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Mesh gear

71243

New member
Never owned or tried any mesh gear, and have a few questions of those who have.

First is it really cooler than say a tee shirt & cotton pants / jeans?

What happens when it rains? do you still need to put on a rain suit? or does it somehow channel the water out?

I'm considering a pair of pants with zip off legs.
 
Good mesh gear is cooler than a T shirt and jeans. More of your body is shaded than with a T shirt and airflow is better than jeans. It is also much better protection if built well and properly fitted.

Some mesh gear comes with rain liners for jacket and pants. Some doesn't. If not, a rainsuit is in order although in hot weather and brief storms or showers just getting wet and drying later feels very good.

The huge danger with mesh gear is dehydration but you face it just the same in a T shirt and jeans I guess. This whole issue is very dependent on bike/fairing type, and whether we are talking hot dry (west) or hot humid (east and other places).

I use a mesh jacket for short trips. When traveling I use a Darien jacket and either mesh or Roadcrafter pants, depending.
 
Funny you should ask...

Yes, mesh gear is cooler than jeans/tee-shirt.

And, yes, you do need to wear a rain suit when it rains.

I just got home from riding in the rain sans rain suit, and I was soaked. The rain went through my jacket and got me fairly wet underneath. Interestingly, the rain that collected in my sleeves seemed to have pooled in my elbow armor, because when I would move my arm it would all run out wherever.

One nice thing, though; the jacket will probably be dry in the morning.
 
Never owned or tried any mesh gear, and have a few questions of those who have.

First is it really cooler than say a tee shirt & cotton pants / jeans?

What happens when it rains? do you still need to put on a rain suit? or does it somehow channel the water out?

I'm considering a pair of pants with zip off legs.

The best money can buy can be found at www.motoport.com

Not cheap by any means but will save your hide. One thought about riding in the heat. I have a rainsuit but if it's 95 - 100 degrees and high humidity, I welcome a rain shower. I don't keep anything in my pockets that would be ruined and the rain helps cool you down. By the time I get where I'm going, I'm usually almost dry.
 
I "semi-retired" to Las Vegas and ride at least once or twice a month to SoCal across the desert. I ride with a Veskimo cooling vest and could not/would not do the trip without it. I own mesh gear from Olympia, Revit and Bates and have made the desert crossing in each. I recently bought a Klim Badlands jacket and pants for a trip to Alaska. Two subsequent trips to SoCal in temps of up to 110 have proven to me that the Veskimo keeps me cooler in the Klim (not mesh) gear than in any of the mesh gear since the hot wind is kept off and the Klim gear holds the cold of the Veskimo in ether than the mesh. If I use the built in kidney belt on the Klim jacket, the area against my back and belly actually get downright cold. The article posted indicating that it is necessary to keep the hot air out when it is above 93 or so is right on. Great article, thanks for posting it.
 
Not all mesh gear is the same. When I used to wear my Joe Rocket mesh jacket, the wind rushed through the jacket, almost as if I wasn't wearing one. My Motoport mesh gear lets the air in, but not to the degree that does the Joe Rocket jacket does. I assume that it is because there is so much more armour in the M.P. Hence I figure the M.P. gear is a compromise between mesh and non-mesh gear.
 
A mesh jacket is cool.

A t-shirt and jeans is kewel.

But since having your road rash scrubbed by an ER nurse is definitely NOT kewel, I'd rather just be cool.

pete
 
Olympia makes a mesh jacket with zip out wind/rain liner and zip out quilt insulation liner. Pretty versatile...

Currently, when it's above 65 degrees I ride without any liner, and a long sleeve shirt. Above 80 degrees I peel off the long sleeve shirt and wear the short sleeve shirt I have on underneath...all are wick-dry material.

I suspect the wind/rain liner goes on under 60, and the insulation under 50.

My bike has full fairing...
 
Lawrence of Arabia wore white-somebody needs to ask: why not a MC jacket that's white?:dunno No dirt comments please:thumb


If I had to guess? I'd say they likely wouldn't sell well enough?

Not enough tuff-guy image? Borderline feminine ?

I have seen two, [or the same brand twice] that is sand color? I'm thinking maybe having something to do with lessons learned in Iraq?
 
All of my riding jackets are mesh. In hot weather I wear a long sleeve wicking material shirt as it seems cooler in humid conditions than a short sleeve. For cooler/wet weather liners can be added. The only exception is my BMW Venting Machine jacket that has no liner, a rain jacket that fits over the BMW jacket keeps me dry and if need be warm. Ride Safe
 
Have a white/gray/black armored back protector mesh jacket that I crashed in, washed it in the washing machine to clean it up. Works well, have mesh pants I wear shorts under. The jacket is from Cycle Gear so not high end but it worked like it should.
 
Good mesh gear is cooler than a T shirt and jeans

one day last year or the year before i was leaving work and going straight home. it was a hot humid day and i thought i would leave my mesh gear in one of the side boxes and ride the short 5 miles home in shorts & tee shirt. i was really surprised at how much hotter i was riding this way. sitting at traffic lights i was baking and even when moving the combination of the hot air and direct sunlight on my skin was brutal. i am much cooler riding in my mesh gear then without any gear at all.
 
Get the right combination

I used to carry both a solid and mesh jacket on long trips, but now I have an Olympia mesh jacket and Motoport kevlar pants, both with removable waterproof and insulated liners. This way I carry only one jacket. The waterproof liner is a good jacket and the insulated liner was discarded in favour of a good fleese that can be used on the road as a sweater as well.

Now I'm cool, warm and or dry with less gear.
 
Mesh Gear

I've got leather, mesh, and cordura jackets. More than any one person should have. I read the article from Iron Butt about riding in the heat. Yes, I'm MUCH cooler with real BMW City pants. I always use Under Armor, or similar, underwear and it's amazing how comfortable I stay all day, compared to jeans. I have a TourMaster Sonora, mesh jacket. The Denier rating is 1600. I found very few jackets that meet this criteria, especially mesh. I agree with the evaporation factor with the mesh. I'm going to try to find a non-mesh jacket that meets the Sonora denier factor and use it for a year round jacket. I see the shorts, T-shirts, no helmets and tennis shoe riders all day around El Paso, TX. Obviously, they've never had the exhileration of getting their skin debrided with a copper brush. As a retired cop, I have seen, an felt the pain. ATGATT!
 
Kudos for Olympia "Air Glide" mesh

I've got an Olympia "Air Glide 2" jacket and pants (wifey has "... 3" version). Their mesh has proven very versatile, and they come with water-resistant and insulated liners that greatly expand their climate wearability. In a recent ride in 102??weather, the mesh was a perfect "top cover" to an evaporative vest (wet T-shirt will do, too): the combination provided excellent comfort with the mesh allowing airflow. (I'm in a dry climate, so works well. Humid climates would be a very different kettle of fish.)

Additionally, the reflective stripes and high-viz colors available from Olympia are resilient even through multiple washings. This has saved my a** a few times.
 
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