Jackets Olympia Ranger Vent Tech Jacket

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Brian Dunning
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Olympia has a new jacket which is waterproof on the outside and vented for warm weather, called the Ranger Vent Tech jacket. I have one on order and checked the forum to see if others had posted comments about it. There are no mentions so I'll STart this thread and review the jacket when it arrives.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7qB8pbmvaO8
 

Reginald

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I like my Olympia suit, looking forward to the review. Particularly interested in how it works in hot weather; 98+ degrees.
 
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I have this jacket an matching pants. I am very please with the overall fit and comfort. I have ridden in temps from 30 to 75 with out complaint. I have not been in wet weather so I cannot talk about that.

My only issue as compared to the AST is that the side zippered pockets on the jacket are a little small for my hands and such that it makes it difficult to get stuff out of the pockets, i.e ear plugs, keys, chap stick, etc. Other than that there are no complaints.
 
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Brian Dunning
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It might take a while to test the jacket in 90+ temperatures, but the rain testing can be done sooner. This is a new offering from Olympia, so no one had one in stock here in Ontario. There is a better YouTube video by the Olympia owner, but I couldn't find it at 1:30 in the morning with a poor hotel Internet connection. My current jacket is also an AST, so Grabcon's comments about the pockets may be a concern as well for me.

Still waiting for confirmation that the jacket has arrived.
 
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With the overall performance of the jacket the pockets are a minor concern. The wife and I did a 600 mile weekend and just got home. I am more than please with the jacket, plus you will really like the liner that comes with it. Olympia really stepped that up a notch or two.

90 degree days n matter what you are wearing expect a tee shirt and shorts will be an issue. I just live with it. It is like a condom better safe than sorry.

I am very interested in the wet weather performance as that is one of the main reasons I bought this stuff, jacket and pants. I want to reduce what I pack for gear.
 

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It's really just the AST racket re-branded to match the Ranger pants. They always had an AST jacket and Ranger pants but never a Ranger jacket or AST pants that I can remember.

So, an attempt to add some styling updates and match Jacket/Pant combos like they do with their other stuff i.e., Dakar Jacket / Pants, Moto Quest Jacket / Pants and Airglide Jacket / Pants.

Many have said the AST jacket was good in the rain so I'm assuming this will be just as good. The venting looks somewhat similar and above 85 degrees things might get interesting but many here have said the AST is good in TX/OK heat as long as you get the vents set up well and get some forces air through them.
 
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Many have said the AST jacket was good in the rain so I'm assuming this will be just as good.
I have an AST and without the liner in it was not great in long periods of rain. I like the jacket but from being advertised as water proof it is not. I am hoping the Ranger does much better. It is more than rebranding it is redesigned too for better water proofing.
 

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I have an AST and without the liner in it was not great in long periods of rain. I like the jacket but from being advertised as water proof it is not. I am hoping the Ranger does much better. It is more than rebranding it is redesigned too for better water proofing.
Yeah, one thing I like about the mesh stuff is the separate waterproof liner you get that those have never failed for me. I have some Ranger pants and as long as you zip and velcro the side it's been great in the rain... I also have rain gear as a backup, just-in-case... lol
 
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Brian Dunning
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I picked up my new jacket from a dealer in London while on my way to Toronto for an extended trip. All I can report so far is that the XL jacket looks good, fits the same as my XL Olympia AST jacket and is somewhat stiff in the arms, so a break-in period will be required. Yes, the front pockets are small and not suitable for a pair of gloves. Sorry about the delayed review on riding performance in various weather conditions, but this trip with Karen was planned a long time ago. Expect my review by late May.
 
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Brian Dunning
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One ride in 80 degree weather without the liner made me realize I should have opened up the vents! Still waiting for rain to do a dryness test. Without the liner, the fit is very comfortable and no break-in needed. Earplugs and other small stuff will fit in the front pockets, but no large stuff like gloves. One minor problem on the ST1300 is the hi-viz reflection off the display screens, solved by holding a glove over the offending part of the jacket to see the read outs. More to follow.
 
