Jacket For The Hot Weather

[davidgtr]

If you can get to have a look at a few of the mesh jackets & their built in CE protectors / armour, then I think that the Alpinestars T-Breeze Air-Flo Jacket is the best I’ve seen. The stitching, mesh & protection / armour looks tougher & superior to all that I’ve seen so far, & I’ve seen a lot of mesh jackets here over the years! (Prior to the T-Breeze the model was called the T-Venom.)

I've been wearing a Joe Rocket Mesh Jacket for a few years now. 2 years ago fell off at low speed in Northern Laos on a shit dirt road & broke the humerus head in 4 pieces. The "armours" not much chop & I certainly would not want to go down the road for a slide with it on as I don't believe the "armour" & loose fit will do much, apart from take the initial impact, then either move all over the place or disintegrate. But I still wear it because it's cool & not hot.

Years ago I used to get around with Dainese body armour underneath a thick leather jacket. It was hot when you stopped / slowed down, & fortunately I never got to test it out.

Your jacket &body armour must be a tight fit to stay in place when you go down the road. Mesh jackets & simple mesh body armour won’t do the trick, because they won’t stay in place. So if you're serious leather & Dainese body armour it should be.

But probably many of us are not so young anymore, & the heat gets to us even more. It's also hotter nowadays with more cars on the road. So I think we are "all" tending to go the mesh way & hope for the best. Perhaps we are wiser & more experienced riders with the increased age too - less crashes??

The only reason I’m not wearing the T-Breeze Air Flow is because the one I ordered in Chiang Mai came in & they sold it to someone else before I returned from up-country! In a few more weeks I will try to pick one up from the Dirt Shop in Bkk, price 9,900 baht, if they have stock in my size.

Check it out. Alpinestars T-Breeze AirFlow is the way to go I think.

Edited February 16, 2009 by davidgtr

[LivinLOS]

I have about the same jacket in tex not mesh.. Wish I had gone with mesh but I got it on ebay for pennies anyway. Reckon it would be more ok up your way David, I was dam_n chilly last time with a mesh, that last hill returning from CR through the cloud, after dusk !! Near froze me !!

[jrbkk64]

Do any of you use or have used the BMW Rallye 2 jackets/trousers in Thailand? I have got the trousers and think they are great, but still looking for a jacket of either BMW or any other brand.

Thanks JR

[0Mix1up]

I've been wearing a Joe Rocket Mesh Jacket for a few years now. 2 years ago fell off at low speed in Northern Laos on a shit dirt road & broke the humerus head in 4 pieces. The "armours" not much chop & I certainly would not want to go down the road for a slide with it on as I don't believe the "armour" & loose fit will do much, apart from take the initial impact, then either move all over the place or disintegrate. But I still wear it because it's cool & not hot.

the jacket i've been using has velcro straps to keep the armor in place,

not perfect but it does stop them moving and should help.

so the armor did nothing when you fell?

[neverdie]

I prefer to ride naked ....little neverdie enjoys the freedom this brings

Wonder if little mr neverdie have thought about sliding on the tarmac yet? It would make a die out of neverdie I bet Ohh no it's ground off

Bard, your a funny man....Did'nt ya know that little mr neverdie deploys himself as a fairing slider in crash situations....he either jumps to the nearside or offside depending on the side fallen on. Over the years he has ground himself down to a very unimpressive 16 inches.

[neverdie]

If you can get to have a look at a few of the mesh jackets & their built in CE protectors / armour, then I think that the Alpinestars T-Breeze Air-Flo Jacket is the best I've seen. The stitching, mesh & protection / armour looks tougher & superior to all that I've seen so far, & I've seen a lot of mesh jackets here over the years! (Prior to the T-Breeze the model was called the T-Venom.)

I've been wearing a Joe Rocket Mesh Jacket for a few years now. 2 years ago fell off at low speed in Northern Laos on a shit dirt road & broke the humerus head in 4 pieces. The "armours" not much chop & I certainly would not want to go down the road for a slide with it on as I don't believe the "armour" & loose fit will do much, apart from take the initial impact, then either move all over the place or disintegrate. But I still wear it because it's cool & not hot.

Years ago I used to get around with Dainese body armour underneath a thick leather jacket. It was hot when you stopped / slowed down, & fortunately I never got to test it out.

