Soon I will be looking for some "mesh" hot weather riding gear for summer in California, but ultimately for a ride next year across Asia.

Many manufacturers now offer mesh clothing in their lines, but of course no one seems to have the "perfect" jacket & pants available.

Some of the main concerns I have are:

1. Protection - the jacket and pants must have decent abrasion resistance along with CE armor in the shoulders and elbows. Some kind of back protector would be good also. It would also be nice if the armor was adjustable and removable.

2. Comfort - the gear should have good airflow to keep the rider comfortable (or at least from burning up) in hot tropical climates. While moving on the bike of course. I am not sure any gear will be comfortable just standing around.

3. Color- Some manufacturers only have their mesh jackets and pants available in black! I will be trying to keep cool, and black riding gear doesn't seem practical in the heat, even with mesh. No black on my summer jacket and pants!

So far the best stuff I have found is the BMW "Air Flow" jacket and pants. Its really expensive at $600USD for both pieces, but it seems like really good quality gear. This stuff seems head and shoulders above the competition, but perhaps I have overlooked something else?

Looking for opinions from others at this point...what kind of "mesh" hot weather gear has worked well for you? What did you like or dislike about your gear? And what would you buy again, or are you satisfied with your current setup? Or what kinds of gear have you heard about from others?

Any opinions or thoughts are much appreciated!

-Dave

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Dave McMillan
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/mcmillan/