Saxeus
New Member
I've been doing a bit more online browsing for mesh jackets since I've found my first jacket (RST Blade) is nowhere near ventilated enough for our warm South African summer climate. It will still make a great winter jacket and of course has a level 1 back protector as standard. The range of availability here does seem to be somewhat limited unless one is prepared to fork out for import duties, but given the sorry state of our currency this can easily become a bit of a nightmare. Nevertheless there are enough options to suit almost everyone's tastes.
Recently, to my surprise, I found a local stockist of many of the brands you guys talk about - Klim, Fieldsheer, Olympia etc, so I went about doing some comparisons. My criteria in no particular order were fairly straightforward:
1. Visibility. I like a stark contrast between black and white although I'd prefer more white than black. I've found that stark contrasts and patterns is just as effective in eye-grabbing attention as bright colours, maybe not quite as effective as the neon yellow/green used in high-vis gear but I reckon black/white is the next best thing.
2. Outer shell. I've heard some not-so-good things about the abrasion resistance of anything made of polyester. Cordura seems to be a lot better, and kevlar fabrics used in jackets seem to have severely limited availability (only manufacturer I've found so far is Motoport in the US) and out of most people's price range anyway. Since I'm looking for a hot weather jacket, mesh seems to be the logical choice over other textile jackets with zipped air vents that are usually small and included almost as an afterthought.
3. Armour. CE rated elbow, shoulder, and back protector or at least with the option of upgrading the back armour. No surprises here.
4. Waterproofing. I live in a summer rainfall area and at a fairly high altitude. This means that I'm likely to only need waterproofing in summer, and a thermal layer in winter (night time temps at high altitude tend to be much lower than at the coast). Ideally I'd like both of these to be removable and easily storable but I think the frunk should facilitate this perfectly.
5. Styling. I'd prefer an adventure/touring style 3/4 length jacket as it seems more practical than the typical sports cut. Not many manufacturers seem to make full mesh adventure jackets so my options are a bit limited. I wouldn't rule out a sports jacket though if it met all the other criteria. I did read somewhere that sport jackets tend to be more restrictive to movement and are thus not advised for off-road riding. Although I'll mostly be commuting, the odd chance for getting out of the city either for work or leisure will eventually present itself. If for work, these trips might well include a fair whack of dirt roads since wind turbines and solar farms tend to be out in the remote areas of the country. So in other words I'll need a jacket that is suitable for commuting, touring, as well as light off-road riding, so the adventure or dual-sport style seems the logical choice.
Here are my options as I currently have investigated them:
Klim Induction -- R6300 -- D3O elb+sh, lvl1 back, wp liner
Fieldsheer High Temp -- R4700 -- CE elb+sh+back, therm lining, wp liner
Spidi Net-7 Mesh -- R4500 -- CE elb+sh
Cortech GX Sport Air3 -- R3900 -- CE elb+sh, 3foam back, therm liner, wp liner
Tour Master Sonora Air -- R3800 -- CE elb+sh, 3foam back, wp+therm liner
Olympia Switchback 2 -- R3800 -- CE elb+sh+back, wp liner
Firstgear Mesh Tex -- R2800 -- CE elb+sh, 3foam back, therm liner
Icon Anthem Mesh -- R2800 -- CE elb+sh, 2foam back, therm liner
Olympia Dakar Mesh -- R5500 -- CE elb+sh+bck, wp liner, therm liner, sleeves, white/black
Firstgear Adventure Mesh -- R4400 -- CE elb+sh
The Fieldsheer High Temp was recommended to me in another thread and I was seriously looking at that or the Cortech GX Sport Air 3 as a slightly cheaper (but better looking) alternative. However I am now very impressed with the Olympia Dakar Mesh even though it is on the higher side of the price range. If anyone here has one or knows of any significant drawbacks of this jacket please include it in the this thread. Also if you have any other suggestions for similar products I might want to look into I would appreciate the heads-up.
Recently, to my surprise, I found a local stockist of many of the brands you guys talk about - Klim, Fieldsheer, Olympia etc, so I went about doing some comparisons. My criteria in no particular order were fairly straightforward:
1. Visibility. I like a stark contrast between black and white although I'd prefer more white than black. I've found that stark contrasts and patterns is just as effective in eye-grabbing attention as bright colours, maybe not quite as effective as the neon yellow/green used in high-vis gear but I reckon black/white is the next best thing.
2. Outer shell. I've heard some not-so-good things about the abrasion resistance of anything made of polyester. Cordura seems to be a lot better, and kevlar fabrics used in jackets seem to have severely limited availability (only manufacturer I've found so far is Motoport in the US) and out of most people's price range anyway. Since I'm looking for a hot weather jacket, mesh seems to be the logical choice over other textile jackets with zipped air vents that are usually small and included almost as an afterthought.
3. Armour. CE rated elbow, shoulder, and back protector or at least with the option of upgrading the back armour. No surprises here.
4. Waterproofing. I live in a summer rainfall area and at a fairly high altitude. This means that I'm likely to only need waterproofing in summer, and a thermal layer in winter (night time temps at high altitude tend to be much lower than at the coast). Ideally I'd like both of these to be removable and easily storable but I think the frunk should facilitate this perfectly.
5. Styling. I'd prefer an adventure/touring style 3/4 length jacket as it seems more practical than the typical sports cut. Not many manufacturers seem to make full mesh adventure jackets so my options are a bit limited. I wouldn't rule out a sports jacket though if it met all the other criteria. I did read somewhere that sport jackets tend to be more restrictive to movement and are thus not advised for off-road riding. Although I'll mostly be commuting, the odd chance for getting out of the city either for work or leisure will eventually present itself. If for work, these trips might well include a fair whack of dirt roads since wind turbines and solar farms tend to be out in the remote areas of the country. So in other words I'll need a jacket that is suitable for commuting, touring, as well as light off-road riding, so the adventure or dual-sport style seems the logical choice.
Here are my options as I currently have investigated them:
Klim Induction -- R6300 -- D3O elb+sh, lvl1 back, wp liner
Fieldsheer High Temp -- R4700 -- CE elb+sh+back, therm lining, wp liner
Spidi Net-7 Mesh -- R4500 -- CE elb+sh
Cortech GX Sport Air3 -- R3900 -- CE elb+sh, 3foam back, therm liner, wp liner
Tour Master Sonora Air -- R3800 -- CE elb+sh, 3foam back, wp+therm liner
Olympia Switchback 2 -- R3800 -- CE elb+sh+back, wp liner
Firstgear Mesh Tex -- R2800 -- CE elb+sh, 3foam back, therm liner
Icon Anthem Mesh -- R2800 -- CE elb+sh, 2foam back, therm liner
Olympia Dakar Mesh -- R5500 -- CE elb+sh+bck, wp liner, therm liner, sleeves, white/black
Firstgear Adventure Mesh -- R4400 -- CE elb+sh
The Fieldsheer High Temp was recommended to me in another thread and I was seriously looking at that or the Cortech GX Sport Air 3 as a slightly cheaper (but better looking) alternative. However I am now very impressed with the Olympia Dakar Mesh even though it is on the higher side of the price range. If anyone here has one or knows of any significant drawbacks of this jacket please include it in the this thread. Also if you have any other suggestions for similar products I might want to look into I would appreciate the heads-up.
