Summer clothing - mesh jackets

[skahigh]

As we're in the middle of a heat wave here in Cardiff I'm thinking about getting something cooler to wear for the summer and specifically thinking about mesh jackets.

I've never owned one before and no real stockists locally to go and have a gander / chat.

I like the look of the Furyan Speed Mesh as it looks fairly protective (leather) while also being cooler than a normal leather jacket.

I'm grateful for any advice or suggestions on the topic.

[RemaL]

I've had my Mesh jacket for about 8 years. been used about 5 times as they let sooo much lovely fresh air in its never warm enough to wear.
25 degrees and wearing a mesh jacket on the motorway and i'm cold. And i'm not a cold person.
if your commuting you may use it much more than me

Mines a Alpinestars one.

[Moulder]

I have a textile jacket which is a mesh outer and two other liners that can be zipped in to make it water proof and warmer. Only a few times have I ever worn it just as a mesh outer, especially if the journey involves any out of town riding.

Would something similar be an option? It would then be something that might get more use.

[bogie]

Ive got a Vanson mesh jacket, I wear it mostly on holidays abroad in 30-40 deg plus heat. It does have a small windproof liner that packs away in the pocket, so you can have the liner in if chilly in the morning and it warms up later. It feels like wearing a t-shirt when riding,with fantastic airflow. It does have full armour/back protector and heavy cordura mesh with some leather patches.

Great jacket, you can pick them up on ebay sometimes lightly used, they are a bit pricey if you order direct from USA with shipping/taxes.

I think I wore it twice last year over here, it just didnt get that warm in the UK. I have another leather jacket with vents thats cool enough for most UK weather.

[boyse7en]

I've got a Ixon QuatroTempi jacket with large zip-off panels that turn it into a mesh jacket. the panels only get removed if the temp is well up on the scale - wind chill at 70mph is quite considerable.
I have only removed them a few times in several years, so in future I would bother.

[skahigh]

My daily commute is 8 miles through town at no more than 40mph most of the time so I'm after something light and cool.

I already have a nice vintage look leather jacket for when it's not so warm and a gore tex touring coat for when it's likely to rain.

[bogie]

Knox do a light vented/armoured mesh jacket that looks good quality and fully armoured, think you can get an over jacket for it in case of showers too

https://www.planet-knox.com/product/zephyr-mens-su...

[Dr Jekyll]

I've got an Alpinestars mesh jacket with a liner. It's very rarely hot enough to take the liner out but with the liner it's comfortable for warm days and even in light showers. The downside is that with 'Alpinestars' emblazoned across the back it does look completely ridiculous especially off the bike. A common problem with mesh jackets for some reason and I'm tempted to buy a leather jacket for summer rides where I want to walk around at the other end.

[Andybow]

We use astars ast air jackets when in Spain,Portugal etc, in fact it’s the only jacket we take, I have a wind proof jumper underneath on colder days and a two piece waterproof suit for when it rains, been touring for years with this combo

[CAPP0]

It's fine when you're moving but in temps like today it's when you're waiting for lights, traffic to clear, etc, then you just melt.

So - do these keep you cool(er) when stationary?

Next questions: what leg wear and which boots? 30 mile commute, 20 motorway and 10 city. Must admit that today did make me think about getting some more gear.

[bogie]

Yes when stationary much cooler

I have worn this jacket in 45 deg traffic in Vegas and my top half was the coolest part of me, with a short sleeve base layer vest underneath. For trousers you can go with textile/ mesh vents or single layer jeans. Some short textile boots from TCX offer at least some protection.

https://vansonleathers.com/mens-collection-of-moto...

[Pravus1]

Alpinestars mesh here too. It has to be 25 or above to wear it comfortably at speed as it's almost like having aircon.

I usually combine it with some light textile bottoms or kevlar jeans and some vented smx plus boots. Add some old HG super vented gloves and I've never really been too hot.

[JulianHJ]

Anyone got any experience/opinions of the Alpinestars T-Core Air? I've been considering one...
http://www.getgeared.co.uk/alpinestars-t-core-air-...

[E36GUY]

I have this one.

https://www.fc-moto.de/epages/fcm.sf/?ObjectPath=/...

Used it a lot last year but as another poster said, it needs to be a hot day.

[Dr Jekyll]

I've just been out in my mesh jacket and kevlar jeans, the jacket liner was left in because I had some motorway miles to cover. Big mistake, far far too hot. Tolerable at motorway speeds, intolerable everywhere else.

[skahigh]

Interesting that a lot of you seem to be using the very lightweight textile mesh jackets, I can't imagine they would offer much protection at all in a slide along the road?

The furygan one I mentioned in the OP is leather but probably makes it a lot warmer?

[bogie]

Depends on what you buy - some of these jackets are just like a regular nylon and much of the protection comes from the armour. Others are more real duty cordura with leather reinforcement and armour. You have to judge for yourself.

As always its up to you to judge what you want to wear - some heavy textiles and armour do pretty well on slide tests, certainly good enough for road use where you are more likely to die from hitting something solid rather than needing a suit that can cope with 7 secs of slide from 160mph plus into air fence

[Pravus1]

https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/...

Something like that is only mesh in places you are pretty unlikely to slide. At the end of the day it's balancing risk and reward. The more comfortable you are the more focus you have on the road

[RemaL]

bogie said:

Knox do a light vented/armoured mesh jacket that looks good quality and fully armoured, think you can get an over jacket for it in case of showers too

https://www.planet-knox.com/product/zephyr-mens-su...

A shame that Knox fked up the knox handroid so much when released that I would not touch gloves let alone a jacket from Knox.

Bet you guessed not a fan on the quality

[obscene]

RemaL said:

A shame that Knox fked up the knox handroid so much when released that I would not touch gloves let alone a jacket from Knox.

Bet you guessed not a fan on the quality

What happened? I have vague memories of their release and people talking about them. I wouldn't buy another set of A*'s after their gloves peeling open at the finger seams.