ksmall1998 said:
I've seen some discusion here about riding jackets. I need to purchase gear for myself and the wife. Summers here do get hot and humid so I need a good vented jacket that will afford some good protection. Or do you have to take a tradeoff...more comfort means less protection..etc.
I have an expensive German (MotoPort) fabric jacket with a removeable lining and the internal foam body armor. When I bought it several years ago, I asked why it didn't have zip open vents like some of the other jackets. I was told that it didn't need them because the fabric was designed to be breathable. Yeh, right. You sweat like a roast pig if you wear it on those hot & humid days. It sits in the closet - I don't wear it anymore. Ever.
Last Fall I bought an HJC fabric riding jacket( same company that made my helmet). It also has a removeable liner for cold weather, and internal foam body armor. Has lots of pockets. Has 3 zip open vents, 2 in front, 1 in back. I love it. The zip open vents make it comfortable up to the mid-to-high-eighties temp range, if I remove my shirt & ride with just a T-shirt under it. It also works fine when the temp is in the 20's - I use a heated Gerbing Jacket Liner under it then, instead of the supplied removeable liner. HJC has discontinued its clothing line, so it was discontined merchandise - I got it for $100. But there are many similar jackets out there.
The salesman had showed me his First Gear Jackets, which are pricey (over $300 like that German one I have). The First Gear jackets do have vents, but they seemed over complicated with features, and felt stiffer - more uncomfortable. When he went in the back room and dug out the HJC I liked it better. When I found it would only cost me $100, I was sold.
When the temperature gets too high for the HJC, I stow it and slip on my perforated leather jacket. It is full of tiny holes - you can feel the breeze blow right through it. No body armor. Not the greatest protection, but certainly better than a golf shirt - which is what I used to end up with at those temps. I also have perforated leather gloves which I wear when its hot.
There are now perforated fabric jackets, with some body armor, that probably are just as comfortable but with better protection I'd think. They weren't available back when I bought the leather. I probably should give them a look.
Those are my two main riding jackets. I also have a nice (non-perforated) leather jacket that I wear occasionally. Nostalgia, I guess. I've had it for quite a while. But I could do without it.
Where you live, my advice is to get two jackets. One that is perforated for the really hot weather. And a good fabric general purpose jacket with removeable liner and zip open vents for when the heat/humidity isn't as severe.
