Well the new jacket arrived last week, I've used it everyday so far and have to admit to myself, " why didn't I do this a long time ago" I've never had a mesh jacket, either sweated my tukus off wearing my trusty teknics jacket or used my 661 body armor. Anyone that's used just body armor knows what a pain it can be when your running down to the store or mall etc, espcially those of us that are gravitationally enhanced
So I searched, read reviews, searched some more and read even more reviews. I had wished my budget was a little bigger but it is what it is. I choose the Olympia Moab Jacket over a couple of strong contenders. I really liked the aerostitch darien but realistically, it would suck in the summer, I don't care what aerostitch says, an unlined jacket that's made from cordura and gortex will have you sweating like a pig in no time. Being unlined, when you sweat, the jacket sticks to your skin, impeding air flow even more, making you sweat even more. I mean really, how hard would it be to have a nylon mesh lining. It was my first choice originally, lost out because of that.
I chose the Olympia Moab based on features. It was a mostly mesh jacket, so ventilation would be very good during the hot months, it had a wind/waterproof liner and it had a full sleeve insulated liner which is a must have in the winter around here. Basically, I wanted just one jacket that could do it all, for a reasonable amount of money. $320. The liners zip together and they then can zip into the jacket. A bonus is that the liner can be wore independent of the jacket and it doesn't look all that bad as a stand alone camp jacket or for even running errands when in the car in the winter months.
It comes in a few colors but I chose the high viz green. Yep, you either love it or hate it, no in between. I have reached the point in life where I'm more about function than I am my dazzling good looks.
The hi viz green is BRIGHT. I've noticed people, noticing me.
So far around here, it's been a low of 35 in the ast week and a high of 86, not to mention the down pour I rode home in today after work. Every thing works as it should, I stayed warm when it was cold and my cotton fr t shirt was nice and dry when I got home this afternoon. My hats off to Olympia Motosports on this one.
I'll still use y old teknics jacket when the mecury dips below -5 because it's big enough on me now that I can layer under it well. I got the Moab so it fit a bit snug because so far, I've went from 237 to 215 and am getting smaller finally
