motorcycle jackets

Wearing a jacket is an essential peice of riding gear. Although you will find some motorcyclists debate about the importance of gloves, or pants - few riders, even including those who disagree about wearing helmets, advocate that a riding jacket is important. Having your bare back and shoulders sliding across ashphalt at 60k an hour, peeling away every inch of your skin - is not a pleasant situation to say the least. Any type of fall off your bike will more than likely result in you landing somewhere on your body that a jacket would protect. When purchasing a jacket there a few general rules that always apply:

Fit

A comfortable fit is very important because discomfort will distract you and take your attention away from riding. Ensure the fit will be comfortable in all types of conditions you can foresee yourself riding in such as making sure you have enough room for a sweater on cold days.

Construction

Look at the seams and stitching. The most important areas to look at are impact points. Another trick is to look at smaller details such as pockets, zippers, and vents. If these areas are designed well, then most likely the rest of the jacket shares the same level of quality. You also want to check the thickness of the material - the thicker the better. Thicker material has a greater puncture proof resistence and will last longer in a crash where there is friction between your gear and the ground.

Vents

A jacket's ability to let the air and wind pass though it to cool you down is vital in hot weather. It also allows your body odor to escape from underneath your clothes / gear so that they, as well as yourself, do not stink after a long ride in warmer conditions.

Armor

If the jacket has armor ensure that is fitting over what it is designed to protect. For example, shoulder pads are over your shoulders, elbow padding covers your elbows.

Reflective strips / material

When you shine a light at most street signs you will notice that they 'shimmer' or have a brightness quality to them. This is because there is reflective material painted on them to make them appear brighter. This same material is used in riding gear and your jacket should have as much of this stuff on it as possible so that other drivers can see you at night and other poor visibilty conditions.

Color

Remember, as with all riding equipement, jackets of bright color (all colored flourescents, orange, red, gold, yellow, bright green, etc) are more visible to other drivers so that they can see you better. Flourescent orange is the best, solid white is a good middle ground, and black is the worst in terms of visiblity.

Along with gloves, jackets are also primarily made from two different types of materials - leather and textile. We have also listed demin jackets in this list as it is common amoungst recreational riders.

Denim aka 'Jean' Jackets

Denim jackets, like denim pants, are generally the most durable street clothing material when it comes to riding protection. They are comfortable, stylish, and light. Although convenient, denim jackets offer little in means of protection. In terms of safety, a denim jacket is better than no jacket at all, however, the material will tear and fray within 4-6 feet of sliding. The metal material found on denim jackets (buttons, zippers,etc) can cause serious burns on the skin from heat caused by friction from sliding.

Positives:

• Convenient and light weight
• Stylish

Negatives:

• Offers little protection against abrasion
• Offers little or no protection against impact
• Offers little or no protection against punctures
• Not water-resistant
• Not wind resistant

Leather Jackets

Leather Jackets vary in terms of quality and protection. When shopping for a leather jacket for riding, ensure that you are purchasing a jacket that is made for riding, as many leather jackets are purely designed for style only. You can usually tell the difference because riding jackets will be made of a thicker material (1mm or more). Those who wear leather (whether for riding or not) find a unique appeal of how the material feels against the skin. You may find riders who have a strong deveotion to leather made products and who's opinions may not necessarily be based entirely on their thoughts of how well the material protects. Leather is usually the most expensive type of jacket material, however, it is easier to repair and mend and typically lasts longer than other material. Leather is not a fan of wet and/or cold conditions and can easily shrink when exposed to prolonged moisture. Dye used to color the jacket can easily bleed into clothing worn underneath. Leather jackets are typically heavier and do not offer as much ventilation as Textile jackets.

Positives:

• Easy to patch and repair a hole or worn out area
• Offers a unique feel that is soft and comfortable
• Heavy and thick to retain body heat
• Wind proof
• High abrasion resistance

Negatives:

• Not water-resistant and can easily shrink when wet making them too small and uncomfortable
• Colours (black especially) Can easily bleed and leave clothing dyed
• Because of the material used (leather) they are heavier and not as well ventilated as Textile jackets making them uncomfortable to wear in hot weather
• Can be hard to find styles in anything other than black

Textile Jackets

Textile jackets were invented in the early 1990's. They were designed to offer the wearer greater protection than leather offers. Textile can refer to any Man-made material such as Kevlar, Ballistic Nylon, and other materials. The dawn of textile materials in jackets offered riders with new features that are not possible with traditional materials such as leather. These include:

Armor

Hard armor and foam pieces can be easily woven into the jacket to offer greater protection in areas that are of high impact probability (such as elbows, shoulders, back, and forearms.

Vents

Vents allow the wearer to open areas, such as under the armpits, to allow air to flow through the jacket to both cool off the rider and allow hot (and stinky) air to escape through a mesh like material. When temperatures drop and the rider wants to keep these areas warm he/she simply closes the vents with a zipper.

Wind / water proof designs

Due to their enclosed design, wind is unable to penetrate beneath a well made textile jacket. Because of their water-proof material, this design also protects the wearer from getting wet in rainy conditions.

Positives:

• Excellent abrasion and high puncture resistance
• Allows for other types of armor protection to be sewn in, like Kevlar
• Can be designed in more colors, patters, styles
• Nearly completely rain and wind proof
• Will not shrink or color bleed when wet
• Vents
• Lighter weight material

Negatives:

• Bulky
• Harder to patch up any holes or damage in the material
• Not 100% waterproof over a long (hours) time in the rain because the stitching puts minute holes in the material

textile and leather suits

Although not a jacket per say, we decided to list suits here as well.

Popular with professional racers as well as serious riders who want the most in protection and safety are one and two piece riding suits. While you Can buy a jacket and add pants to it, the suits offer more protection than any other combination since manufacturers will have a way to attach both pieces better together to form a bond. One piece suits Can even offer even higher protection than two piece suits because they are joined to form one piece and eliminate any chance of a two piece bond breaking. Racers today favour the use of leather one piece suits with added skid pads and protective armor because they patch up better. Textile one piece suits are favored by those who don't race on the track but need all weather, all year protection against the elements. That being said, a few racers are catching on to the textile racing suits now offered.

They are available in as many styles and colours as jackets are. These suits offer a higher degree of warm and cold weather protection and their ability to keep the environment out is unsurpassed (wind, rain, dust, etc). The materials both share the same positives and negatives as their jacket counterparts.

Positives:

• Greater degree of safety than a jacket and pants combination as the manufacturer can allow the wearer to easily attach two peices (or is a continuous bond in the case of a single peice suit)
• Greater protection against the elemets (cold, wind, water, etc)

Negatives:

• In the case of a one-peice suit, damage to one area will cause you to have to replace both your jacket and pant area
• Inconvenient regarding putting on / removing
• Less ventilation which can result in excess heat / sweat