I'm looking for a good comfortable 3/4 jacket for riding long distance. I recently purchased the tourmaster saber series 3 jacket and can't stand it. IMO if and if the vents are open it poofs up and acts like a sail, if the vents are closed it sucks up on you. Just very uncomfortable. So I'm curious what do you guys wear or suggest? I'm a big guy, 6'4" and 250 lbs.
I've been prowling for a jacket to supplement my perforated leather I've had for years. I want something lighter, but my main concern is safety.
I noticed a lot of the replies in this thread are oriented around the range of temperatures XXXXXX jacket can handle, but not much feedback with respect to safety.
Anyway, admittedly, I'm frugal and don't like to spend the money if I don't have to. I narrowed down my choices to:
* KLiM Induction
* Olympia Airglide 4 (lots of cool features - I recommend those on a budget to check it out)
I was about to pull the trigger, when I continued my research and came across the Motoport gear.
$500+ each for a jacket and jeans seems crazy to spend (in my mind), but I've decided to pull the trigger on this gear.
Turns out Kevlar is the only other material approved for road-racing.
Motoport has the best warranty also (7 years!): also, if you go down, and they can't repair it, they replace it.
Strong points to consider:
* Kevlar dries in minutes.
* 3-8 LBs lighter than leather *
and*
10 times stronger, and doesn't stretch or shrink.
* All seams are safety-lock stitched
* All zippers are YKK.
* They also have more body armor in the jacket \ pants (not an extra!) than is offered by any other maker
* Kevlar doesn’t conduct heat \ cold like leather or nylon (95% of mesh\textile jackets are nylon \ polyester).
* Kevlar doesnt melt if you're sliding on the pavement like nylon \ polyester ...
* Made in the USA
They also offer a 1000 Denier Cordura, which is the only non-leather, non-Kevlar material that they recommend ... that Ultra II jacket is ~$380.
I'm going with the Ultra II Air Mesh Kevlar (wanted the stretch Kevlar, but they don't recommend for high-heat \ humid climates as we have in Texas) jacket and pants.
The added bonus is they're made-to-order ... I don't have to worry if it "fits correctly here, but not there" issue with off-the shelf gear.
I also convinced the g\f to order with me ...I agreed to "buy" her recently purchased Cortech mesh jacket.