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Textile Jacket Reviews


My Marrakesh Introduction Ugh, jackets. I have searched long and hard for a 12 step program for jackets. Bags too. The problem with both is they are legal to purchase, carry and wear be it in public or in the privacy of my own home. One of the only reasons I’m happy with my age-failing …

Introduction With the Summer of 2021 fast approaching (or already here depending on my publish date), I found myself looking for a new hot weather riding jacket. While I felt that I had a nearly perfect solution for warm weather riding with my Knox Zephyr jacket, my new (as of fall of 2020) Klim Ai-1 …

Gryphon Moto Vancouver Jacket: Impressive ADV Gear For Budget-Conscious Riders The Vancouver is a complete technical ADV / Touring suit for around $500 for both jacket and pants. It features waterproofing, tons of pockets for storage, ventilation, CE Level 2 protection, and an included insulated jacket. Straight away, that adds up to a lot of …

Several years ago RevZilla and Cycle Gear (and now J&P Cycles) merged under COMOTO Holdings. This has allowed RevZilla’s team of designers to be involved in the redesign of the house brands and address a lot of the issues from previous generations. Sedici is one of these in house brands, and the Garda Jacket is …

First Impressions A Niche Filled Getting stuck without suitable riding gear when encountering challenging riding conditions can be uncomfortable, even painful or dangerous. Anyone who’s spent any serious time in the saddle can relate and share an experience or two illustrating this. Many manufacturers will tell you they can build convertible gear to meet a …

A Promise of Adventure In some ways, motorcycling is all about appealing to your inner dream. Think about it – adventure-style bikes now dominate the sales charts with the promise (made largely to an aging motorcyclist population in Europe and the US) that these bikes can cross the Sahara, plow paths through thick jungle, and …

Introduction I’m not seeing much, if anything, in the way of Motonation riding gear being worn or being sold here in Canada. It has been difficult to get a feel for the products… until now.  A well-known source for premier riding gear, Motonation is a long time importer with significant design and marketing experience which …

Introduction wBW has been doing REV’IT! product reviews, collection, and new product line roundups and long-term evaluations of their products for years, and for all the right reasons – they have a diverse product line featuring innovative and versatile riding gear. Past Gear Limitations & Current Option Diversity For most of my decades-long riding career, …

Due to the lack of motorcycle jackets made specifically for ladies, in the past, a selection was made mostly based on what came the closest to fitting properly. But with the huge influx in ladies on bikes, manufacturers have spent millions of dollars designing and creating motorcycle jackets and full lines of apparel that are …

With the Albertan riding season now coming to a close, it’s time for the review of this Cadence to go live. We’ve had the Cadence in our possession since May but decided to wait until cooler weather before publishing this review. That time came and, I have to say, I’m impressed with how the Cadence …

First, some background: REAX is a new riding apparel line recently launched by Comoto Holdings – that’s RevZilla and Cycle Gear to you and me. I am fortunate to have friends working within this group, who were willing to speak candidly with me about it, on the condition they be left anonymous. The gear is …

Built For Northern Motorcyclists As a born and raised Canadian whose day job consists of pulling wrenches at a diamond mine up in the sub-Arctic half the year, it’s safe to say that I’m an expert on the subject of cold weather and how to deal with it. This Fieldsheer Hydro Heat Textile jacket is …

Being that I live in a very warm climate, I was eager to test any jacket that offered good ventilation as well as solid protection. And the added benefit of the Motonation Metralla being designed for a woman was an added bonus that doesn’t come along very often. I ride in men’s jackets most of …

Klim In For Summer And It’s The Most Functional Lightweight Mesh Jacket We Have Ever Reviewed. The Klim Induction jacket was introduced in 2014 and has been recently updated. The design and execution of this latest version may just make it the most functional lightweight mesh jacket that we have ever reviewed. Its high-visibility colouration …

This Is REV’IT’s Mid-Range Adventure-Touring Jacket – Take 3 The REV’IT! Sand 3 jacket is, as the name implies, the third generation of a best-seller. We’ve been following the Sand series since the original REV’IT! Sand jacket review in 2010. That was followed up with the REV’IT! Sand 2 jacket we reviewed in November 2013. Now the Sand 3 …

