[WeaponZero]

As many of you know, I am a big fan of Speed & Strength gear. While their pricing does hover around the lower and middle end of the spectrum, their quality is far better than what you would expect for the price, and their unique sizing system takes all the fears out of buying online.

Basically the way it works is this:

Most riding jackets are cut to a specific body type. Usually it’s the athletic “V” taper to the torso, but there is some variation between brands here. To try and accommodate for varying body types, they give you some adjustment in the waist. Some brands will throw in sleeve adjustment as well, but not very much.

Speed & Strength takes a different approach. They make all their jackets “straight cut” (meaning the waist measurement is the same as the chest measurement) and then add in enough adjustment to take in the waist by up to eight inches. On top of that, they add in a unique sleeve adjustment system they call the “strongarm sleeve adjuster” that allows you to take up the slack in the sleeves by quite a bit to get the snug “taped to your body” feeling you expect from a sport jacket, regardless of your body type. Finally they close it off with a cuff adjustment system they call the “kinetic cuff” adjuster which allows you to bring in the cuff or let it out for whatever type of glove you use regardless of wrist size. Simply put, you can safely order a Speed & Strength jacket off the internet going off of nothing but your chest measurement, regardless of your body type, and you can be guaranteed that, regardless of your body type, you will be able to get the fit you want out of your jacket by playing with the adjusters.

Speed & Strength started in 2007/2008 by a group of former employees of Joe Rocket, including much of the original founding team, who left to start a new company to put Joe Rocket’s bad reputation for quality behind them.

Today I wrote a letter to Speed & Strength, mostly out of boredom, with some recommendations about some things that they should include in their model lineup. Specifically, I asked three specific questions:

1. Does S&S have any plans to introduce a hybrid leather/textile jacket? They’re quite popular these days and offer the street rider the best compromise between the comfort and ventilation of textile and the protection of leather.

2. Does S&S have any plans to expand their footwear lineup to include riding shoes/boots that go higher up the leg so as to offer significant ankle protection?

3. Does S&S have any plans to introduce a fully perfed leather jacket into their lineup?

Within a few hours, a representative from S&S by the name of Adam Fox wrote me back answering my three questions.

1. Yes, they already have a prototype made that they are waiting for final approval on from the distributor to start producing and selling.

2. Although there is currently nothing on the drawing board, they do recognize the need for such a boot in their lineup and their design team will get to work soon. However, they currently have other priorities such as revising their jacket and pants lineup to replace/revise many of the models that were discontinued this year.

3. As with the hybrid jacket, there is currently a prototype waiting for final approval from the distributor before they can begin production.

[ShamRock229]

Wow, its nice to have a company reply back to you in a short amount of time and actually answer your questions. I have actually been thinking about getting a S&S jacket myself.

[WeaponZero]

Honestly I have very high expectations of S&S as far as quality and customer service go as they were formed by a group of people who learned what not to do the first time around and are looking for a second chance to prove they’ve learned from their mistakes. And based on my own experiences with their gear, I’d say they’ve done a great job so far.

For everyone out there who’s ever owned a Joe Rocket brand and loved the features but has been disappointed with the overall construction quality, I can promise you S&S is your brand.

[JackTrade]

Neat that they’re actually talking and listening to their customers.

Next time you’re doing product development with them, see if they’ll address one of my minor critiques of most sportbike wear out there…not enough purpose-driven pockets. If they fix it on their stuff, I’d buy from them.

Pretty much every sport-type jacket out there has pretty minimal pockets. I suppose if you’re at the track, you don’t carry stuff around with you, but on the street, it’s a necessity for most of us.

For instance, we all carry around our registration and insurance info when we ride…why can’t jackets have a large flat, *water-resistant* (this is key…I have my stuff in a ziploc bag) pocket specifically designed for them?

[ShamRock229]

Yeah I agree…finding a good jacket with a decent amount of USEABLE pockets can be rough. My fieldsheer jacket has 2 pockets on the front, and 3 on the inside, so its not that bad, but my joe rocket only has the 2 pockets on the front. I usually keep my usual stuff (cellphone, mp3, etc.) in my tankbag if I wear my JR jacket because theres no where else to put them.

As for the registration/insurance…I keep my insurance card in my wallet, and another form of proof of insurance plus my registration in a plastic bag under the seat with the bike manual.

[WeaponZero]

Everyone I know who rides keeps their information along with a toolkit in the underseat storage compartment.

As far as pockets are concerned, it’s never really been a concern to me because in my eyes a good riding jacket should be snug fitting enough to where you wouldn’t want to put a significant amount of stuff in the pocket anyway. I find that I feel more confident and can ride better as a result when the jacket I’m wearing fits my body like a second skin. Makes me feel safer.

[JackTrade]

Not all of us have locks on our storage compartments!

Although the catch to mine is so hard to find, maybe I shouldn’t worry about it…when I bought my bike, the previous owner and I spent about 10 minutes trying to find the latch to open it.

[WeaponZero]

Honestly, if storage space is a concern to you in your jacket you should be looking at touring-style jackets rather than sport-style jackets like the mesh one you’re wearing in your avatar. They have an abundance of storage but don’t offer the snug fit of sport-style jackets. A good, affordable one (probably the best one in its price bracket) is the Teknic Stinger.

[JackTrade]

It’s just a nitpick really.

Like you, I like a snug fitting jacket, and I’m not a fan of the kevlar safari jacket look of touring style jackets. I don’t carry tons of stuff or anything, I just wish a little more thought was given to pockets by more manufacturers.

For instance, Tourmaster makes some jackets that has a small key pocket on the right sleeve by the writs…a small but great idea.

I live in an apartment, with an underground garage that has to be opened by a key fob. With my current jackets, I keep that fob in my left hand handwarmer pocket. So I usually come up the entrance, and then put the bike in netural and then try to fish the fob out of my pocket…I’m sure it’s amusing to the people behind me to watch this. The sleeve pocket would make that much easier. I’m not going to buy a new jacket just for that of course, but I wish that kind of thought went into more jacket design.

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