Your jacket &body armour must be a tight fit to stay in place when you go down the road. Mesh jackets & simple mesh body armour won't do the trick, because they won't stay in place. So if you're serious leather & Dainese body armour it should be.

But probably many of us are not so young anymore, & the heat gets to us even more. It's also hotter nowadays with more cars on the road. So I think we are "all" tending to go the mesh way & hope for the best. Perhaps we are wiser & more experienced riders with the increased age too - less crashes??

The only reason I'm not wearing the T-Breeze Air Flow is because the one I ordered in Chiang Mai came in & they sold it to someone else before I returned from up-country! In a few more weeks I will try to pick one up from the Dirt Shop in Bkk, price 9,900 baht, if they have stock in my size.

Check it out. Alpinestars T-Breeze AirFlow is the way to go I think.

David, They are a good product & make good boots too.

[CroBiker]

Do any of you use or have used the BMW Rallye 2 jackets/trousers in Thailand? I have got the trousers and think they are great, but still looking for a jacket of either BMW or any other brand.

Thanks JR

I have extra jacket, never worn. It cost me almost $500. Leather, original BMW Motorrad in grey color. XL size.

Let me know if you're interested.

[davidgtr]

I've been wearing a Joe Rocket Mesh Jacket for a few years now. 2 years ago fell off at low speed in Northern Laos on a shit dirt road & broke the humerus head in 4 pieces. The "armours" not much chop & I certainly would not want to go down the road for a slide with it on as I don't believe the "armour" & loose fit will do much, apart from take the initial impact, then either move all over the place or disintegrate. But I still wear it because it's cool & not hot.

the jacket i've been using has velcro straps to keep the armor in place,

not perfect but it does stop them moving and should help.

so the armor did nothing when you fell?

I wouldn't really call it armour - "hardened foam" is more like it. I think they all seem to have similar, but the Alpinestars one seems to have a harder shell + the foam, sort like the Dainese armour. But you'd need to open one up to really know.

IMHO velcro strips on the outside holding the armour / sleeves in place won’t be so great over 100kph at a guess. But I aint gonna test it out for you.

Re the fall, well the doc said you weigh 98kgs, so just think you had 98kgs dropped on your shoulder, what do you expect. His advice lose some weight & you might have less of an impact to break fewer bones. Ha. Ha.

Photos & Report on the Laos spill here and here.

[jrbkk64]

Do any of you use or have used the BMW Rallye 2 jackets/trousers in Thailand? I have got the trousers and think they are great, but still looking for a jacket of either BMW or any other brand.

Thanks JR

I have extra jacket, never worn. It cost me almost $500. Leather, original BMW Motorrad in grey color. XL size.

Let me know if you're interested.

I am only looking for the Rallye-2 type and they don't come in leather. The size is also a bit (much too) big for me. Thanks anyway.

[AnthonyR1]

seems people tend to mix the 2 up a bit....in my mind there are 2 distinct jacket categories; leather for serious riding (highway, track) and mesh for city if you feel safe enough. the 2 cannot be compared. bottom line is there is NO substitute for leather when it comes to protection. having said that, mesh is better than a t-shirt for city riding. no such thing as a mesh jacket that is an all-rounder....same goes for leather, no such thing as a leather that will give you optimum protection and be cool at the same time. 2 jackets is the only solution. unless you don't mind sweating your nut-sack off

[guzzi850m2]

Hey anthony how long did it take to get ?????

Just for general info, PADDOCK in BKK have a huge selection of mesh jackets, leather etc, also farang sizes. Worth a visit if you go to BKK. I am not allowed to post the web pape but try to goggle the name (Thai only)

[RusticCharm]

Just for general info, PADDOCK in BKK have a huge selection of mesh jackets, leather etc, also farang sizes. Worth a visit if you go to BKK. I am not allowed to post the web pape but try to goggle the name (Thai only)

Jackets at the Paddock are hugely overpriced. Much cheaper ordering from the net even with customs duties. A 600$US Alpinestars leather jacket sells for around 43,000 THB. Use the jackets at the Paddock for sizing only. They're okay for gloves and boots though.

[AnthonyR1]

Jackets at the Paddock are hugely overpriced. Much cheaper ordering from the net even with customs duties. A 600$US Alpinestars leather jacket sells for around 43,000 THB. Use the jackets at the Paddock for sizing only. They're okay for gloves and boots though.

100% order online