Pilot Trans Urban Version 2 Brings Continues a Winning Formula of Loads of Value for a Very Reasonable Price The original version of the Pilot Trans Urban jacket we reviewed in 2013 was a wBW Product of the Year award winner. Version 2 has now arrived and like the original, it brings a lot of value for …

The Mid-Range, 3-Season Do-It-All iXS is a new name to the U.S. motorcycle apparel scene. The Swiss company traces its lineage all the way back to 1906 and U.S. operations started a couple of years ago. We previewed the introduction of the iXS brand to the U.S. in this report from the 2014 AIMExpo show. iXS is well-known …

Quattrotempi 4 U The Held Carese II jacket is designed to compete in the high-end category of all-season 3/4-length adventure-touring motorcycle jackets. The Carese II goes one better than most however, with “Quattrotempi” design. Quattrotempi, in Held parlance, means: Four seasons, four riding types (scooters, street riding, dual-sport and touring), four elements (rain, heat, wind, cold) …

What’s An “Entry Level” Jacket? At its $144.00 list and $139.00 street price, the AGV Sport Torino jacket is about the least expensive 3/4-length touring jacket available today. It checks all the boxes with, of course, a few compromises. AGV Sport lists the Torino jacket as “entry level”, a label which means it will unfortunately be immediately …

A High-End Jacket With Airbag The Helite Adventure jacket includes the Helite “Turtle” airbag vest, which is similar to the Helite Airnest vest we reviewed in 2012. But the Adventure jacket isn’t just about the airbag. It’s an premium jacket in its own right and it’s packed with features. Start with a Cordura shell and a “Humax” water- …

Master the Elements With the REV’IT! Dominator GTX The brand-new REV’IT! Dominator GTX is the Netherlands-based company’s highest-spec jacket yet. While other top-of-the-line REV’IT! jackets are aimed at the 80/20 touring/adventure market, the Dominator GTX flips the ratio. That means the Dominator GTX is designed to compete with the likes of the Rukka Armaxis (review) and others in price …

Moto Style, Technology for Winter Street Adventures The Joe Rocket Crew Cold Weather Jacket (the official name) brings motorcycle clothing technology to the street. I’ve been wearing mine this winter and it does an excellent job at keeping Mr. Freeze under control. The styling is what might be called “sport adventure” that suits just about …

Fieldsheer Is Back With The Adventure Tour Outfit Fieldsheer is back! Remember them? The Fieldsheer brand is owned by the U.S.-based Helmet House distributor and sales are focused on the U.S. market. The company disappeared off the radar screens for a few years but as it turns out, they’ve been secretly cooking some hot stuff in their …

Rukka “AiRider” Jacket Review The Rukka AiRider jacket is new for 2014 and it has the same Cordura AFT mesh shell of the type used in the Rukka AirMan jacket (review). The AiRider is a shorter sportbike style jacket that forgoes the Gore-Tex removable liner and the Outlast phase-change technology of the AirMan but includes the D3O …

M-Tech Adventure Jacket The M-Tech Adventure is the company’s top-of-the-line 3/4-length textile jacket. The Adventure jacket has been popular with motorcyclists around the world and it’s now available in the U.S.A. It’s claimed fully waterproof and it has proven itself in our harsh winter and spring weather. The tough-feeling 500 denier Cordura outer shell is also treated with …

Dainese Teren D-Dry Jacket Review In a world where there is very little differentiation in 3/4-length motorcycle jackets, the Dainese Teren is a standout. This adventure-touring flavored design feels as rugged as they come and it includes a host of unique and cleverly designed features. Speaking of unique, Dainese has also designed a simple but …

REV’IT! Poseidon Gore-Tex Jacket The REV’IT! Poseidon GTX jacket and pants are the company’s top-of-the-line product for the winter of 2013-2014. The Poseidon GTX combines the best features of theREV’IT! Everest GTX jacket (review) and the popularREV’IT! Defender GTX (review). The Everest GTX has been discontinued, but the Defender GTX outfit will remain in the REV’IT! lineup. The …

