| Author | Message | ||
     Jessicasdad |
OK .. I was looking over in the KB at the apparel section trying to post this over there .. but could not find the "create new thread" hot spot. So if someone could relocate this as needed .. Ok .. onto the post .. searching for a new jacket and came across this at Motonation. http://www.motonation.com/item.asp?cid=10&scid=179&pid=318 | ||
| Kurosawa |
Hi Jessica's Dad. Bought the jacket, and thanks for the link! I really wanted an armored waterproof all-season 3/4 length jacket, and nothing that was gonna make me look like a teenaged roadracer wannabe, something that would stand on its own as ordinary street clothes, at least in black (didn't care for the black and red). I love it that it's so much like my GI field jacket (but way better). I figured I couldn't go wrong at $200 for a $450 jacket. This thing is easily warmer than my GI field jacket with the cold weather liner. The zippers are kind of weird, with the pull tabs on the left instead of the men's standard right side, but they are hyper quality zippers. The liner is Thinsulate and also has some kind of Mylar mirror stuff like a space blanket. I took out the thermal liner and I could feel the breeze even with the H2-Out waterproof liner in place. Nice. The cinch straps all over the place keep the wind from ballooning the jacket out at speed. There are two elastic straps that I finally figured out can go under the crotch to keep it down, good idea for rain and cold. I just let them hang down as I ride. The armor is taking some getting used to, at least the back plate. I am very aware of it when walking around, but not at all on the bike. This is one solid chunk of a textile jacket. I figure I'll wear out before it does. The "more info" link is dead, but I found the sizing instructions at http://www.motonation.com/featuresergo.htm. First off, the chart said I needed a L, where I normally take a M (my GI field jacket size; my suit jacket size is 40S). The chart suggested one size larger for a more "American" loose fit, however they think the tighter Euro fit is safer so I went with that. I work in hospital scrubs, which are very thin and offer no protection at all, so I also went searching for some decent overpants to match and ended up with Firstgear HT II with optional Hiprotech hip and Core-Comp knee armor (I added them). This also has a waterproof liner plus a thermal liner. Gonna get some Chippewa 71418 steel-toed, steel-shanked 17" engineer boots to replace my 11" H&H engineers. I had to pour 5L of water to wash out a huge gash in a biker's calf in the trauma room and realized that calf protection is definitely worth something. Just wanted to return the favor of the link by mentioning that Lee Parks is putting his fantastic gloves up on eBay. He only does this one lot at a time with space between. I was patient and lost my first auction, but I got the $110 gauntlet-length deer/elk gloves for $81. He will send you a sizing chart that you lay your hand on; I got mine before specifying size. Different than you might think. Also he told me how to steam them and get a perfect fit. They are one of the great little luxuries in my life now. Thanks again for the tip on the Spidi jacket, it's exactly what I wanted! (Message edited by kurosawa on May 06, 2006) |
