REV’IT! Horizon Jacket Review

A High-Visibility Basic Jacket

The REV’IT! Horizon HV (High Visibility) jacket is a very nice upgrade from the REV’IT! Energy HV jacket we reviewed in 2011. The Horizon jacket, also available in light gray or black, would be an excellent choice for general four-season use.

The major difference between the Horizon and the Energy is the addition of the REV’IT! VCS Aquadefence vents in the former. Since the Horizon jacket has a non-removable Hydratex waterproof/breathable liner bonded to the inside of the shell, proper ventilation is technically more difficult.

But the unique REV’IT! VCS Aquadefence waterproof front vents solve that problem. The Horizon also comes with a removable insulating liner. The “classic” snug Rev’it-style fit has changed, for better or worse, to a more generous “touring” fit. This may be more suited to today’s worldwide “healthier” or “more robust” rider body shapes.

Our REV’IT! Horizon HV jacket arrived not long ago but we just discovered today that it’s being discontinued. That’s too bad, because we think it’s an excellent choice for an all-around jacket that covers just about every season. The exception to that four-season rule might be our current 40 degree Centigrade temperatures. The REV’IT! Levante jacket (review) would be more appropriate if you’re looking for full mesh with 3/4 length.

But if your riding environment includes frequent on-and-off rain storms, the Horizon is the better choice. It has a built-in Hydratex waterproof and breathable liner fused to the inside of its outer shell. And it includes the very clever REV’IT! VCS Aquadefence “3D” front vents, which are waterproof yet flow a decent amount of air right through the membrane.

The vents can be easily opened or closed when riding, so in effect, you end up with a water-resistant jacket with much better ventilation than you’d expect. The rest of the Horizon is fairly standard REV’IT! 3/4-length fare, which means excellent quality and lots of nice features. Let’s take a look…

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REV’IT! Horizon HV Jacket Details

The REV’IT! Horizon is a very nice all-around, four-season street riding or touring jacket. It sits about mid-range in the REV’IT! lineup in both features and price.

The shell of the Horizon is made from a 600 denier polyester blend and it has a relatively soft feel but should provide decent abrasion protection.

It doesn’t have the high-tech Superfabric or ripstop Cordura like one of our all-time favorites, theREV’IT! Defender GTX (review), but then again, the Horizon is about half the price of the Defender.

While you may think that the Horizon has about the same feature set as any other 3/4-length all-season jacket, there are a couple of things that set it apart.

First, the Horizon has a Hydratex Lite membrane bonded to the inner part of the shell. REV’IT! claims that this makes the jacket 100% waterproof.

This proved to be the case in the single very heavy (albeit brief) summer downpour that caught me out during my evaluation of the jacket.

The location of the membrane on the back side of the outer shell keeps any water from entering inside; a feature that many riders want.

Normally, this would be a problem, because non-removable bonded waterproof liners mean no ventilation.

Slice a hole through the waterproof liner to add a vent and the jacket is no longer waterproof…unless some type of special venting technology is employed.

The HV (High-Visibility) version of the Horizon also is certified to meet the CE EN471 standard for day- and night-time visibility.

VCS Aquadefence Vents

Typically, a bonded waterproof liner in a motorcycle jacket shell requires those fussy “waterproof” zippers.

And those straight chest zippers with a flap over the top usually flows very little air. That is the basic and most common problem with this type of jacket.

REV’IT! answered that with the unique (and I believe patented) “VCS Aquadefence” (Variable Climate System) vents, first described in our 2013 REV’IT! Spring and Summer Clothing Report.

This is an interesting solution that really does work. The VCS Aquadefence vents are easily opened or closed when riding, which is a big plus right there.

The vent cover is the same fabric as the shell and it’s attached with a zipper along the inner vertical part of the vent and hook-and-loop at the bottom.

The zipper has a wide metal pull with a soft rubberized tab, which makes it both easy to find and easy to use when wearing gloves.

Pull up the zipper and “rip” the vent cover open, then attach the lower left corner to the upper right with its high-quality Prym metal spring-loaded snap.

The VCS vent has much, much more open surface area than any zippered vent, even including theGore Lockout vents (report) on the ultra-high-end REV’IT! Everest GTX jacket (review).