REV’IT! Neptune GTX Jacket Preview Continuing with the new Rev’it Mediterranean mythology naming conventions, the Neptune GTX is another all-new jacket for 2014. The Neptune GTX replaces the Rev’it Legacy GTX but once again, it gets kicked by a notch or two to make it even better. The Legacy GTX was a favorite do-it-all four-season jacket that …

REV’IT! Chronos GTX Jacket Preview The new Rev’it Chronos GTX jacket is a replacement for the much-beloved Rev’it Turbine jacket that recently left the company’s lineup. Like other Rev’it products however, the Chronos GTX takes everything learned from the Turbine and kicks it up a notch, with a solid evolution of a proven design. Chronos is …

Teiz Motorsports Sahara Jacket The Teiz Motorsports Sahara jacket is a comfortable, functional garment. It served me well throughout the entire 15 days of the western portion of the Trans America Trail ride. The fit — bespoke in this case — was great and if you don’t notice your gear when wearing it, it’s doing something right. The …

Dainese “Super Speed Tex” Jacket Review The Super Speed Tex (the official name) jacket is one of the most popular Dainese summer-weight textile jackets in 2013. In fact, it’s so popular that it has nearly sold out in every color and size this summer, with retailers asking for more. It’s functional yet stylish, with right on …

The REV’IT! Levante Men’s and Women’s Mesh Jacket The Rev’It Levante textile mesh jacket is a good, solid piece of gear that means business. It’s suitable for wear in all but the most extreme weather conditions. This was a rare opportunity to review both the men’s and women’s versions of the Rev’it Levante jacket, first introduced …

Rukka “Airway” Jacket Review The Rukka Airway jacket and AirVision pants combo is designed for hot-weather riding. But unlike most mesh motorcycle clothing, this gear is built to take all you can dish out — and then some. The Airway/AirVision outfit is more successful in many ways than the Rukka Armas outfit (review), which is designed for cooler …

Castle “Slate” Jacket Review The Castle Slate jacket is inexpensive but it has all the basics, including a Hitena nylon shell, a mid-weight removable liner and shoulder and elbow padding. The generic styling is fine at this price point and the jacket comes in several colors, including this vibrant yellow. The overall construction and quality …

Firstgear Jaunt T2 Jacket Review The newly revised Firstgear Jaunt T2 jacket could very well be the best 3/4-length motorcycle jacket bargain going today. Everyone who has seen it has been impressed, because there’s a lot here for not a lot of money. In fact, it pretty much beats all of our old favorite “cheap” jackets. …

Alpinestars Cape Town Air Drystar Jacket The Alpinestars Cape Town Air Drystar jacket is both unique and unusual. It’s a 3/4-length jacket but the outer shell is mostly mesh. A Drystar waterproof membrane removable liner is included. The Cape Town Air is very comfortable, with a correct shape and enough adjustments to custom fit anyone. It also …

Second Take on the BMG Adventure Jacket The British Motorcycle Gear BMG Adventure II jacket is a recent update to the original BMG Adventure jacket (review). The updates include the deletion of the removable sleeves (some originals with removable sleeves are still available). Also included in the Adventure II jacket is the use of new DuPont 2120D Cordura …

Richa Spirit C_Change Jacket Review Richa is popular brand of motorcycle clothing in Europe and Richa clothing is now available in the U.S.A., imported and distributed by the Vega Helmet Corporation. The Richa Spirit C-Change jacket and pants are the company’s flagship outfit and the first of the Richa products delivered to the U.S. The jacket and …

The Klim Badlands Pro Jacket The new Klim Badlands Pro jacket and pants outfit is the very definition of “extreme duty” adventure touring gear — no doubt about it. The jacket and the pants provide a go-anywhere, highly protective “suit of armor” feel. It is also surprisingly comfortable in the hottest of summer weather. There …

REV’IT! Everest GTX Jacket Review The new Rev’it Everest GTX jacket is the company’s top-of-the-line product for 2011. It uses the most recent Gore-Tex technology, materials and features, including the Lockout closure system. It is impeccably tailored and constructed. It is biased more towards the street/sport and touring rider than the Defender GTX, which is …