Mesh Motorcycle Jacket

Mesh Motorcycle Jacket

have become very popular in the few years that they’ve been on the market, and with good reason.  They’re a very welcome solution to hot-weather riding for those of us who like to have more than Fruit of the Loom between skin and asphalt.

Motorcycle clothing manufacturers have been hard at work, pumping out new mesh clothing designs as fast as they can, but I’m afraid it’s time to go back to the drawing board.  REV’IT! has just trumped everyone with this Airflow Mesh Jacket, ratcheting up the game by several notches.

REV’IT! is a fairly recent name in motorcycle apparel, at least in the U.S.A.  Our guess is that you’ll be hearing a lot more about them as word gets around, because their products are innovative and made with an attention to detail that sets them pretty far beyond anything else we’ve seen.  This is serious motorcycling gear made by people who ride and who think long and hard about what works and what doesn’t.

We were impressed with the quality and features of the REV’IT! clothing products that we experienced in our previous webBikeWorld reviews (see theR-Tech Jacket, the X-Vent Pants and the Ultra Gloves reviews to learn more).  But the designers at REV’IT! obviously haven’t been resting on their laurels.  They’ve developed even more innovative gear with “why didn’t I think of that” features, and it’s become apparent that these folks are really serious about owning the market.

REV’IT! also seem to have done a lot of thinking about where they want to be in the market on price vs. value.  Lots of manufacturers play the cheaper-is-better game, but that’s impossible to win, and not where you want to be when your focus is on what’s best for the rider.  The bottom line here is that you’re going to pay a bit more, but the prices accurately reflect the features and quality.  You can pay less and get a lot less, or you can pay a lot more and not get as much — the choice is up to you.

Where to Buy Mesh Motorcycle Jacket

Also: Motorcycle Jackets, Motorcycle Gloves, Motorcycle Boots, Motorcycle Pants

Outer Fabric

Mesh jackets have been the answer to a prayer for motorcyclists who like to ride in hot weather but who want to do so with some level of safety.  The enthusiasm for mesh has been somewhat tempered by concerns that the fabrics won’t protect as well as leather, or that the commonly used open weave mesh may have a greater potential for catching something during a slide.  Anything that interferes with a smooth slide can cause the body to tumble and can greatly increase the chances of doing some serious damage in the form of broken bones or worse.

Responding to these concerns, REV’IT! has developed a combination of a tighter weave, a fit that mimics motorcycle racing leathers, some high quality Knox armor, and a touch of Lorica¹ synthetic leather here and there to offer what they claim is “the most protective hot weather jacket on the market”.

The Airflow Mesh Jacket uses a mesh that’s more tightly woven then any of the other mesh jackets we’ve seen.  It’s a patented design, made from DuPont’s Cordura in 500 Denier.  When you stop and think about it, more isn’t necessarily better when it comes to the number or the size of the “holes”, or openness of the weave.  Once you get up to speed, there’s lots of air pressure pushing on your body, and we’ve found that it doesn’t take much of an opening to let the air flow in and out.

The tighter weave and the Lorica sections make the jacket slightly warmer than a more open mesh, but our feeling is that this is noticeable only when stopped or riding very slow in traffic.  The tradeoff for the theoretically higher level of protection is well worth it.

Impact Protection

The Airflow Mesh Jacket also comes with CE-approved removable Knox impact protectors, aka “armor”.  This is the good stuff, and the same type of impact protection found in some of the best motorcycle racing jackets.  Knox armor has been tested and approved to the European standard for impact protectors (EN1621-1/97 and prEN1621-2:2000), and it’s much better than the generic foam padding found in most of the other mesh jackets on the market.

Impact protective armor can only do its job when it’s closely fitted and secured to the body.  When you’re wearing the jacket (or pants), if you can push the armor around, chances are it isn’t going to help you in a crash.

REV’IT! has designed the Airflow Mesh Jacket to fit tighter than other mesh jackets; the fit is very similar to what you might find in a leather jacket designed for motorcycle racing.

A loose fit doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be cooler, because the perforations in the material are what flow the air.  I take a men’s U.S. size 43/44 street jacket, and the size XL Airflow Mesh Jacket fits me perfectly — just tight enough to keep the armor in place whilst still affording very good comfort.

The Knox armor sections cover the elbow and forearm, and there are also separate pieces covering the shoulders.  The back of the jacket has Temperfoam padding covering the shoulder blade area and the upper back.  All seams in the Airflow Mesh Jacket are flat locked at the impact zones, and REV’IT! uses Lorica (synthetic leather replacement) to cover portions of the lower forearm.

Each sleeve also has two snaps on the outside that can be used to snug up the fabric, helping to keep the elbow armor in place.  The male snaps have a rubberized finish, and there are two female counterparts on the sleeve for a choice of tight or tighter, depending upon the diameter of the owner’s arm.  The sleeve cuffs are closed using “hook and loop” material, which provides some adjustment.  They can be snugged up close enough to fit under the gauntlets of most motorcycle gloves.

There are also two waistband adjusters on the jacket; these use “hook and loop” fastener and offer approximately a 70mm (2-3/4″) range of adjustment to snug up the waist if necessary.  Stretchable “NYSPAN”² fabric is used underneath the adjusters to help provide a comfortable fit.

Where to Buy Mesh Motorcycle Jacket

Also: Motorcycle Jackets, Motorcycle Gloves, Motorcycle Boots, Motorcycle Pants

 Convenience Features

The Airflow Mesh Jacket is loaded with pockets, again differentiating it from the competition.  On the outside of the jacket are two nice-sized slash side pockets that have a 170mm (approx. 6-5/8″, all inch sizes approximate) opening and which use Dulon zippers.

