Question regarding jacket for wife.

OK, having concluded the search for a new helmet for my wife, another question has come up.

She's now also interested in getting a riding jacket. Incidentally I am thinking on getting a jacket myself, so we might team up and get something similar. She mostly likes to ride when it's on the warm side. I'd like to have something that would be a good all-around, all-temp thing. On the high temps I have no real limit, on the low temps I am out as low as maybe 20F in the fall if the roads are dry. But I have a GT so lots of protection from the wind, and heated grips and seat.

I did attepmt to buy her a leather jacket several years ago, but we ended up returning it (or not even taking it) due to size problems though. She buys "petite" sized clothing (6P or PM), so maybe this is why we never really came up with a good fit. Not sure if this is going to continue to be a problem. This time I guess we will just have to scout out places with womens sizes "on the rack" and try to come up with a solution that way.

One jacket we looked at, just online though, is a Tourmaster Transition 2, that come in mens and ladies sizes. If anyone can comment on that particular jacket. That would be right around what we want to spend, and looks like it would fit the bill, reviewers seem to like it from what I've seen. May be a tad too warm for me in the summer, although it has a zip-out liner. My wife is one of these that is always cold except when it's really hot out, like over 80F. Has good side armor and some back protection as well.

Any other jackets we should really consider?
Gilly

Definitely check out Olympia clothes. Comes in men and women's sizes. My wife is 5'1" and under 110# and finds their stuff fits well, except maybe the length of the pants. Zip out linings are great. Some of their stuff has two zip out linings: one is waterproof, the other is quilted insulation for cold.

+1 on the Olympia. Particularly the Airglide. The liner is warm and easily removed. The jacket is cool when the weather is not.

+2 on the Olympia as well. My g/f is very petite, 5'6 and +/- 110# and found the Airglide fit her perfect. The liner does a good job keeping her warm and it zips out.

I have a Tourmaster Flex 2 & it has lasted about 2 years before getting a tad ratty. I just bought myself & wife an Olympia Airglide in Hi VIZ. The ladies jacket is cut for a woman, & is adjustable. If your wife is very slender, look into Alpinestar, they are more of a "euro-cut", made for small figured women. I would definitely have her try them on before buying. There seems to be more range in women's gear than men's.

JStrube said:

. . . There seems to be more range in women's gear than men's.

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Just like in real life!

Voni
sMiling

NOW just wait a minute there, oh wait this is the womens section (backing away slowly......)
Thanks for all the tips, will check out those sites that were mentioned. The Olympia items I had looked at earlier seemed on the high side, but will look around some more and reconsider, some jackets were more than others

Gilly

WHOA, that's a great deal on that Firstgear jacket, Voni! Only thing is that she can't be too picky on the color in her size. But she thinks the brown/gray will do (she wishes she could get something that would "go" with the helmet, but she also realizes we are doing pretty good on price vs quality on both of these)
. We're planning a trip to "the big city" tomorrow, there is a shop there that might have Firstgear, pretty sure of it. We'll check them out for size, consider purchasing from them if they are anywhere near this price point (which I doubt), and, well, you know the rest. We just want to make sure we're ordering the right size. I did the same thing with the Shoei I ordered, although that's when we bought Gina's helmet, so made up for my loose hairs in their display Multitec. I hate doing that though, I'm sure these places have to realize how badly they get priced out by internet sales.
I looked through the mens jackets at the same site, right now for me I am leaning towards a Tourmaster "Saber 2", it has some good reviews.
Gilly

Tourmaster

Gilly, have you stopped in at Mischlers? They carry TourMaster and have a selection of mens and womens gear. I bought a Transition 2 off E-bay this last winter. I have been out a few times this spring and I would say the jacket is plenty warm. The only thing I noticed is that the arms fit a little tighter than I prefer.

I love to go up there when I can, it's just tough to go that far if I don't need to.
I snagged the deal on a Firstgear Monarchs for my wife, just unbelieveable, $300 off msrp on one. I think they did change the design, she's getting the older style, but that's still way better than the cheapie department store leather jackets we've both been wearing. Something ACTUALLY designed for cycle riding, what a concept!
Gilly

147696 said:

The only thing I noticed is that the arms fit a little tighter than I prefer.

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PS: I've hear that with Tourmaster you need to get one size larger than the sizing chart would show, does that make sense?
Sorry ladies, I don't know if the same is true for womens sizes or not. For my wife's Monarch jacket, we are assuming it is true to size. Either that or Gina has a problem with me ordering her a Medium jacket!

Gilly

Tour Master Sizing

My Transition 2 runs fairly true to size other than the arms being a bit tight. There isn't much room for layering but sleeve length and shoulder fit is fine. My wife isn't built for the cut of the womens jacket. See prefered the fit of a mans jacket. I picked up an older model mens TourMaster also on E-bay. I think I only have $100 in the pair.

Trying to get caught up with events the last few days. The UPS man definitely knows we've been trying to stimulate the economy!
Got the "small" Monarch in, and again thanks to Voni for the tip. What a deal!
She really likes it. The color they call brown/grey we both describe as a 2 tone khaki. One shade is a very light beige, the other is like a tan khaki. She says she has a regular trenchcoat type jacket that's very close to these same colors, very tasteful, not screaming "LOOK AT ME wear the cycle jacket!". She is 5'2" and in the 110 range and the small fits quite nice. Better with the inner liner out (which is the way it will mostly be worn), snugger with the liner in but it fits. We're sure the sleeves would be too long if it were a size medium.
Very happy with the different features, I pointed out all the armor in the sleeves and shoulders and the back protector. She's amazed by all the vent openings and hidden pockets, especially for that price. Wishes it were a bit longer is the only real negative.
Gilly