[ridesyeti]

What are your opinion on mesh jackets? I'm looking to get my first riding jacket. Ideally I'd have one jacket for both cool weather and summer riding. I'm in Colorado so the shoulder seasons are relatively temperate but summers outside the mountains are very hot in the sun. Higher elevations are cooler. I am on a budget.

This mesh seems reasonably priced. You're thoughts?

http://www.tourmaster.com/xcart/catalog/Intake-Air-Series-2-Jacket-p-269_3.html

I really like this jacket but its not mesh so I wonder if it'll be too hot in the summer.

http://www.tourmaster.com/xcart/catalog/GX-Sport-Series-2-Jacket-p-238_25.html

Here's another two mesh's

http://www.joerocket.com/catalog/index.cfm/113/103/Textile_Jackets/Phoenix_5.0_Jacket

http://www.alpinestars.com/TRC1_AirFlo_Jacket/pd/np/122/p/330518.html

This is a really nice jacket but actually the colors are kinda boring.

http://www.olympiamotosports.com/viper/viper.htm

Ridesyeti

 

[briderdt]

I got a Teknic mesh jacket for the hottest summer days here in the Seattle area. GOt it from New Enough for something like $45. No liner though.

 

[dubtecv2]

I recently bought the A* T-RC-1 jacket. Last Thursday I went for an all-day ride in 90-degree Texas heat...only time I got hot was with the jacket on and not moving for a couple minutes.

Downside is its liner is pretty thin...I don't think I'd trust it below 60 degrees.

 

[eddiemon]

I have a A* air flo jacket but its black and with the liner out in summer its still too hot to wear (CA).

I have an A* bionic mesh that I wear in the summer with a t-shirt underneath.

 

[DieTrying310]

I have the Tourmaster Intake 2 that was in your first link. It's a great jacket, I really like it. It flows a ton of air with all the liners out, it stays pretty warm with either liner in, and quite a bit warmer with the both the padded and rain liner in. If you're getting into the 40's for any more than 20-30min fairly often though I'd look for a warmer jacket. The construction is great, there are a bunch of pockets, and the armor is very solid. For the price I'd say it's hard to beat.

 

[Oh My Sack!]

I love 'em and I had a chance to prove they work!

Wearing a Frank Thomas version from Cycle Gear. We had a few day of 100+ degree days on 10/4, 10/5, & 10/6/08. I threw my lightweight mesh gear on and along my ride had a serious collision with 2 deer. I went down on my right side extremely hard and very unexpectedly. My R&G frame slider left a delrin skid mark 60 feet long and I stay connected to the bike the whole way.


When I got up after the slide and was hobbling around in more and more pain (20 minutes before the first car came upon me) I was noticing deer hair blowing all over the place with this black cotton candy lookin' sh!t all over the place. I finally got the courage to get up off the embankment and grab a handful of it. It was the mesh from my jacket! The stuff absorbed all that energy from the slide and disintegrated. the CE armor was all intact and did exactly what it was supposed to do. I only had one small 50 cent piece rash on my right forearm by the elbow and a skinny, minor rash running the length of the back pad down the left shoulder blade to the small of my back which was right off the edge of the back pad armor.

It's a one shot deal and insurance replaced all my stuff. I always wear my Tourmaster Jett jacket and overpants or my Frank Thomas Velocita leathers but on this smokin' hot days like that one day in October, I WILL wear mesh again!

 

[drinkbrew]

I have the joe rocket phoenix 5.0 mesh jacket and i live in the so cal desert with temp well over 100+ in the summer months. It works very well in the heat, as long as your moving it somehow feels cooler then when i rode in a just t-shirt. I usually barely broke a sweat on my 20 min ride to work last summer, as long as i didn't spend too much time at stop lights. it came with pretty descent armor and a liner that i use now in the colder months that keeps me pretty warm and dry. Some of the other thing i like about it are the velcro ajustments on the waist and wrists and snap adjustments on the elbows to keep everything tight. it also has loops that you can snap around your belt to help even more to keep it from ridding up and an optional zipper for JR pants or one you can sew onto any other pants.

 

[daviddowns2000]

What are your opinion on mesh jackets? I'm looking to get my first riding jacket. Ideally I'd have one jacket for both cool weather and summer riding. I'm in Colorado so the shoulder seasons are relatively temperate but summers outside the mountains are very hot in the sun. Higher elevations are cooler. I am on a budget.