The pockets are about 150mm (5-7/8″) deep, big enough for a good sized hand.  The pockets have an outer flap that hides the zipper and offers a bit of wind and water protection, and the zippers have a small pull tab, but typical of motorcycle jackets, they’re hard to grab with gloved hands.

The zipper pulls do have a little slot that could easily be used to attach a piece of leather or nylon cord to create a pull extension if desired.

There’s an internal pocket in the left-hand jacket flap; this one also uses a Dulon zipper, rather than a piece of “hook and loop” or a cheap button.  This pocket opens to 130mm (5-1/8″) wide and a very nice 200mm (7-7/8″) deep.  It has a nice 20mm (3/4″) long zipper pull extension that makes it easy to grab with or without gloves.  The

A bonus pocket lives in the right-hand side, this one has a fabric cover without a fastener, but it’s also about 130mm wide by 200mm deep.  The quality of the jacket and the attention to detail is apparent by inspecting the the stitching and the assembly.  For example, all of the pockets, including the pockets for the removable armor, are perfectly finished, with details like rolled edges covering the stitching.

The Airflow jacket goes one better than the competitors by offering a very useful outside zippered pocket at the upper part of the left flap.  We don’t like to carry too many objects in the pockets of motorcycle jackets for fear of having them (or us) crushed in case of a fall, but this pocket comes in very handy for a wallet, mobile phone or toll booth change, or even to hold an “Easypass” type of toll booth device.

The zipper uses the same type of pull that’s found on the slash pockets, and it opens from top to bottom.  This pocket has a 150mm (5-7/8″) opening and is rectangular shaped at 140mm (5-1/2″) deep.  It also has a cool little “zipper parking garage” at the top; it’s a sewn-on piece of plastic that houses the zipper pull and helps to keep out water and wind.

REV’IT! uses traces of the ubiquitous 3M Scotchlite reflective material in the appliqué piping on the Lorica sleeve parts and in the new REV’IT! logo on the upper arm.  All motorcyclists owe 3M a debt of gratitude for inventing Scotchlite!  The stuff is unobtrusive during the day, serving as a design highlight, but lights up at night when illuminated by headlights, helping us to preserve what little visibility we can muster.

The collar of the Airflow Mesh Jacket has a comfortable fabric across the top that feels somewhat like a cross between velvet and neoprene.  The collar uses a single snap closure at the upper neck, and the snap has a rubberized coating.  The only problem here is that there isn’t much room for adjustment.  I have a rather thick neck at 17.5″ (44.5cm) and the I can just get the snap closed.  Once it’s fastened, it’s not a problem, but it would be nice to have a bit of adjustment here for different neck sizes.

Where to Buy Mesh Motorcycle Jacket

Also: Motorcycle Jackets, Motorcycle Gloves, Motorcycle Boots, Motorcycle Pants

 Water Resistant and Windproof Liner

Mesh motorcycle jackets can flow so much air that when the temperature drops below 18C or so (65F), the rider can experience some wind chill.  It’s hard to believe that a jacket can be almost too cool, but it happens, especially if you’re caught out at night.

If it starts to rain or even if there’s heavy humidity in the air, the moisture flowing through a mesh jacket to make the rider become wet, cold and uncomfortable.

REV’IT! has included a detachable “Hydratex” liner with the Airflow Mesh Jacket (see photos below).  This liner is similar to the waterproof version used in their cool weather jackets.  It doesn’t have sealed seams, because the sealing process is cost prohibitive in this application, so REV’IT! calls this liner water resistant instead.

This isn’t really a problem, because a mesh jacket simply isn’t designed to be an all-weather solution.  It will help if you’re caught out in a quick storm, but its main purpose is to make the jacket windproof, and this it does rather well.

The liner attaches to the jacket via snaps at the bottom of the inside of the sleeves, and it zips in to the jacket using two internal zippers, one on each side of the jacket.  The liner uses a front closure similar to the unique REV’IT! multi-layered zipper flap system, fully described in the wBW review of the REV’IT! R-Tech jacket.

The liner closes with a single zipper, then two wide flaps fold over each other to protect the rider’s chest from wind and water intrusion.  The weather has been hot and sunny, so we haven’t tried the liner in a downpour, but REV’IT! claims that it’s windproof, waterproof and breathable.

Conclusion

If there’s a mesh motorcycle jacket out there with better features, we haven’t seen it.  REV’IT! has advanced the state of the art in jacket design for hot weather riding.  The combination of features, protection and the windproof and waterproof liner, combined with the modern styling have made this jacket our favorite for summer riding.

Unfortunately, REV’IT! doesn’t have a matching set of pants…yet.  The Airflow Mesh Jacket has both a short and full-length zipper attachment that allows it to be combined with one of the several versions of REV’IT! leather and textile pants, but none of the current pants have the same level of venting for those really hot days.  REV’IT! is working on a matching Airflow pants, so stay tuned!  That combination should provide a great solution to hot weather riding.

Notes:
1. Lorica is a synthetic leather material, registered trademark of Lorica Sud S.r.l., Milan, Italy.  Lorica is claimed to be “a very popular, exceptionally light synthetic microfiber nearly identical to animal leather.  Lorica is ultra-stain-resistant and washable.

2. NYSPAN is a stretchable fabric, registered trademark of the Young Poong Filltex Co., Ltd., Seoul, South Korea.  It is claimed to be “light & soft, strong & comfortable, natural look(ing), water proof & breathable, anti-bacterial” and with moisture wicking properties.