie whilst at Oulton for the BSB as there's a few clothing guys there that stock them (Cissbury and J&S, maybe others)

If no good deals around (a top of the range ICON one is $300, so rip-off Britain will be £300 = too much) I might order one from the US.

Anyone own one already? Happy with it? Not much to go on as I don't know anyone who owns one.

My wife bought me one from the NEC last year. Paid 100 for it, but it is brill. Full armour (better than my textile) and a removable showerproof liner.

I have found it an absolute godsend in this weather, BUT, it is still hot, especially when sat at lights etc.....


Would i buy another, to bloomin right i would......


HTH

Our Antipodean members might be better clued up on this Kitch ?

VTR girl ? Sharpe ? Anyone ?

Been thinking the same myself m8 but i know as soon as i buy one the summer will end that day and nobody wants that
Also have finaly come to the conclusion that buying expensive quality gear is best in the long run ie:new spada leather trousers for christmas = 2 broken zips and some stitching coming undone already without even touching tarmac.
New alpinestars tz1 leather jacket for christmas and its as good as the day it was bought , probably better as its worn in now

When we were in Spain one of the guys had a jacket that the sides and other panels unzipped from a normal jacket leaving mesh in its place, when it got cooler he could put the panels back on.

well, I got one, and it does indeed rock.

look for one with textile reinforcements to vulnerable bits and CE armour and it's almost as good as a full textile jacket.

I couldn't live without one here, only paid $100aus for mine and it's excellent quality. I haven't road tested it yet (thankfully) so I don't know how they are in a crash. I even wear mine on a hot winter afternoon.

dookie wrote: Also have finaly come to the conclusion that buying expensive quality gear is best

When it comes to the Oh wombles moment you want the best money can buy. The cost of replacing my jacket, helmet and trowsers after my accident should have been £997 if you paid full RRP. Worth every penny when you look at the battering I took. It would have been far worse if I had not been wearing the right stuff. Even the A&E consultant said so!

Most riders have them over here. The leathers seem to be becoming a thing of the past. I paid about $150 for mine. It's got little reflective bitzies here & there, a zip out quilted lining & zip out waterproof lining. You can have both linings in, or one of your choice. Summer gets them both off here & it's literally just the mesh holding the armour together.

However, it's good to remember that it's Summer when the weather can quickly go from sunny sunshine to a nasty hail-storm... VTRgirl rolls her eyes as she recalls the countless times speeding for home getting pelted with wasp-sting-like bits of hail... I'll never learn.

Either way, don't know how much use you'd get out of one over there, but they're great for what they are.

I got 1 mate its briiliant out here but i found it a little to cool over there.

for those in the UK thinking it might be too cold, I'd happily wear mine at any temp 18 degrees C or over.

It's really nice and cool and I'm on the lookout for some armoured kevlar jeans now.

Then I'll have perfect kit when you fancy a ride out in the sun when you're not in a "qualifying for the GP" mood (when I wear full leathers)

I dunno, I guess it's a personal choice. Yeah, I shrink in horror at people in t-shirts and even shorts sometimes, but full gear is just too hot and I'm not enjoying myself as I melt into a puddle. I'm happy enough that I'll be fine in anything other than a major crash and I just ride accordingly (extra-observant and slower than I would in leathers - ironically, I find I'm not as lethargic and distratced as when you're cooking in leathers)

I know it's no guarantee, but the trade off in comfort is really huge.

I'm hooked on mine, and would happily advise anyone to test one out.

If you ride like a demon everywhere, stick to leathers.

Well....guys, I really do not want to dissapoint you but IMHO textil mesh jackets seem to give very little protection against road rash. This is based on few accidents my buddies had.
If you want comfort and protection buy fully perforated leather jackets. Dainese makes it, English companies make a loads of such jackets, even Triumph has one, US Joe Rocket too. I spent fair amount of time riding in south of France in extreme temperatures (including summer of 2003 when if I am not wrong tourists on Cot d'Azur were dying of overheating) and I confess that fully perforated leather works.

bluesman wrote:If you want comfort and protection buy fully perforated leather jackets. Dainese makes it, English companies make a loads of such jackets, even Triumph has one, US Joe Rocket too. I spent fair amount of time riding in south of France in extreme temperatures (including summer of 2003 when if I am not wrong tourists on Cot d'Azur were dying of overheating) and I confess that fully perforated leather works.

a fair point and a good idea.

(as a side note, the one I got is kinda a textile / mesh combo. Where you find the stretch panels on race suits and 2 panels on the chest are mesh...)

I bought a mesh jacket last week before we went to France. Bloody glad I did because it was too hot for leathers and I would have resorted to tee shirt otherwise. I know it isn't a bright thing to do, but quite how attentive you are at 38 degrees in leathers etc also isn't particularly safe!

Stratman wrote:I bought a mesh jacket last week before we went to France. Bloody glad I did because it was too hot for leathers and I would have resorted to tee shirt otherwise. I know it isn't a bright thing to do, but quite how attentive you are at 38 degrees in leathers etc also isn't particularly safe!

That's exactly why I mentioned fully perforated leather and not just leathers. Those jackets are perforated everywhere and specifically made for very hot weather. Does not feel any heavier than mesh jackets when moving but offer much more protection.