Not to beat a dead horse, but I have a jacket question.....

[CycleNewb]

Since I just got my first bike 2 weeks ago, I was wondering, what kind of summer weight jackets are ya'll wearing, leather , tex, etc.

My leather is really heavy and I don't want to melt in the summer. The NY Int'l bike show in NYC is around the corner so I want to check some out.

[Dragonhawk]

Personally, I always wear full leathers and never find them uncomfortable or too hot. They are perforated and vented really well, so they are great. In fact, I usually find full leathers too COLD when it gets chilly out. Never too hot.

Then again, I love the heat. I'm the type of person who has no problem skateboarding when it is 103 degrees and I'm freezing to death on my motorcycle when it is 40. So, I might not be the best person to ask.

[Sev]

I wear my Joe Rocket Alter Ego. Of course I can zip it down to a mesh if weather dictates. I'm thinking about picking up a leather jacket as well for warmer days though.

[Koss]

I think if you have a leather jacket with good vents and/or perforated you will be fine. Same with textile, good venting can do wonders from what I hear. I am using a solid jet black mesh jacket (tourmaster intake) and it moves ALOT of air through it when riding around... but when you stop in 100+ temps... your gonna sweat. Maybe if I had silver or white it would remedy it... who knows. Im pretty use to wearing alot of black in direct sunlight anyways so it dosn't bother me.

Good thing is, when you start moving again that sweat acts like a swamp cooler and REALLY cools you off until it dries.

[Mintbread]

Personally, I always wear full leathers and never find them uncomfortable or too hot. They are perforated and vented really well, so they are great. In fact, I usually find full leathers too COLD when it gets chilly out. Never too hot.

+1

Nothing beats leather.

[Lion_Lady]

I'm the 'textile works too' voice. I don't own any leather gear. In Baltimore, where the summers are brutally HOT and STICKY, I prefer my textile gear.

I've got a spring/fall jacket with some nice venting and another with big vent panels - the yellow/blue jacket in my sig pic - for hot weather riding. I've also got a 'winter jacket' with a thermal layer and goretex for rain protection. Wear my electric liner under that.

Plus its tough to find light colored leather, to protect you from the broil effect of sitting in traffic in the sun. Textile can go in the wash if it gets skanky - leather you gotta live with the 'ripeness' from sweat and decaying bug carcasses.

Go with the best you can afford.

P

[Flting Duck]

I have a mesh jacket from Fieldsheer. It has good thick leather and armor at the shoulder, elbows and back. IT won't protect me like leather for a long slide but I think it provides good protection and great ventilation. Under it, I wear a North Face Vaporwick long sleeve 1/4 zip shirt. IF I do sweat, it dries up within a few miles of moving.

[Chris8187]

I have a mesh jacket. I know it doesn't provide the same protection as leather, but I didn't have the money to get a good leather jacket at the time either, so I accepted it. Leather will always be the best to get though. You can wear a mesh jacket in the winter despite what people say. Just make sure you have a sweater on underneath and the liner put on. I've ridden in under 35*F with my mesh jacket on the highway, and my body felt fine.

[Koss]

I just ordered the First Gear Fuel Leather/Textile Jacket. It has alot of armor, a whole lotta vents on the front, sleeves, and back. Click the link to check out all of the pictures they have for it. Heres a pic showing where some of the leather is at.
I hope this will become my new all around riding jacket, and just retire my mesh jacket for the hottest of day.

[Nalian]

I have a leather jacket with a waterproof lining that doesn't come out and find it fine in very hot weather as long as you're moving. Its only in traffic/stopped that it sucks.