REV’IT! will be employing the VCS Aquadefence system on other jackets across the line, I’m sure, because it’s probably one of the best solutions I’ve seen to the age-old ventilation problem in a waterproof jacket.

The jacket also has a large 20 cm vent in the rear, covered by a full-width flap.

This vent does open through the Hydratex lining, but the flap that covers the top prevents any water from entering during normal riding.

The vent is blocked to a certain extent by the back pad, but it does help to eliminate the air pressure in the back to prevent billowing of the jacket if the front VCS vents are open.

Jacket Shell Details

The shell of the Horizon jacket in its EN471 HV (High Visibility), black or light gray version looks and feels very similar to the REV’IT! Energy HV jacket we reviewed in 2011.

You can readily see the differences in the rollover images of the front, side and rear views of both jackets in the photos at the top of this review.

In fact, the same 600 denier polyester fabric is used in both jackets, with minor trim detail differences.

600 denier polyester is a popular and commonly used textile for motorcycle jackets.

Variations of this density polyester is included in several other REV’IT! jackets, including the Spectrum, Outback and the women’s Indigo jacket.

What you don’t get compared to the high-end REV’IT! jackets, like the Everest GTX, Defender GTX and Sand 2 (review pending) are some of the ultra-tech abrasion protection features likeSuperfabric and Gore-Tex (report).

You also don’t get arm vents, which would be too complicated with the fused Hydratex liner to maintain waterproof integrity.

So there’s not much added abrasion protection on the Horizon.

But the shell is very serviceable and appears to be built to a high standard, with a couple of bar tacked points (top of the VCS cover flaps) and the black-colored fabric inserts double-stitched to the other textile sections.

Jacket Sizing

The Horizon HV jacket uses what is apparently a new sizing and fit scheme by REV’IT!.

This one is a size large and it has a lot of room compared to earlier REV’IT! jackets reviewed on webBikeWorld,, going back to when the brand was first introduced around 2005.

I’m guessing a lot of riders will welcome the new roomier “touring” fit, although I think I still may prefer the original tapered “European” fit of the more sport-oriented REV’IT! products.

Long-time motorcyclists will remember the day when you had to order a jacket (and especially pants) at least one and sometimes two sizes larger than usual to get a proper fit.

Those days seem to be long gone though; there aren’t many jackets (or pants) I can think of with any brand that we’ve reviewed in the past couple of years with that problem.

The one issue with the Horizon though is when the insulating jacket liner is removed, the shell gains about a half-size.

So the combination of the roomy “touring” fit and the removal of the liner gives the jacket a bit too much extra ballooning than I’d prefer, although again, I think many riders may like it just fine.

The conclusion here is that you shouldn’t have any problems using the standard REV’IT! or retailer size charts to choose a Horizon jacket that will fit.

This size large will fit a 44″ chest and maybe even a 45″, with the larger chest size fitting just fine if the liner will be removed most of the time.

Jacket Adjusters

AAny extra bulk with the insulating liner removed in the Horizon jacket can be taken up rather well, however, with the large waist adjusters on either side and the dual sleeve adjusters.

The waist and upper sleeve adjusters use a fairly sophisticated strap arrangement with hidden strap ends and a continuous loop for the strap.

Pull the large plastic D-ring one way or the other to tighten or loosen the side/waist and upper arm adjusters to regulate the fit.

The side waist adjuster has a very nice-looking and high-quality rubberized plastic end piece that is sewn into the jacket shell around the back.

It is much nicer-looking than a simple large D-ring and it’s one of those typical REV’IT! subtle touches that characterize their products and which has been mentioned many times in webBikeWorld REV’IT! reviews.

The upper arm adjuster is a more simple strap, sewn into the arm fabric of the jacket shell.

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Jacket Zippers and Collar

The main zipper in the front of the Horizon jacket is the standard REV’IT! metal loop type.

I’m not 100% keen on these and I’d prefer a name-brand type, such as YKK, with larger nylon teeth, but this one seems to work, despite the very small teeth that appear to be the same size as the teeth on the insulating liner zipper.

The front jacket flap also has five large hook-and-loop sections to secure it to the right side of the jacket shell.

The insulating liner attaches with a full-length one-piece zipper that starts on the lower left and continues all the way around the neck.

