Firstgear Mesh-Tex Motorcycle Jacket Review

When I first got into riding it was summertime in California, and like most Californian summers it was VERY HOT! I couldn't picture being couped up in a leather jacket for the next few months, the thought just seemed way too suffocating. My riding mentor at the time recommended getting some sort of mesh type of motorcycle gear, and the Firstgear Mesh Tex jacket is what I settled on.

Keep it Cool

This jacket is really well made, it's held up as my only riding jacket until just recently. It has helped me survive the harsh Californian summers when it can climb to over 100 Degrees as well as the cool and rainy winters. One unforeseen benefit is that the jacket kept me surprisingly dry after riding through a pretty vicious rainstorm. I would have assumed that the mesh would have let the water through really easily, but for some reason most of it stayed out. My leather gloves on the other hand were SOAKED THROUGH! It's amazing the different between leather and mesh sometimes.

This jacket really keeps you cool in the summer, especially if you are used to wearing leather. I had borrowed my friends Joe Rocket leather jacket for a few weeks and when I returned it and put my mesh jacket on it felt like I was wearing a T-shirt! So much air gets through that if you had nothing on underneath you would feel like you were riding naked. This is definitely good for most summer days, but sometimes when it gets REALLY hot then leather actually becomes 'cooler' since it keeps the hot air from blowing against you. Even if that is the case on occasion, those days are few and far between.

Armor

This jacket has really soft armor in it, in fact I doubt it would do much protecting in the event of a crash. Actually I did crash once in this jacket, but it was low speed and the jacket only came in contact with the pavement when I rolled on my shoulder briefly. I didn't have a sore shoulder the next day, so I guess the soft armor in the shoulder helped. The jacket also didn't tear, but I would have been disappointed if it would have torn at that that minimal of contact!

All temperatures

For a long time this was the only jacket in my closet, so I was really happy that they included a liner that zips on the inside of the jacket. This keeps the wind out of the jacket really well, although I've found that even though it has about 9 places where the jacket clips and zips in, you only really need to zip the two main side zippers and clip the collar. Just doing the minimum of clips really cuts down on the time it takes to put in the liner; before it would take me about 5 minutes, but now I can do it in less than 30 seconds. The only difference is I have to be careful not to pull out the sleeves when I do that because they aren't attached at the cuff clip points.

The Jacket I got also seems to run a lot looser than my leather jacket, especially in the torso area. That means that it could slide around in a crash which isn't good. The trade off is being able to wear a thick sweatshirt underneath so I stay nice and toasty in the winter. The jacket does have zippers on the back that can attach to some pants, but ironically my Firstgear Overpants don't have a zipper! I've always meant to have a tailor add one but I've been lazy about it.

Conclusion

This is a pretty darn good jacket for summer riding. Basically if you get this jacket you will have no excuse to ride in just a T-shirt because you won't be able to a difference in air-flow. I plan on replacing the soft armor in this jacket with some hard CE rated armor soon, that will make me feel safer riding with it on the freeway. All things considered I'd give this jacket a solid 8 out of 10.

Pros:

Keeps you really cool
Comes with a liner so you can use the jacket in cold weather
Fits loose so you can layer clothes
Keeps the rain away!

Cons:

Soft armor isn't very protective
Mesh is good, but I wouldn't want to go down going over 75mph in this jacket

Specifications:

(Note, these are specifications for version 3 of the jacket, I have version one so if anything these are improved specs)
Polyester mesh shell,totally vented
Perforated nylon lining for maximum air flow
Detachable, fully-sleeved wind liner with phone pocket
CE-approved armor to protect shoulders and elbows
EVA foam back pad
2, zippered hand-warmer pockets, plus 1 inside pocket
Heavy-duty zippers
Adjustable, sleeve compression straps
Adjustable sleeve cuffs and waist belts
1-year limited warranty