Mesh Riding Gear - looking for opinions...
 

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

Try this -

http://www.gtsracegear.co.uk/index1.htm

C.

Made a trip from UT to KS last August. 108 deg. in western KS. Was wearing a Marsee mesh jacket and pants. Stopped every 100 miles or so to pour water down my back, etc. It was not good but probably as good as anything could be under the conditions. I have looked at other gear but nothing I have seen convinces me to replace the Marsee. Only advantage might be changing to something other than black. Oh, the armor has some reflective stuff that shows through the mesh. I like that feature.

STguy (Ray)
93 ST1100

Or this http://www.jofama.se/2004/eng/index.htm

Go to STR and chose off road and then the capricorn jacket and the CC pants. Realy good stuff.

joe rocket phoenix... jacket only, in my opinion, as the pants seem more or less worthless...

having not checked out the bmw gear however, I can't compare.

hi, do you get hein gericke shops in the states? they do some summer stuff with mesh inserts that look pretty good.

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dave

try motorcyclecloseouts.com for a the gericke stuff. I just got the venom jacket + some ce armor to replace the foam that comes in it. Very nice, better quality I think than the joe rocket stuff. It does have a lot of black on it but see what else they have... great prices.

Don't know if the brand is available in the U.S. but I had a 'Spidi' mesh bike jacket a few years ago and it was fantastic. It had CE armour in the back, shoulders and elbows. I wore it in Italy in 40c+ and it was the buisness. All the guys I was riding with had to ride in T-Shirts with no protection. It kept most of the sun off as well.

Try this link.......similar question was asked a little while back

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb...ML/000084.html

As a follow up to my original post, I have bought some hot weather gear which is working well so far.

I purchased the First Gear Mesh Tex jacket in silver and the BMW Summer Pants in the light khaki color.

So far these two pieces have worked terrific, especially the jacket. Many people say their gear is fine in the hot weather....as long as you are moving. The Mesh Tex jacket is the first jacket I have used that actually doesn't heat up when you stop. Its very lightweight and the silver color reflects the heat. By reflecting the sun off your body, wearing the jacket probably isn't any hotter than bare skin and a t-shirt.

The Summer Pants are great also, they are made of a similar material as the other BMW pants and have the added feature of converting into shorts by unzipping the lower leg. They also have CE armor in the knees and hips, although the hip armor is extra. The material breathes well and the light color is a plus in the heat.

-Dave

[This message has been edited by davidmc (edited 07 July 2004).]

My first jacket was a Hein Gericke. Was wasted after 25.000k's. Had no money so helped meyself out with a rainoverall for another 45000k's.

Then my girlfriend said she would allow me to leave on my next trip (Polar circle) because she found the jacket just no safe anymore. She had a point.

I spend more then the double on my BMW jacket. But it is the best I ever bought clothingwise. Cool in summer (ventilation that you can open with a zipper), perfect windstopper and waterproof in winter.
And today I tested the protection and that seems to work too... (slipped on tram rails in the city).

My pants will be BMW too as soon as possible. I find this brand worth the money.

I also bought a FirstGear mesh jacket in bright yellow from the States, and only about £75. I would rather it was a longer European style however it's brilliantly cool, and comes complete with the usual armour.

I´ve decided to go with this:

BMW backprotector, also protects collar bones, best value I really recomend, I´ve read european testing results and its allways top of the list, also being light and breathable.

Goretex jacket, mine will probably be a HG
with CE "hipprotect" foam on shoulders and elbows, along with those I add a tiny leather brace directly on my elbows.

Pants; Jeans or leather at the moment
and ideally gore tex later.
definately enduro knee cups, can´t afford the braces.
I add some high density foam om the upper leg sides + low front and I never ride with any metallic object in the pockets such as a zippo. urgency doctors advice !

boots, HG tuareg goretex + light trekking/army boots.

Helmet; full face! will renew my shoei XR to something more idyllic, at the moment I feel disliking about flip ups.