This zipper is marked as a YKK brand.

The use of a one-piece zipper precludes the need for a snap at the top of the liner neck, and the liner attaches to the sleeve cuffs about 130 mm up from the end of the cuff with a pair of snaps and corresponding loops.

A simple but clever design makes the loops two different colors (black and white), which makes it much easier to match the correct loop to the corresponding side of the sleeve cuff for ease of insertion.

The collar uses what is now the standard REV’IT! adjustable snap that sits in a plastic slider with indents.

This is also a nice design that provides good adjustment and a solid-feeling snap, rather than a cheap-feeling hook-and-loop collar tab.

The collar is comfortable, with a soft bumper along the top and a cutout in the shell at the back for more back-and-forth head movement.

It can be opened and secured to the left-hand side of the neck with a small loop on the collar that fits over a small hook on the left-hand side.

Also, the jacket has both long and short attachment zippers for REV’IT! pants, like the matching Horizon pants.

Pockets and Storage

The Horizon jacket has two large patch pockets located at the lower front, just like the REV’IT! Energy jacket.

On the Horizon jacket, the pocket flaps fold over and use a full-length hook-and-loop fastener across the top.

Underneath is a full-length waterproof zipper and the inside of the pockets appears to have a waterproof lining.

All of this is an extra level of detailing that sets the Horizon above some other mid-range jackets and also adds to the value at its currently discounted price.

Both the jacket shell and the removable liner have an internal pocket in the left-hand side and a large full-width pocket at the lower rear.

Safety, Armor and Protection

TThe Horizon jacket has the same Knox “Flexiform” CE-approved protectors in the shoulders and elbows as the REV’IT! Energy jacket.

The back protector pocket on the Horizon is filled with standard wimpy foam, but it is ready for the REV’IT! Seesoft Level 2 back protector.

Or it can also fit the Knox Advance X back protector, according to the REV’IT! documentation for the Horizon jacket.

The Seesoft back protector is a cool-looking and unique type; it was first described in the 2013 REV’IT! Spring and Summer Clothing Report.

The Seesoft protector has multiple soft layers that bend and move with each other for comfort in a motorcycle jacket.

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Riding With the Horizon HV

The weather has been mostly sunny during my time with the Horizon jacket, with one brief but intense rain storm as I mentioned earlier.

The temperatures have ranged from about 25 to 35 C, or 78 to 92 F.

Thus, I have not been able to evaluate the jacket’s protective abilities in cold or even cool weather, but I don’t have much doubt that it would perform quite well during cooler riding.

The Hydratex liner does seem to block quite a bit of the wind, despite the fact that when you look through from the inside of the jacket shell with the insulating liner removed, you can see quite a bit of light.

I guess that is what lets the moisture out but it’s also blocking the air from coming in.

The VCS Aquadefence vents work really well, compared to any other type of motorcycle jacket vent in the front that I’ve experienced.

I wish the flap over the VCS vents opened all the way, although the half-way, 45-degree position does seem to act as a sort of scoop to direct the air into the vent, under some riding conditions (and on an unfaired bike).

However, there’s just not enough ventilation for temperatures at the upper end of the range — the 35 to 40 C area. But that is to be expected and, if you really have to ride in 40 degree C temps, then you’ll probably be wearing full mesh.

Although there is something to be said for not having too much air flow over your upper body when the temperatures are high and the humidity is low, as in the desert…

Otherwise, the Horizon is a nicely comfortable jacket to wear for all-around street riding and touring.

The soft-feel polyester shell helps add to that comfort, as does the “touring” fit.

The HV High-Visibility color on this one may not be for everyone, although it is definitely, positively visible!

This color and fabric is certified to meet the CE EN471 standards and it includes the highly visible reflective strips as you can see in the next photo:

Conclusion

The REV’IT! Horizon HV jacket didn’t last very long in the REV’IT! lineup, as the news is that it has recently been discontinued. This is a great choice for an all-around, four-season jacket with the exceptions noted in the review for very hot and/or humid weather.

The HV version has been very popular, but the black and light gray colors look good too. If you’re looking for a high-quality outfit but don’t want to spend $1,000.00 or more, the REV’IT! Horizon may just be the ticket to your riding adventures.

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