I have been shopping for a “winter” jacket for quite some time now. One can mock me for the word “winter” as temperatures rarely drops lower than 50F (10C) around here. In any event my Rev’t Airforce does not cut it for that type of temperatures especially if it is windy. Some time ago Motodisiac and I went to see the Supermoto racing event at Morongo Casino. And on our way back I got really cold. With temperature just below 60F (16C), howling winds, and the summer riding jacket that barely covered my lower back I almost did not feel like riding anymore. I could not lean forward to keep my profile low because every time I’d do that my lower back would freeze up in no time. And when I was upright I was violently attacked by winds and my whole upper body would feel cold. Between a frozen lower back and moderately cold upper body I chose latter. So there I was riding upright like a telegraph pole. Long story short under the circumstances we made a pit stop at Chaparral Motorsports and I bought a warmer jacket that very evening - Fieldsheer Tour Temp TX in black color.

First and foremost one can not underestimate the protection level that it offers. The outer shell material is teflon coated - an abrasion resistant material. The shoulder and elbow pads feel sturdy and hard. The back protection consists of a thick back pad and a jacket padding. That is double back protection for you. I feel much safer now.

One of the good things about it is the fact that the outer shell is already rain proof. That translates into one less liner to maintain. And speaking of the devil, the liner feels really warm. Actually it feels so warm that a couple of times I had to open the vents to let the air in. The jacket has got 2 shoulder vents and one large vent in the upper back. Works out great.

The jacket never stops surprising me. The thermo liner could be a jacket in itself. It looks like a pilots jacket with one pocket on the left upper arm and two front snap-on pockets. At a pit stop one could easily wear it out while leaving the outside shell in your saddle bags. And when it is not really windy or cold I can wear just an outer shell without the liner. Unlike the Rev’it Airforce mesh jacket the wind definitely will not penetrate through Fieldsheer Tour Temp’s hard shell. I wear a jacket over a t-shirt or a long sleeve t-shirt. And with temperatures around 65F (18C) and moderate winds the jacket is warm enough even without the liner. When the temperature drops below that the liner is a must.

Both the liner and the jacket have a mobile phone pocket located conveniently on the inside lower left side. The outer shell’s zipper could be opened from the bottom up which makes this mobile phone pocket easily accessible especially when seated on a motorcycle.

The sleeves have a buckles that allow you to control how snug is the sleeve fit. Very useful when you vary riding with and without the thermo liner.

There are some things I don’t like about the jacket. The velcro strap that closes the collar feels awkward and uncomfortable against my lower neck. I am yet to either get used to it or find the right way to buckle the strap. On the same note the the collar is not doing a good job of protecting the front of your neck from the incoming wind. So in some seating positions the wind will penetrate inside the jacket. Forces me to wear a turtleneck like undergarment for windy day riding. Also the jacket offers absolutely no reflective panels at all. That is somewhat of a pitfall as far as I am concerned.

All in all it is a great jacket. It is definitely worth the money and despite a couple of negative points I would still highly recommend it.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 11th, 2007 at 3:12 pm and is filed under Motorcycles, Street, Travels, Riding, Gear. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.