Looking for recommendations on Jacket with good ventilation

Looking for recommendations on a jacket with good ventilation.

Zippers to open and close vents would be very nice

Phoenix, AZ riding.

Hey,

That seems like a good question for TT. I'd also try out a few manufacturers. I bought a Moose Racing Expedition and the sleeves were way too short for riding with my arms out in front. So I returned it. But then I got one of their Monarch Pass jackets for like 2/3s off from a guy on ADVPoser and it fits completely different. Nice long arms, long tail, good body fit. I'm 6'3" and have longish arms.

For desert riding I like the Moose Sahara Jersey because it really flows air. I like the Fox shortcut pants because the lower leg zips off for riding in the summer. It zips off pretty low so no one will notice you are wearing shorts.

The Klim stuff is the trend right now. I can't tell you how it fits because it's too expensive for my style, which is I think their stuff isn't really aimed at us low desert guys so I ain't paying $500 for a jacket named after a town in Alaska. I spoke with a rep of theirs about it. I asked him why they claim to make desert gear and then the only color is black. Do you think every other company's desert gear is white for a reason? What color do those guys in the middle east wear??? Plus how those zippers in the thighs supposed to keep my junk cool? Monkey butt and crotch pot cooking is what I aim to avoid ... Their jackets might be great for winter in places with wet and real cold.

AURORA wrote:Looking for recommendations on a jacket with good ventilation.

I had a MSR Transjak for summer time riding in Va. The sleeves zip off for really warm riding and store in a pocket on your back. It had zippers in the chest, arms and across the back for more flow. It was pretty nice.

I also had an older Moose XCR pullover that was vented. Was not the greatest jacket though.

The Klim gear is expensive, but you get wha you pay for. The Mojave pant is vented, no zippers. The Dakars have a 20" zipper on the thigh as stated above. For in the boot pants the Baja pant is completly vented and you can darn near see through them. Same goes for the Mojave jersey. I wear the Baja pants and Mojave jersey as my summer gear. You can get Klim in black, yellow, red, orange, or blue.

Yes, Klims jackets are made for cold, foul weather riding. They dont have a summer type jacket. The Inversion jacket would be the only thing close. It has zip off sleeves.

Doug
www.dualsportarmory.com

AXO Dualsport jacket, zip off sleeves. I put the Koerta suit under it. Great!

The guys I know who have Klim swear by the stuff. Renazco is kind of a fanatic about them. Swears by them. Personally, I think the stuff would be great for a lot of riding, including the deserts of Idaho (where klim is) and eastern WA & OR. But I think the stuff is not quite there for the low deserts. From the stuff I saw that Renazco wears, the above poster is correct. The Klim stuff looks a lot higher quality than Moose and Fox, et. al.

For me, I can't have that much gear. I think with the Klim I'd need two sets of gear. Klim for everything except the low Dez, and my hodge podge for the low Dez. Also, I love riding the low Dez in the Summer. Crazy I know. And very hard on parts too. But the place is empty and really a physical challenge. You simply must have white for that. No other color will work. When you are out there and it's 118, or 125, saw 134 once at Parker, you can feel the heat difference between the white on your jersey and the logo color on your jersey...

doug@dsa wrote:I had a MSR Transjak for summer time riding in Va. The sleeves zip off for really warm riding and store in a pocket on your back. It had zippers in the chest, arms and across the back for more flow. It was pretty nice.

I also had an older Moose XCR pullover that was vented. Was not the greatest jacket though.

The Klim gear is expensive, but you get wha you pay for. The Mojave pant is vented, no zippers. The Dakars have a 20" zipper on the thigh as stated above. For in the boot pants the Baja pant is completly vented and you can darn near see through them. Same goes for the Mojave jersey. I wear the Baja pants and Mojave jersey as my summer gear. You can get Klim in black, yellow, red, orange, or blue.

Yes, Klims jackets are made for cold, foul weather riding. They dont have a summer type jacket. The Inversion jacket would be the only thing close. It has zip off sleeves.

Doug
www.dualsportarmory.com

And dont forget I am just a country boy from Virginia. What works here is completly different from what you guys ride in. It dosent get over 95 degrees for long, but the 60-80% humidity gets to you quickly.

Do most of you wear a jacket during summer riding or a long sleeve shirt and protection. I am afraid of dirt rash from going down thus want a jacket to wear over protection for those 100 mph runs?

I layer. First is a ballistic jersey. Then a Moose XXL Sahara Jersey. Then if necessary I have an MSR light pullover chingadera I got for practically nothing on eBay.