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Brian Dunning
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Dry Test: It was a steady rain all day today, so I had a chance to give the Ranger Vent Tech jacket a good test. After a 60 mile ride at 50 F, I was totally dry and warm with the jacket and inner liner. I particularly like the way the top of the jacket wraps around my neck to seal out the cold and rain. :)

Next test is in hot weather. Not sure the review will be good for high temperatures unless the vents let a lot of air pass through to my body. :confused:
 
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I had an opportunity to test my ranger today had temps from low 60s to 80. Did about a 100 miles with near 80 temps. The vents were open and as long as you move it was not to bad. If you stop for any length of time it does get warm but you sweat and when you ride you get cooled off pretty quick. I did drop the windscreen a bit and the wind cooled me off nicely. I did hit some heavy rain but did not stop to close up vents a short heavy down pour. But where there were no vents I was dry.

The Ranger pants on the other hand with out vents are a bit sticky but very livable.
 
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Brian Dunning
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After a summer of riding with this jacket, it's time for a follow-up report. The stock windscreen on my ST1300 was replaced with a V Stream which blocks most of the wind even when in the lowest position. Consequently, not much air enters the vents to cool me in hot weather (over 85F) unless I stand on the pegs or hold an arm out in the breeze. The jacket is comfortable in heat except for stop and go traffic. Then it becomes a sauna suit.

With the vents closed, rain has never made it through the outer shell. I've remained completely dry after riding several hours in stormy weather, thanks in part to the new windscreen.

The jacket and liner combo kept me quite warm on a 200 mile trip in 45 F weather and should be good down to 40 F with appropriate under layers. Overall, this jacket was an excellent purchase and can't be expected to handle tropical conditions. I bought it for the waterproof outer shell, my positive experience with a previous Olympia jacket, and I would buy this jacket again.
 
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I thought I might as well give a 1 year report on mine too. I have ridden about 15k mile this last year wearing the Olympia Ranger jacket and pants. Temps from low 30's to 100, other conditions dry, damp, and rainy. Overall it is great gear, I think it is better at lower temps than high. The 100's were tough but with that said we were on a trip and had to make a choice on gear. We were gone 8 days and we knew in advance that we would have temps from low to mid 30's to 100. So the question was what gear do we wear we opted for the non mesh gear. The ranger gear saved us on Bear Tooth Pass in mid August. 34 degrees at 11 am. 3 days later we were in Capital Reef Utah and temps were 100. For the entire 8 day trip I think we made the right decision. It was the right gear.

The vents work well, I have a stock windscreen and if I got to hot I just drop the screen down and let the air flow. Under gear was typically Under Armor type stuff that provided good wicking. I will say on the hot days long sleeve wicking shirt worked best. The jacket inside shell is a bit clammy when you stop and I don't like the feel on my arms so I opted for the long sleeve shirt regardless of the temp.

On Bear Tooth I did have to put both top and bottom liners in along with my light winter army Under Armor. I don't have heated gear.

On the way to NatSTOC (Denver to Spearfish) I had several hundred miles of rain, not heavy but very constant and a temp of low 50's. I did stop to put my jacket liner in because I was getting cold but the performance of the great was great. I was high and dry.

For the Ranger Pants I really like the fit and comfort, but like the other 2 pair of Olympia pants that I have the Air Mesh and MotoQuest the knee armor rides to the inside of the knee and I cannot get them to stay in place on the front of the knee. I have talked with Olympia about this and their suggestions was to stand up while on the bike and straighten them out. Yea that didn't work.

Would I recommend this gear? Yes.
 
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The jacket inside shell is a bit clammy
This is my problem with Olympia. I like my AST except for that, and hoped they had addressed it with the Ranger. All my other jackets have had a mesh lining that feels good against the skin, rather than this hot, clammy and noisy lining of Olympia. Makes it not wearable for me in the summer.
 
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I have found that I really like wearing a long sleeve shirt, very light weight and wicking material regardless of the type of jacket.
 
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I have found that I really like wearing a long sleeve shirt, very light weight and wicking material regardless of the type of jacket.
Yep, that's the solution Brad. But it's an answer to a problem that pretty much shouldn't be there and that has been dealt with by other companies.
 
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