This mesh seems reasonably priced. You're thoughts?

I would try to find a hybrid (mesh, but with leather patches over likely skid areas) if you can; several companies make them.

Light colors like white will be cooler than darker colors but will get grungy looking sooner. I'd still go for the light color.

Check washing instructions...some mesh jackets are a PITA to clean.

For cool/cold weather you can also wear a windbreaker on the outside of the mesh jacket, you don't need to rely only on the liner to stay warm.

 

[Spacecoast]

I did some research too a while back..you may want to see the results from my post. I ended up getting an Fieldsheer High Air flow and very satisfied. The liner is not insulated, but I didn't care, and in fact used it yesterday (Florida) and took the liner out. It can fit tight, so use care in placing any orders. Go to YouTube and you can see a good review. I paid $90 total.

 

[ridesyeti]

Any thoughts on this jacket? I believe they have my size. This and the Tourmaster Intake Air 2 seem like the best deals price wise.

http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/Detail.bok?no=4939

ridesyeti

 

[Currently]

Mesh is considered sacrificial ... one time and then throw it away.

Better yet, keep it in a box in your garage for squidtalk :evil6:

Back when Maine got rid of the helmet law, I had a Bell helmet that I crashed in ... hard.
Everytime someone would come home and start bashing the helmets, I would tell them to "wait-a-minute", go in the garage and throw them the helmet.

It was very obvious that I would not of survived that crash without a helmet.

Thanks for posting those pictures. ATGATT rules.

 

[Spacecoast]

Any thoughts on this jacket?

Looks nice..I like the style and colors. Sportbiketrackgear has some great deals on closeouts. I would look at their website and Youtube to see if there is a video review to watch. I find them useful. But again, if a summer jacket is what you want, the Fieldsheer I mentioned will work well. I already used mine in the 80's and it was like there was no jacket.

 

[Medic09]

I've got a Cortech GX-Air that I really like for the hot weather. The high desert gets pretty cold sometimes, and I found the insulated liner to be pretty warm. The jacket is mesh with leather, a rain liner, and an insulated liner. You can mix and match the liners as needed. With just the shell it is really breezy. It looks pretty sharp with the leather, too. My wife rides in the summer with a Cortech ladies mesh jacket, and she's quite happy with it.

 

[Northwind]

I have a reasonably nice Spada one- I compared the crash damage on my old leathers and found that everywhere there's a significant amount of damage on those, there's either a solid panel, double mesh or armour, which is quite good to see. The way I see it is that it'll offer less protection than my leathers, but more protection than nothing at all, and on the days where I'll actually wear it that's the alternative.

I also wear it for mountain biking sometimes ;D

 

[CTtarheel]

I had the first jacket in your list and went down in it. The jacket held up great and I had not a scratch on my body where the jacket was (which was more than my gloves/jeans could say!).

The others are right though that textile jackets should be though of as "single use" once you go down in it you throw it away.

 

[SDRider]

Mesh jackets are really the only way to go in the summer here as it gets into the 100s in the desert. If you're riding in 70 degree weather or colder you'll be cold in a mesh jacket.

 

[leaftye]

For the hottest weather tha JR Phoenix is the best way to go. It's a well proven hot weather performer. I don't have this, but if I lived in a hotter area I'd get these in a heartbeat.

For higher quality the Olympia Airglide is also awesome. Get it in silver to stay as cool as possible at stop lights. It fits very well, has a nice liner, and the back pad can be folded to make easier to store. This will probably be my preferred hot weather jacket unless I ever get a Motoport.

For the ultimate in mesh crash protection the Motoport mesh kevlar jackets are the best by a big margin. They have a 7 year warranty or something like that, but I've heard a few people say that it's essentially a lifetime warranty. I think they'll even repair their apparel for free if you crash in it. Who does that? Again, they're the best, bar none. I really should get Motoport gear, but I have a hard time putting up that much cash for a single set of gear even though I know it'd be the smart way to go. Another bonus is that they're right here in Socal, so you can feel good about buying American.

 

[tommykaw]

New enough.com recently had an alpine starts mesh jacket on sale for 75 bucks...I got one in blue, i'm happy with it. Be fore that i used a joe rocker phienix jacket during the hot weather,,,,Tom

PS i think New Enough still has the sale going....