[WeaponZero]

Good options for you:

Speed & Strength Hell & Back
Cortech GX Sport Series 2

If you can fit another layer underneath and you’re still comfortable the jacket doesn’t have the right fit. For optimum safety jackets should fit snug to the point where you can’t fit another layer underneath and still be comfortable. This is my main gripe with do-it-all jackets. Their dependence on liners keeps them from getting the right fit. Best bet IMO is to buy a jacket that fits the current riding season that’s on sale for a ridiculously low price (those sales are out there, trust me) and then do it all over again when the weather changes. A year down the road you’ll have a small collection of focused riding jackets that fit properly. But if you still insist on a do-it-all jacket then I can highly recommend the Cortech GX Sport Series 2. It’s waterproof, comfortable, is good down to the high 30s with the thermal liner in, and can vent well enough for near-90 degree heat with the liner out and the vents wide open. I’ll have a video review of it up within the next few days.

[Gary856]

That’s what everybody wants – one-size-fits-all, and manufacturers market many jackets that way. I started out with that notion too when I started riding last year – one jacket for year around use. But even in the temporate climinate in the San Francisco Bay area, one jacket just doesn’t work for year-round use. I feel any jacket, even with a removeable liner, pretty much has a 30 deg F range of comfort zone. So, starting from a 3-season textile jacket (good for 45-75F days), I quickly added a mesh jacket for the hottest days in the summer (85-100F +), and then a perforated leather jacket for 60-85F days. Even though my textile jacket and riding pants are water-proof, I wear another rain jacket/pants over them for better rain protection and added warmth in the rain.

By the way, it’s the same way with gloves – you’ll need different ones for hot and cold days.

[WeaponZero]

Basically what I said.

I started out with a Joe Rocket Atomic 2.0 textile jacket, which is a lightweight textile jacket made from a sturdy ballistic nylon called Hitena. It had amazing ventilation for a textile jacket and with the vents open was even good enough for those 90 degree days as long as you keep moving.

Right now my jacket collection consists of:

Scorpion EXO wear All-In leather jacket (for cold days)
Scorpion EXO wear Stinger leather jacket (perforated leather sport jacket–my favorite of all of them)
Speed & Strength Moment of Truth mesh jacket for those summer commutes in stop & go traffic (and trust me, nothing less than mesh will do for this)
Teknic Freestyle waterproof textile jacket (don’t wear it anymore–too big for me now)
Cortech GX Sport Series 2 textile jacket (replacement for the Teknic)

[Author]

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