Matt

One thing to remember about textile MC clothing, expecially the mest stuff is that it is normally only good for one get off. It will protect you but you will have holes in it after that. Go with leather it will last much longer. It only develops a bit of character after a bounce or two. Treat it with mink oil or other such conditioner and it will work well in light rain. Carry a purpose built rain suit for anything more.

Also, I have found that as long as I am moving even unvented leather is comfortable in all but the hottest weather. And even the mesh stuff is hot while stopped. Also the mesh stuff can be COLD. You will need a liner or overgarment to go along with it.

John

I have had a Bohn mesh jacket with hard armor for about three years and I love it. I had a Joe Rocket mesh and it has problems as it fits too loose and if you had a crash the pads would not stay in place. The Bohn is stretchy and fits very well. ANd it is Euro standards which are higher. My wife has the Bohn as well.

I’ve been using my BMW AirFlow-2 Jacket for approximately 4000 miles now and have the following critique:

Not many Europeans or North Americans will go for this jacket since the high cost of the garment and relatively short summers make it a low priority.
Here on the continent of perpetual summer it is the most frequently worn gear in my ensemble.

The ventilation is superb and can turn blistering heat when standing still into merely warm air when riding. According to a website I once encountered (forgot which) it was rated the safest “cool” jacket on the market.
Fortunately I have not had the opportunity to test its ability to protect skin and bones but the materials used certainly look up to the job.

Mine’s cut is a little disappointing and it tends to hang like a sack when I strut my stuff – perhaps I merely need to visit the gym…
Obviously it cannot be used in the wet unless you like doing your showering and riding at the same time. It does however keep the dust out.

--- damn, this post sounds very gay...

[This message has been edited by LuckyStriker (edited 16 February 2005).]

Check out the New Scott USA gear. Retails for £140 or so is made by Yoko, but now rebadged Scott.

http://www.scottusa.com/product.php?UID=6564

My 2c worth...
During warm weather I use a 'Draggin Jeans' jacket, bought in oz. Denim Jacket with kevlar lining in appropriate spots. Great in the heat but need to throw a spray jacket over it when it rains (and takes a while to dry if you forget the spray jacket).
Steve

Any reccomendations for the coolest leather jacket? I Like leather better, especially as it ages and breaks in. Anyone have one that doesn't get too hot?

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'05 F650 Dakar

I bought BMW's Atlantic III leather suit a couple of years ago. Best buy I ever did. I use it all the time. Even on the hottest rides it is still cool enough due to the venting system under the arms (only Europe - don't know how it will work under e.g. Kalahari desert heat). It gets better the more I use it. Best of all: BMW has done something with the leather so it only absorbs 20% of the water compared to an ordinary leather suit. If caught by rain, I usually ride it without any rain gear. It gets wet, but a 25 min stop at a gas station dries it out. It's true! And it only leaks water through the seams. You can also buy a gore tex inner layer to keep all the wet out. I prefer a rain gear when it's pouring down, though.

I just bought this jacket and have been riding south of Rome - hot by my standards. While moving it was great. The under arm ventilation fills the jacket with moving air. But pretty hellish when still. All the other bikers on the road including motorway were in t-shirts!

Before you buy anything check these people out: http://www.motoport.com

You cannot get anything better and lighter than kevlar for protection that doesn't mind gettinng wet and dries quickly (it is machine washable)). It is also 10 times stronger than leather and it has all the pads against blunt trauma protection. Kevlar is the same fiber that the military and police use for body armor. It is a mesh design that will be wearable from -20F (with the liner) to over 100F with the liner removed. Pricy but you'll never have to buy anything else again.

Kevlar Touring Jacket:
http://tinyurl.com/2uye3

matching Kevlar Touring pants:
http://tinyurl.com/iobd

I just bought a Hein Gerick Taureg Trail jacket for £90. It looks well made but I have not used it yet. There are loads of vents in the chest/arms and a big panel in the back you can unzip with mesh beneath. If you get Hein Gerick where you are it might be worth a look. Its got protection in the elbows, shoulders and a pretty basic foam back protector.
matt