AURORA wrote:Do most of you wear a jacket during summer riding or a long sleeve shirt and protection. I am afraid of dirt rash from going down thus want a jacket to wear over protection for those 100 mph runs?

doug@dsa wrote:The Klim gear is expensive, but you get wha you pay for. The Mojave pant is vented, no zippers. The Dakars have a 20" zipper on the thigh as stated above. For in the boot pants the Baja pant is completly vented and you can darn near see through them. Same goes for the Mojave jersey. I wear the Baja pants and Mojave jersey as my summer gear. You can get Klim in black, yellow, red, orange, or blue.

Yes, Klims jackets are made for cold, foul weather riding. They dont have a summer type jacket. The Inversion jacket would be the only thing close. It has zip off sleeves.

Doug
www.dualsportarmory.com

Doug:

You sell the Klim gear, correct? I still need some new pants!

Dave

I bought the Klim Dakar pants.

I wear them with cycling shorts.

No more Monkey butt.

Very nice pants.

Dave, yes we do.

AURORA wrote:I bought the Klim Dakar pants.

I wear them with cycling shorts.

No more Monkey butt.

Very nice pants.

Man, that's almost a haiku!

I picked up a new FieldSheer "Congo" mesh jacket last week. The price was decent (~$120), and the airflow is excellent in this 90deg weather. It should prove fine in higher temps, as well, and most importantly, it matches the BRP.

Drawbacks:

-The wrist and neck velcro are lacking in a big way.
-An arm button/snap has already broken.
-Neck chaffing occurs in the two small areas where the collar comes together.
-The rain-proof liner is kinda cheesy (looks like a trash bag with a zipper).

Dave

The best pants I ever tried on were the BMW rallye pants. But at $500-$550, its about 3x more than I would pay.

Klim is funny to me. I spent some time in the Philippines as a kid. "Klim" was a Borden dairy product advertised on TV. It was powdered milk (Klim + water = milK, get it?). The little song went like this: "We like the taste of in-stant Klim! In-stant Klim!" They sponsored my little league team and we had the word Klim boldly across the jersey.

I'm sure the Klim motorcycle gear is top notch, but I chuckle to myself a little bit every time I see the name on someone's gear. Tee hee! I'm 12 years old again.

Hey, Btw, what's the difference between the klim mojave pant and the klim dakar pant?

SFXR wrote:Hey, Btw, what's the difference between the klim mojave pant and the klim dakar pant?

In a nutshell the mojave is a full vent pant. Very nice for the hot weather. The Dakar is heavier but does have two full 20" zippers, one on each thigh. It is their most versatile pant. Both great quality though.

Bump wrote: I asked him why they claim to make desert gear and then the only color is black. Do you think every other company's desert gear is white for a reason? What color do those guys in the middle east wear???

[/quote]

The Saudi princes wear white as a symbol of the royal family. The color has spread to other wealthy families. The Bedouin tribe who actually live in the desert wear dark clothing to help with the evaporation process.

I like my Moose Sahara gear well enough but I bought a pair of Klim Revolt pants this week to see what their all about. It will be my first over the boot pant.

How does the color change the evaporation process? Not that I know anything about the life over there. Never been farther than Catalina Island ...

joenuclear wrote:

Bump wrote: I asked him why they claim to make desert gear and then the only color is black. Do you think every other company's desert gear is white for a reason? What color do those guys in the middle east wear???

The Saudi princes wear white as a symbol of the royal family. The color has spread to other wealthy families. The Bedouin tribe who actually live in the desert wear dark clothing to help with the evaporation process.

I like my Moose Sahara gear well enough but I bought a pair of Klim Revolt pants this week to see what their all about. It will be my first over the boot pant.[/quote]

I have always had good luck with Moose gear... The jacket I have is several years old, plenty of zipper vents.

hmm?

I still want to know how black helps with the evaporation process.

I found these answers but it still doesn't make sense to me ... Sorry. I understand it but it just seems to go against everything I think I know.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070718124242AAGhovK

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080912103522AAgP3nz

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v283/n5745/abs/283373a0.html

http://www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-65287.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2006/aug/15/research.highereducation

Looks like the OP is correct.

Dave P wrote:I still want to know how black helps with the evaporation process.

I have a first gear torrent & like it very well. It does not look like it would breath well, but it does & has excellent protection.
All of my riding is in the PHX area

OK.

So this idea of wearing black in the desert has been bothering me. I've tried this here and I think I've got a new question on this.

Those folks over there in the Middle East are wearing very loose clothing, draping themselves really, and the black creates some sort of ventilation pattern of air that cools the inside of the tent they wear. But over here we are wearing this clothing snug. So the only ventilation is from the wind entering the gear at speed on a motorcycle.

That's my thinking now ...