Posted by Brian on 1/16/2012
to BOMBER Recommended
Imagine this: you take off on a cool morning on your KXDLRGS 650 for some exploring. It's chilly, so you need to seal up snug at the collar to keep out the wind. You find a terrific dirt road, and decided to check it out. Speeds are slower, and the day is getting warm, so you need to open vents a bit. You head for a secret lake on the map, up a washed-out first gear nightmare not worthy of the word "road". You zip the sleeves off, stuff them in the jacket, find the lake, and use the jacket as your seat and changing blanket. By the time you're ready for your 50 mile slab home, the temp has now plummeted. Sleeves back on, zip everything back up tight, 5th gear, cruise.
This wide performance envelope is full of contradictions, and most customers get confused. People tend to pick gear for the worst possible weather, and end up with too much jacket. Instead, they should choose for the middle 80% of your riding, not the 10% at the extremes.
CONSTRUCTION: We feel that a rugged inexpensive fabric is critical for
both street and dirt. Of course the fabric should withstand crashes,
but should also resist the constant abuse that dirt riding throws out. A
bonus for us, we occasionally use ours as a blanket to sit on out in
the backcountry (no joke). Doing that with an $800 Gore Tex jacket is a
bad idea.
VENTING: For street use, the jacket needs to seal up well against the air. This requires a well designed collar and zipper flap, and some adjustments to cinch the jacket snugly to the body. It also helps to have some extra length. BUT, off road riding is often more physical, at slower speeds. This requires a looser cut in the body, and big vents for airflow - so air is not trapped.
PROTECTION: A good dual sport jacket should have both built-in armor, for convenient street use. The bigger the armor, the better. It is critical that the jacket have adjusters, at least at the elbows, to cinch the armor in the correct place. But, it should also have a loose enough cut to allow wearing armor body armor underneath. In particular, the shoulder area needs to be shaped properly, otherwise the jacket will bind. (Note: we feel that pressure suits, or worn-on-the-body armor is 10x better than the built in stuff).
FEATURES: Lots of superfluous bells and whistles are stupid. Apart from what we listed already, we feel a good dual sport jacket needs big vents, removable sleeves, smart pockets, reflective trims, and a reasonably light weight. We see some other details that we like, but in reality, they are unnecessary.
WATERPROOF: NOT always necessary, and in some cases, more a negative than a benefit. This is an important consideration, where motorcycle size (>650, or <650), street %age >< dirt %age, geographic region, and terrain come into play.
Off road use usually includes some strenuous activity, and that means heat. Being wet is a hassle....but being hot can be sheer misery. The ability that non-waterproof jackets have to "leak" air is great for shedding that heat. Additionally, the ability to remove sleeves is great for versatility. (the best example we have of this construction is the AXO Stone Jacket). Leaking a little water is not desirable, but usually tolerable. Conversely, navigating a rocky washed out fire road on a hot day, with a 300 lb motorcycle SUCKS.
Waterproof construction is better when the riding is less physical, mostly street (60% or more), or in areas where it is really rainy and cold. If you stick to maintained GFS roads, or live in Tillamook (90"+ rain/year), waterproof is for you. In these cases, trapping heat is either a benefit, or not a drawback. But still....look for really good vents....you will need them. The best jacket we can think of for these circumstances is the Klim Traverse Jacket, which is light weight and has outstanding ventilation.
COST: Most of the models we like are in the $150 - $250 range. As you move to more trick fabrics and more ADV oriented gear, this can creep up.
Here's a summary of the attributes we feel are important:
1. Sturdy fabric, that can be easily sewn or repaired.
2. Simple, light construction. Most bells and whistles go unused.
3. Lots of large, easy to use vents
4. 4 or more large, easily used pockets
5. Removable sleeves (removable collar a huge plus)
6. Reflective trims for visibility
7. For most DS riding, waterproof construction is usually not necessary. At 50% dirt / 50% street, it is likely not needed. The more dirt in your riding, the less waterproof is needed. At 60% or more street, or less technical terrain, a waterproof jacket makes sense.
8. Value pricing, not aspirational pricing. DS jackets usually get hammered, crashed in, sat on, etc.
Our faves for this category are:
1. AXO Stone Jacket - Our #1 choice, the perfect 50/50, or 60/40, or 40/60 jacket. BOMBER Recommended.
2. Klim Traverse - Best for those who want a waterproof jacket, and still a great option overall. Also BOMBER recommended.
3. Firstgear Katmandhu Jacket - Really, this is an ADV jacket, with a fairly complicated design. But Firstgear did a good job with the spec of the Kat, it is comfortable, waterproof, versatile and works well off road.
4. Alpinestars Venture Jacket - Much more dirt oriented, not waterproof, no armor, and frankly overpriced. But it is the best off road jacket we know, and not bad on the street (with a pressure suit underneath)
5. Klim Adventure Rally Jacket - This is frankly the best dual sport AND adventure jacket in the world. It works great both on and off road, for all conditions, on any size bike. The only reason we do not talk it up is because the price is unrealistic for most riders. But it is a terrific piece of gear.
BP
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