Olympia Motosports Airglide 2 Jacket Review

The piece of gear I received for testing was the Mens Safety Green Airglide 2 Jacket. The first things I noticed when I took it out of the box were, "Wow this seems like a good quality jacket," quickly followed by, "Wow, this is... bright!"
The jacket is made out of Cordura and covered in 3M Scotchlight reflective material. I already have a bright green Kawasaki motorcycle, but when you place this jacket next to it, my bike appears to be a deep shade of forest green. To be honest I was a little apprehensive about wearing something so bright since I normally ride in a black helmet, black leather jacket, black overpants, black gloves, and black motorcycle boots (notice a theme?). After a little debate I figured that I should give it a shot, besides whats the worst that could happen?

I left in the early morning so I was very thankful that the jacket comes with a fully removable water/wind-proof interior liner. I wasn't the least bit cold in the jacket, in fact the only part of my body that was a bit chilly was my neck and my hands even though I was wearing leather gloves. The liner kept me the perfect temperature and I have to say that it is also very soft and plushy, much more comfortable than leather on the skin. While I was on the bike the jacket stayed in place and the stretchy panels on the bottom of the jacket kept the wind from creeping up my back. Olympia's use of this scrunchy material is included in the cuff section of the liner as well to keep the cold, wind, and rain out.

I'm happy to report that although I was a little skittish about wearing such a bright jacket at first, after a couple minutes on the bike I not only got used to it, but I started to like it! I felt very visible in my bright green reflective jacket. No one tried to merge into me and other cars seemed to give me a wider berth. Now this might just be the placebo effect taking place, but when you are on a bike every little bit of attention you can draw to yourself could save your life. By the end of my ride I was no longer self conscious about how bright the jacket was, in fact I was starting to think that my black helmet would be too hard for other drivers to see!

Although being more visible is a great plus, Olympia Moto Sports realizes that it takes a certain amount of self confidence to ride around in such a luminescent jacket. Thankfully they offer the jacket in Black, silver, black/red, and a bunch of other colors so you can match your bike perfectly.

Protection:

The jacket is made out of 500 denier Dupont Cordura with ballistic airflow mesh panels. The cordura will help keep your skin on your body (instead of the asphalt) should you happen to crash the motorcycle at a reasonable (or even unreasonable) speed. With the lining in place this jacket is very comfortable, but without it the mesh material is a little rough on the skin. I've owned other textile jackets in the past and while I don't think that this jacket is any more coarse than what I have worn before, the soft inner liner is so comfortable is sort of accentuates the roughness once it is removed. I guess that is sort of a plus since it speaks to how soft that liner really is.

While the Cordura will protect your body from road rash, the jacket also comes with removable CE approved armor at elbows and shoulders. This will help dissipate some of the impact you receive and will hopefully prevent broken bones. I normally wear leather when I ride and I really feel safe in it, but this jacket seems like it would hold up really well in the event of a crash. If you get some of the brighter and more reflective colors, you might even be lucky enough to avoid a crash in the first place.

Features:

One thing this jacket has in abundance is pockets. There are 5, count em, 5 big pockets to store whatever might need to be stored. This is a really nice feature to have since I normally carry earplugs, a garage door opener, a gate key, sunglasses, latex gloves, and my wallet all in my riding jacket. With some of my other jackets I have to shove all of that in two or three pockets which can make reaching for the garage door button a little tricky.

The jacket also includes an 8 inch zipper at the bottom of the jacket so you can attach a pair of their Airglide pants if you so choose. Zipping your pants and jackets together is a great idea since you don't want the jacket to ride up or your pants to get pulled down when you are skidding over the pavement. I've known people who still got road rash even though they were wearing full gear just because their jacket road up their back when they were tumbling on the ground. If you plan on getting this jacket without the pants then I would recommend sewing a matching zipper into whatever riding pants you plan on wearing.

Conclusion:

This would be a really good jacket if you are a new rider and you primarily use your motorcycle for commuting. It would keep you warm in the winter and cool in the summer and dry whenever it rains. This way you avoid having to buy two or even three separate jackets to accommodate for the weather forecast.

Pros

• Comes with a plushy waterproof liner.
• Good all year jacket from summer to winter.
• Comes in lots of colors.

Cons

• Jacket might feel a bit rough without the liner in.
• Not as good of airflow as a pure mesh jacket, but the Cordura offers better protection.

Specifications

http://www.olympiamotosports.com/airglide/airglide.htm
Men’s Airglide 2 Mesh Tech Jacket

Can one motorcycle jacket really do it all? Well, now it can. Heat, wind, rain and cold are no match for our new Airglide 2 jacket. Constructed in rugged Dupont Cordura® with ballistic nylon mesh panels, this jacket offers maximum airflow with superior abrasion resistance. For added safety, this jacket also offers double rows of 3M Scotchlite® piping at the chest, back and upper arms plus an additional row running the entire length of each sleeve. Equipped with a sporty, waterproof, Thermolite® insulated liner jacket, this style delivers the ultimate in all weather, multi season riding comfort.

MSRP $219.99
Black w/Blue,Yellow,Red
Sizes S – 2XL
Silver/Pewter, Black/Pewter & Neon Yellow/Black
Sizes S – 4XL

• Outer shell constructed in 500 denier Dupont Cordura® with ballistic airflow mesh panels.
• Water proof, Thermolite® insulated liner jacket.
• Removable CE approved Motion Flex armor at elbows and shoulders.
• Removable CE approved Motion Flex articulated back protector.
• Cool mesh airflow lining.
• Custom Fit detailing at collar, cuffs, elbows and waist.
• Comfort neoprene collar and neck inserts.
• 3M Scotchlite® reflective piping at front, sides and back.
• 8” connecting zipper for pants.
• Five storage pockets.