Favorite Hot Weather Jacket, "To mesh or not to mesh"?

I just got a Joe Rocket mesh jacket with a liner. So far the hottest day I've used it is high 80s, but it's very comfortable, and I can see it being pretty good even approaching triple digits. The only problem I have is intermediate temps - in the high 60s to low 70s it's a little too cool to go without the liner, but the liner is almost too warm. I'm experimenting with other garments under the jacket - nylon pullover, fleece, etc.

Motoport, Olympia and Bohn armor.

Motoport makes great stuff in their Airmesh Kevlar II line. The tri-armor and quad-armor also have air holes in them that seem to negate the overheating I note below. One thing I will warn readers about: once you invest in Motoport gear, everything else makes you feel naked and unprotected. It is that good !

I also like the Olympia jacket in hi-vis yellow/orange. It rides well in south Louisiana heat and humidity, and unless they are blind, everyone sees me. The bright hi-vis colors are also much cooler than any black or other dark colors, which helps a great deal.

The Olympia overpants are OK but the "armor" leaves a lot to be desired. I recently got the idea to use the Bohn body armor inserts in them. The knee armor fits into the pockets and can be adjusted to perfect position with the existing velcro tabs. I used the foam hip inserts that came with the Olympia pants as a template to trim the Bohn armor to fit the hip armor pockets, and it works nicely too. With the modifications the Olympia pants are now properly road worthy and should take an impact much better than the original stuff that I have serious doubts about.

FWIW, I tried to use the Bohn leg armor, using both the standard carriers and the "mesh" that was supposed to be better for warm weather. The carriers are essentially tights or panty hose with pockets for the armor. Net result of that experiment is that for me, in Louisiana, the Bohn armor is usable about 3 weeks during cold weather that constitutes our winter, kind of like trying to use Aerostitch Roadcrafters down here. The tight fit of the Bohn armor (which has NO air channels) gives very effective insulation, and very uncomfortable in anything above 80 degrees, and above about 85 I have to shed the Bohn pants or die from heat exhaustion.

Before I got my Roadcrafter, for summer riding I wore Joe Rocket mesh gear (pants and jacket). Riding through SD in the middle of August in 105F+ temps was miserable. I had a 2 gallon zip lock with water in it to re-charge my cooling vest. The vest would dry out after about 25 miles. My legs got sunburned, my arms got sunburned. I drank all 2 liters of water I had and it was about 45 miles to the next stop. I even drank the icky tasting water from the ziplock. It was so much fun when we got to the fuel station, leaning over the sink in the bathroom, puking up nothing, trying not to pass out.

In my Roadcrafter with the same cooling vest, on the same route with the same temps, vents open, it now takes over an hour for the vest to lose effectiveness. I stay well hydrated with the 2L of water, and no more sunburn either.

I will never wear mesh again.

For sserious heat and riding any more than 30 minutes you want vented and not much mesh. Above about 94 degrees the air is hotter than your skin and mesh feels hot. It also is a direct route to serious dehydration. At triple digits it feels like a pizza oven door just opened.

There are lots of vented non-mesh jackets. Pick your poison. My favorite for hot weather is my Aerostich Darian. In less hot stuff I prefer my Roadcrafter. In the 2003 Iron Butt Rally approaching Las Vegas at about 110 degrees I switched out of my mesh and into my Aerostich and with a wet shirt was much more comfortable. The shirt would stay wet only about 5 minutes under the mesh and for about 45 minutes under the Darian.

and there be water...

Most of the post here in this thread mentioned water for cooling and drinking....

I ran across this last year and order one: http://www.geigerrig.com/hydration-packs.html

Now I only purchased/ used the "engine" (reservoir ) and the pump... I did purchased the insulated hose and I added about 18 inches or so to the hose. As you saw on the link...it has a pump bulb for pressure...therefore you can spray yourself or passenger, pet or give someone a drink without them touching the hose. Wash the windscreen or helmet visor.

I placed in reservoir either in insulated collapsible cooler with ice or I prefer using my Polar Bear cooler :http://www.polarbearcoolers.com/category/24_pack_soft_coolers.html

I love this feature: you can invert the "engine reservoir" and put in the dishwasher.... much easier to keep cleaner.

Because I do not wear the unit, rather I strap to my top case or back seat area...you need to find the best position for the pressure system to work best...
I attached the pressure bulb on my left side, jacket or bike in easy reach to give it about 10 to 15 pumps to increase the pressure as the reservoir empties.

Hope this helps.

lkchris said:

I've had BMW Airflow 2 and 3 and now 4 (not labeled that in USA). I am becoming convinced that the black version does indeed reflect heat as promoted (Cool Black technology). I'm still learning as regards undergarmets but am sold on LD Comfort shorts and will likely try their shirts shortly. (A fun pair of words!) In the meantime, Cycle Gear had Bilt Heat-Out shirts on sale recently and now have a couple but not tested yet. My expectation is that more expensive (LDComfort) will be better than cheap.

An interesting product described here: http://news.motorbiker.org/blogs.ns...cool-but-your-body-cooler-on-a-motorcycle.htm

Click to expand...

That looks like a very usable vest, in that the wearer stays dry. And the concept sounds logical. I have a neck tie? [of sorts] that has those beads in it, and it does work ...cooling the blood as it passes through the main arteries in the neck, and it does make me feel cooler. The neck tie though does dry out quickly in the wind. I know it's not [gear] but I usually ride in an over sized denim shirt, to keep the sun off,...and funnel some air. I'm thinking that the addition of that vest might be the ticket?.

I saw where Twisted Throttle carries that brand. Might just give'em a call.

Have used a lot of different jackets but right now I'm using the BMW Airflow 4 and Airflow gloves. The jacket is the least vented and mesh jacket of all the jackets I've had but seems to work the best. A few have said it and I'll repeat it - less air flow into the jacket is best on long rides. On a short ride a totally vented or total mesh jacket might feel good but for touring you need long term heat management. I've recently added a Hyperkewl vest and it seems to work well also.

Let me add that the Airflow gloves are the least vented/meshed of all the summer gloves I've had but they are the best feeling gloves I've owned for hot weather riding. They vent so little.

Equipment tested up to 115+F. At 108 and higher helmet face shields need to be closed. Wet handkerchiefs around the neck dry in minutes once underway. Every 5 degrees increase is another world in how it feels and in how you go about handling the heat blast. You get to a point that the full fairing is actually helping you. And don't forget to hydrate, hydrate and... hydrate.

tsp
More tips in this blog: http://www.airheadmoto.com

I'm on my 4th year in an Olympia Airglide 3 mesh jacket with rain and insulated liner.
http://www.compacc.com/p/Olympia-Mo...scplp2780793&gclid=CJHq1aT_7rcCFVIV7AodLjcAFg

Olympia now has the Airglide 4 out. I also just got a HyperKewl vest from Wingstuff.
http://wingstuff.com/shop/cool_vest?sitesync=done

The jacket gets used about 7-8 months per year. When temp drops below 40F, I switch to my Olympia AST. The HyperKewl vest has been awesome this summer, but I'm wondering if Paul's suggestions would make it even better. It dries out pretty fast on a 20 min ride in 100F heat with 5% humidity.