Hot-weather Summer Jacket

[schatman]

Hi,

I live in a high desert climate (in Washington state, I accepted a job in The Evergreen State and got tumbleweeds and sagebrush :-) ) and it usually gets up to 110 for most of the summer.  Does anyone have a recommendation for a good mesh jacket.  I want one as vented as possible, with armor.  The pics online of jackets really don't show how vented they are, and our local bike shop doesn't carry much gear.

Thanks for any help.

[SPANKY]

I like the Speed and Strength mesh jackets from Motorcycle Superstore...they breathe very well! A must in this high humidity of Okrahoma!   
  schatman!!

[damasovi]

hi

I do not know what you got at the end, but if this is still a question, then here is my answer:
Intake Air Series 2 Jacket from tour master! it works very good. It has a liner and a wind breaker so I can wear it from the 120 F that it is common for the desert at the state's capital and around 60 F (for me that is cold).
I went with the Hi Vis color I would not go for black as they attract more heat.

Damasovi

[CoastieShep]

Very happy with mine. 
I've worn it in the 90's when it was really humid, town to low 30's with the liners in and a hoodie underneath, with no problems.
http://klrworld.com/forums/index.php/topic,19795.0.html

[gunny]

just about any of the mesh jackets will be perfect for you. A few things to think about though, built in body armor and a removable insulated liner that is waterproof. While rain might not be an issue out there, being waterproof makes them windproof. I would recommend anything from olympia , teknics or tourmaster, all good quality riding gear at a fairly decent price point.

[willys]

I just bought a Joe Rocket Phenix 11, it's the lastest Joe Rocket fully armoured mesh jacket in Hi-Viz. I have been using a Joe Rocket Ballistic which I bought roughly 5 years ago that breaks down to a mesk base which worked extremely well but I wanted Hi-Viz and a solid mesh jacket now. I also bought a Frogg togg Toad skin in Hi-Viz to use as a wind breaker and rain suit in combination with the new Joe Rocket mesh for the cooler days.
IMHO....you need a full mesh jacket of some sort that has full armour for the hot days of summer now a days. It just makes sense to be as comfortable riding as you can.

[oldstove]

I got a Cortech gx air series 2 jacket last year for summer riding and love it. Ordered it directly from Cortech(which is the same as Tourmaster basically) and I believe it was around $160.

Nice thing is that it has those elements that gunny mentioned...armor, insulated liner, and rain liner(all removable) and its a nice fit. I've worn it with all liners installed down to around 40 degrees before feeling I needed to change over to my non-mesh insulated jacket.

With no liners in and just the armor, its just like wearing a T shirt...really is that cool. I have the silver colored model and suppose that it has some sun reflecting properties because it does not soak up heat at all. The liner is water and wind proof.

Looks like they're currently out of stock now though...
 http://www.tourmaster.com/xcart/product.php?productid=265&cat=25

[KLRoller]

I have a Neon Yellow Olympia Airglide 3 mesh jacket. It comes w/ a warm liner, a waterproof liner, it looks cool and it pumps air to all of you under the jacket. We had 41 straight days over 100 degrees last summer and while there were days when the humidity was so bad I just couldn't wear it (my bad), it did work great. It has solid armor pucks at shoulders, elbows, and back. At about $170 it's sort of in the middle of their price range. You can kinda tell I like my jacket, yes? If it's cooler than 70 or so and you forget to zip in at least one of the liners, it will freeze you half to death. After the 41st day over 100? It dipped to 99, then back to over 100 another 20 days or so. I think the url is www.olympiamotosports.com.
N.B. I usually wear a XL, but for this jacket I needed a 2XL. Recommend you try it on at a store before buying it online.

[Bob in FL]

I have a couple of models from First Gear. I don't remember the models as they are packed up for the winter now. One has a removable liner and the other does not. Both are like a T shirt without liners. First Gear is good if you are tall as they have tall cuts available in most everything.

[Lasteric]

I live in south Texas on the coast so heat and humidity are the weather conditions 85% of the year  . But my Joe Rocket Ballistic has worked great for me. Keeps me cool even in 125 degree heat index and the armor works great ( I "tested" it for myself on the highway without so much as a bruise).

[on2wheels52]

I was considering a new topic asking "What make of Jacket is the Coolest (temperaturewise)" but I expect everyone will have their own favorite. I may ask the folks at NewEnough (old name) what they recommend.
Jim