Cool Summer protection?

Hello. Curious as to the best summer protection jacket and gloves. Don't want anything to hot. Leather preferably. Looking for the best place to look and purchase. Any opinions greatly appreciated. I do not want to be doing third gear stand up wheelies with no protection in case something goes bad. Steven

I used to own a Joe Rocket Phoenix jacket and it seemed flimsy. I currently own a TourMaster Cortech GX Air Jacket and it is holding up well. Very light in weight, seems well stitched. You can get them at www. azmotorsports.com for $99.00. I have seen them listed for around $160.00 elsewhere. I know that you are looking for leathers, bet I though I would list those as alternates, although I would recommend the TourMaster over the Joe Rocket. If you do want leather, check out the JR Blaster Perforated jacket. If have seen those in person and look decent.

I have a Joe Rocket Sante Fe jacket. The arms and shoulders are perforated leather and it has some built in body armour. Also, the chest and lower back are fabric mesh to let the air through. Wes

You are right, Joe Rocket is cheesey. I roll a Vanson full perf leather jacket in the summer. Vanson actually has a new mesh jacket now and knowing Vanson products the stuff is most likley top-notch...remember, you get what you pay for; Joe rocket seems to be the Hyundai of gear (sorry rocket owners) but look on the bright side...its better than a T-shirt. www.vansonleathers.com

I wear a Fieldsheer Mach 1 and have to say that it is nice for warm, humid weather riding. It has more and better armor that the Joe Rocket mesh jacket (Phoenix) as well as a removable liner that even covers your arms for the odd chilly night in So. Fla. This jacket ventilates very well and it can be chilly late at night with it on. If you'll consider a mesh jacket, I don't think you'll find better protection that the FS. I am aware you we're asking for leather, but I figured it's good for you to know all your options.

Yamaha makes a nice mesh jacket that seems pretty sturdy. A bit spendy tho. My local dealership has a tag on it of $150.00. I think I am going to get it when it gets warmer.

I use The Dainese Safety Jacket..... Its Great for the Gold Coast's climate... Looks cool to. I like to wear a long sleeve black air shirt underneath it so that the mesh doesn't look to gay. :)

i have to disagree. i went down wearing the joe rocket and it worked well....no road rash or burns. the jacket however is only good for 1 crash and lets hope that it never happens.

I just ordered a Joe Rocket Phoenix jacket on newenough.com for $70. The jacket looks sharp, cool for summer riding, and I couldn't pass up on the price. It's not leather, but it does have some armor protection. I'm glad to hear that all is not bad with the jacket as freakyty has attested.

Ive gone down at 80mph in a rocket jacket and it held up well...well my body anyways..jacket was trashed. Well I just went to my local cycle shop...they said that fieldsheer was trash....true or not true

Originally posted by GeR an GeRRR Ive gone down at 80mph in a rocket jacket and it held up well...well my body anyways..jacket was trashed. Well I just went to my local cycle shop...they said that fieldsheer was trash....true or not true Before you decide Fieldsheer is crap. Go to a place that has their gear in stock. Compair Joe Rocket to the Fieldsheer first hand then decide. You cant trust a shop guy that wants to sell you what he makes money off of. Does the shop that told you fieldsheer sucks sell/stock fieldsheer? If you're looking at mesh only Fieldsheer uses a tighter thicker mesh weave and has removable CE armor. Joe rocket uses a looser thinner mesh (probably a tad cooler) and nonremovable foam padding for armor. Which one is crap?

Yeah, I dig it. I use the CE armor from my '02 model Fieldsheer Sonic Air mesh/leather combo jacket in my other jackets in cooler weather. Anything below ~85 degrees I wear my FirstGear Speed jacket w/ the Fieldsheer hard armor inserted. Below 45 degrees I use my Joe Rocket Ballistic 4 w/ the FS armor. Above 90 it's the Fieldsheer Sonic Air. I like the Sonic Air in hot weather because, unlike a lot of mesh jackets, it has leather over the spots most likely to rash, but has good air flow through the mesh. I like the '02 model Sonic Air better than the '03 model for looks, though. One thing that may or may not spook you is that the Fieldsheer Sonic Air is made in Vietnam. Prolly won't go over well with the 55yo harley guy, but they're generally too tough for protection, anyway... Originally posted by Chris6104 Before you decide Fieldsheer is crap. Go to a place that has their gear in stock. Compair Joe Rocket to the Fieldsheer first hand then decide. You cant trust a shop guy that wants to sell you what he makes money off of. Does the shop that told you fieldsheer sucks sell/stock fieldsheer? If you're looking at mesh only Fieldsheer uses a tighter thicker mesh weave and has removable CE armor. Joe rocket uses a looser thinner mesh (probably a tad cooler) and nonremovable foam padding for armor. Which one is crap?

Originally posted by gb506 One thing that may or may not spook you is that the Fieldsheer Sonic Air is made in Vietnam. Prolly won't go over well with the 55yo harley guy, but they're generally too tough for protection, anyway... What would a 55yr old harley guy be doing close enough to you to read the made in tag anyway? :ugh :lol j/k

i have the dainese safety jacket and that thing kicks ass. it is on sale at www.bimoto.be right now for like $178 too. that is a smokin deal.

Originally posted by sellinbmwforR1 i have the dainese safety jacket and that thing kicks ass. it is on sale at www.bimoto.be right now for like $178 too. that is a smokin deal. Are you using it in place of the armor in your jacket, and simply using the jacket for abrasion protection? What jacket/suit do you use over the top of it?

it can be used as under armor. i only use it on really hot days by itself with a shirt underneath. i'm moving to florida soon so something like this was a must for me. sometimes it is just too hot for anything there. this allows you to get the airflow of just a shirt and the protection of some very good armor. much better than being a squid with nothing for protection. the joe rocket phoenix is very similar and with some textile protection as well (though not much). also about half the price at www.newenough.com right now ($69 i think). http://www.newenough.com/closeouts/textile_hot_weather.htm i just love the way the dainese safety jacket looks though.

as for the gloves i highly recommend the alpinestars smx air carbon gloves. for $50 they have a ton of airflow and protection.