Great Riding Jacket
Written: Dec 14 '06
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fit, Style, Padding, Waterproofing, VENTS
Cons: Sometimes zippers get hung in fabric
The Bottom Line: I highly highly recommend this jacket. It's everything I was looking for and more.
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| zorrothepiking's Full Review: Cortech GX Sport Textile Jacket |
From long rides, cold rides, rides ending in disaster, and frequent trips to the washing machine, I'll try to share what I think about this awesome jacket.
Design and Fit -
When I first tried the jacket on, I was disappointed. I didn't like how the shoulder pads fit or the shape of the arms. I mentioned it to my wife, who suggested I put my arms out in front of me as if I were riding. Obligingly, I did, and was shocked! Suddenly, those awkward pads sat perfectly on top of my shoulders and the arms followed the curve of my arms. There is a lot to this jacket, so I'll try to lay it all out in some sort of order.
Comfort
The jacket is very comfortable while riding. The shape is perfect for having your hands out in front of you. The Cortech line is generally associated with Sports Bikes, but it works great for my cruiser, too. It comes with a zip-out quilted liner. Well, you zip it and work 4 snaps. You can put the liner in it in under a minute if you put the liner on your own body, put the jacket on over it, and then slip out of both and attach it. The liner is impressively warm. I've gone down to 35F and 70mph for an hour without extra shirts and I've been fine. The pads are soft, making it more comfortable in both riding and nonriding situations. It's waterproof, including the zippers. The only problem I've had here is that the waist is pretty high. It doesn't come down far enough to provide a good seal with the top of my pants. Wet crotch.
The waist has adjustable, stretchy straps. This lets you easily adjust how tight the waistline is even while riding, which is great for sudden rains. There's also a zipper piece in the back that will let you zip your jacket to your pants. Unfortunately, my Ballistic Pants zip the opposite directions, so I can't use it.
Ventilation
The ability to stay cool is as important as the ability to stay warm. I am thrilled with the ventilation system on this thing. Basically, the inside is netted and the vents provide routes by which air can enter and leave. Let me further break this down...
Stomach Vents - One on Each side of Center Zipper - Zip open and velcro to hold open. Inside is rip cord for chest vents.
Chest Vents - One on Each Breast - Zip open and velcro to hold open. For even more flow, pull rip cord in stomach vents. This warps them outward, making them like little scoops.
Arm Vents - One on Each Bicep - Zip open and naturally warps out when arms extended to handlebars
Upper Back Vents - One on Each Side of Back Near Top - Zip open
Lower Back Vents - One Large Vent - Zippers on either side, can be used as a pocket for small or thin items
So how well do the vents work? On a warm day (80F-ish), I was standing in the parking lot and had just zipped the jacket up and opened all the vents. I turned toward a breeze and actually felt the wind flowing in and around me. This was very nice with all that gear on, and was even better once I was riding. With normal riding gloves on, you can open both Stomach Vents, both Chest Vents, both Arm Vents (if you can get use of your throttle hand for a second), and both Lower Back Vents. You can even pull the rip cords, and they're designed to be easy to grab and to stay where you put them. This is great for in ride adjustments, since you'll usually feel warmer standing still than when on the bike.
Storage
Your storage options are a little limited with the jacket. You have a large pocket on the back, but putting much back there is likely to cause your jacket to fit funny. You have the traditional jacket pockets just above the waist, and a pocket inside the jacket on the left. All of these are zippered. You also have a small zippered pocket on your left wrist. I usually keep some loose change in here, my garage door opener, and gas receipts.
Safety
There are two main things that your clothing can contribute to your safety, and this provides both. You are highly visible and highly guarded. Studies have shown that red is most immediately noticed on the road, due largely to how often we see the different colors and how bright red is. It has reflective piping and a large reflective triangle on your upper back. Well... it's not that large. It is reflective, but it doesn't look ridiculous. The jacket is also filled with pads. There are several large pads down your back, pads on your shoulders and collar bone, and pads on your arms. These pads are removable, and provide a great deal of cushion.
Care
I've washed this jacket several times. It's washing machine safe, so I usually just remove the liner and put them both in there for a cycle. Hang Dry, which takes a while and will take even longer if you don't remove the liner. The pads can be washed with the rest of the jacket. I've picked up quite a bit of road grime on the jacket, and a lot of it won't come out. It's starting to get a bit of a speckled look and the red is darker than when I got it.
Performance
I've had this jacket in a wide range of temperatures. Even after adding three layers of pants, I can still ride with just my shirt and the jacket. When things heat up, the vents will keep you as cool as possible. I recommend that you don't put on the jacket until necessary, since the vents are less effective when you're not riding. The waterproofing is great on the jacket, but I still get wet where the jacket meets other clothes. The seam between my pants and jacket is the worst, but I also get some water wicking in around my wrists and neck. One nice thing is the cuffs, which zip to a tight fit. This makes it much easier to get gauntlets over you jacket and to keep out cold air and water
I've laid my bike over one time. In doing so, I sprained my wrist and ankle pretty yard. Even though I rolled over a couple times, I lost no skin and got no other bruises. I am very impresses with how well the pads work.
Conclusion -
Of all the apparel I had to buy for riding the bike, this is my favorite. I love the style, the vents are fantastic, the pockets are convenient, the fit is superb, and it's easy to clean. As a word of caution, I've heard that soft pads can get bent, causing them to fit poorly. You'll probably want to keep this up out of the way.
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If you found this review helpful, consider checking out my reviews on my other gear.
Joe Rocket Ballistic 5.0 Textile Pant
HJC CL-SP Full-Face Helmet
Joe Rocket Blaster 4.0 Leather Gloves
Burton Toaster Glove
Marmot Randonee Glove
Under Armour Balaclava
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
zorrothepiking
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Member: Josh
Location: Huntsville, AL, USA
Reviews written: 59
Trusted by: 12 members
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