Impressive and Different
Written: Jun 12 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lightweight with removable lining, lots of usable pocket space, price.
Cons: For riding well below the speed limit, but better than no jacket at all.
The Bottom Line: Great jacket to give you piece of mind while riding without being bulky, hot or cumbersome.
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| toeslider's Full Review: Joe Rocket Orbit Jackets |
I went in to my local motorcycle "superstore" with a certain jacket in mind, and of the thousands they had, this one is just about the only one that approached what I was looking for.
First off, let me say that I already own a nice, expensive Belstaff lined leather jacket built specifically for riding. It is a very nice piece of work, but honest to God it uses such thick leather that it must weigh 50 pounds with the liner in!
I recently purchased a new (used) cruiser, and as it gets hotter the idea of riding around in rush-hour traffic with the equivalent of a (small) Shetland Pony around my upper body was not that appealing, so I set out for something lighter weight. I just can't bring myself to ride any more than a couple miles in a short sleeved shirt, so what I wanted was something to wear around town that would offer a little extra protection and not be so hot that I would have to take it off every time I stopped somewhere for a few minutes.
I tried on everything I could find in my size, but nothing appealed to me. Too bright, too bulky, too expensive, etc. I stumbled upon this jacket on the last rack I was looking on. After trying it on I was in disbelief that I actually found almost exactly what I was looking for! I had been scouring the closeout racks in an effort to stay under $100.00, but I had resolved to spend a little more money to get what I wanted. I knew I DIDN'T want another $400.00 jacket specifically for motorcycling, as I already had one of those. All of a sudden, here is a jacket staring me in the face with a jacked up superstore price of...
$99.95!
Let me say here that, as of this writing, I have owned this jacket all of two days, and used it just as many times, so I may have to update my review if it suddenly disintegrates while riding down the freeway, but I'll try to give you the lowdown so far as I see it.
The jacket is 100% cotton, heavy strength for it's weight, wit a zip-out polyester lining. It has two BIG chest pockets (big enough to fit two key rings, my cell phone, sunglasses, and a Plen-T-Pak of gum, with room to spare and it doesn't feel like you have a bunch of stuff hanging on your chest), two pockets with zippers for your hands, and a decent sized pocket in the liner. It also has a zippered vent in each sleeve. The jacket is cut much like a "mechanics" jacket, with no built-in elastic except for an adjustable bungee type strap at the bottom. The cuffs are held tight by both zippers and a velcro closure. The jacket has an amazing balance between being loose enough that you don't feel everything that is in the pockets, yet fitting snug enough that it doesn't buffet around in the wind. When you are riding it is almost as if it isn't even there!
From a protection standpoint, this is not a jacket I would recommend if you regularly exceed the speed limit by double digits, but for barhopping or tooling around town it gives me sufficient piece of mind due to the padding incorporated into it. It features a removable foam back protector (maybe 1/2" thick), and additional padding at the elbows and shoulders. Again, I wouldn't go racing in it, but it will survive a 40 mph slide substantially better than your T-shirt and skin combo.
To sum up this jacket in one word, that word would be "neutral". Everything about this jacket is neutral. It's black, with no logos on the outside, no hunks of plastic grafted on to it. It's neutral on your body, not too tight, not too loose, not so purpose-built that you are prevented from moving any part of your body in any direction you would like. Not too heavy, not too light. You put it on and it disappears. It's also neutral on your wallet. Not so expensive that you'll be afraid to take it out in sunlight, yet not so cheap that you'll always be wondering if you bought some substandard windbreaker-remake that won't help you out in a clutch. If the three bears rode motorcycles, this is the jacket baby bear would have -- It's Just Right.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
toeslider
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Location: Columbus, Ohio USA
Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Closet Gadget Guru. Single homeowner looking for the "easy" way to do things. Wannabe Photographer.
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