Rev'it Air jacket review

I think we'd need a "Gear" sub-forum, where we could share our experience or ask questions about gear we can find in China.

That being said, here's my review on the Rev'It Air jacket I bought last week from the BMW shop on Pubei lu, between the Suzuki/Regal Raptor shop and the new Spidi shop (same owner as this one on Wenshui lu : http://www.qiyi.cc/ )


Basically, I was sweating like crazy in my black winter Dainese jacket, it was literally dripping from my sleeves, so I had to do something and buy a summer jacket. Went to several stores, but what I found was too expensive (but nice : Spidi store on Pubei lu, yummi gear, not so yummi prices...).
So I settled on the Rev'It Air jacket, with those colors :
Attachment 4775

The look is nice, the fit is perfect for me, it has mesh on the major part of the front, the back, the arms. I tried it in the store in front of a fan, it was absolute bliss already.....
It has CE protection for shoulders and elbows, but you can forget about the back protection in foam, it's about as useful as peeing on yourself to keep warm... I have the Spidi back warrior protection, so I just removed the foam. It also has their own kind of Cordura at all the right place, but it doesn't come with any liner of course.
It also comes with short-length pants zipper and a two-snap belt loop (to attach it to a jean for example).
Finally, it cost me RMB 1,880.

Since the purchase I rode with it for around 250km, and I have only 1 thing to say : pure fu..ing joy... :riding:

With outside temperatures above 32 degrees Celsius (not very high for Shanghai) I didn't even sweat last Sunday during my 3 hours ride. The only times I'm hot is when I stop at red lights or pause to drink a bit. While riding, I was feeling like I was back in France in spring, a nice 25 degrees Celsius, dry weather, perfect for riding.

As you can tell, I'm very pleased with the jacket, didn't find one weakness until now, and the air flow inside is really great, perfect for me for the hot and humid summer in Shanghai. :clap:

I strongly recommend it if you have the bucks. To get more info, you can look it here :
http://www.revitusa.com/en-us/#/products/FJT072
or here, with reviews from customers : http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...ir-Jacket.aspx



BTW, what do you guys use as summer jacket, any reviews, comparisons ?

Dear Fred,

Great post, great idea, great review, and, hmm, a great jacket! I'm definitely in the market for a summer jacket (and pants) and this obviously is a strong candidate. Couple of questions:

--for those of us who don't use the Spidi exoskeleton back protection, but do rely on armor in the jacket, what can you tell us about the armor in the Rev'it (some or all of which you removed)? (Much as I hate the heat and sweat, I don't want to trade away crash protection for comfort.)
--are there matching pants available?
--does it say inside where it was made? If China, as one always suspects, where do you think this garment was sourced? Did it actually get reimported from overseas, or did it fall of the truck here in China, so to speak. If the latter, are you confident that it's first quality, or is it possibly a factory reject, i.e., with color mismatch or other minor blemishes?
--finally, were you determined to buy an international brand and did not consider local options (including copies and clones), or did you try a range of local products and rule them out? (Dragon Rider out on Wuzhong Lu has a lot of mesh jackets for under 1000 rmb; click on the second tab "尼龙摩托服")

Thanks again!

Hey Euphonius, will try to reply in order :

- armor : I removed the foam in the back as I wrote as it's very close to useless in my opinion (but better than nothing of course). As I wrote, I use the Spidi back warrior, so it's true I'm maybe biased on this, as the one in the Rev'it jacket clearly cannot compare. The shoulders & elbows armor are good as far as i could see, Knox CE protection, and I will clearly not remove them. I read on some forums that some people complain on the fact that the shoulders armor are more on the side of the shoulder and not too much on top of them, but I don't know how they fall... IMHO, when you fall on your shoulder, you hit the road or obstacles with the side and little bit of the top, exactly where the armors are in this jacket, not in the trapezius area near the neck...

Just an addition : the foam on the back has big holes to let also the air flow. You can find good pictures of it there : http://www.yprider.com/2010/05/30/re...jacket-review/

- pants : the official website show "Tornado Pants" to go with the "Tornado" summer jacket, but no Air pants. I did not look for pants at all at the shops I went to last week...

- Made in.. : the jacket is at home, so I cannot check it now, will update the report tonight. I inspected it a lot last weekend, and I'm 100% confident it's not a fake one (also by looking at the close-up pictures found on some websites, including the armor). I did not find any evidence it could be a factory reject (no color problem, no defects anywhere...). I'm sure it's not a fake, but I could have missed a small defect and it could be a factory reject. I don't think so, but TIC.

- Choice : I'll be honest :
1. I don't know a lot of local stores until now, I'm planning to go to check out the Dragon Rider one, and also the one on Xincun lu next weekend.
2. For safety, I do not trust a lot the copies or clones of international brands. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I should look at them, but I'm being honest.
So I was not looking for any particular brand (especially not Rev'it since I didn't know a lot about them before the purchase) but I was targeting international brands.

Life is a long series of gambles. Riding in China is gambling enough, I'm particularly wary of the protective gear I put on (hence the big back protection, quality helmet, leather gloves, reinforced jeans and riding boots). It's a personal choice, I do not want to risk injuries because I tried to save money or gamble on the quality of Chinese copies/clones. :gerg:

Thanks for the review fred.

For summer riding i use a Dainese mesh body armor similar to this that i bought a long time ago for downhill biking. I just put it on and wear a tshirt over it. It's light, comfortable and allows for free movement.

http://www.dainese.com/media/catalog..._622_F_S_1.png

Update :

after 1,000km with the Rev'it jacket, I only have positive comments about it, my strong positive review will not change.

My only 2 concerns are not linked to the jacket itself, but to the current environment :
- when it's very very hot (more than 36 degrees Celsius) and the air is humid, even the "airiest" jacket will be too hot : you're still getting a lot of air, which is always nice, but this air is sooo hot...
- the jacket gets dirty quite quickly, but this is what Chinese roads will do to all your gear and your bike...

I'd posted a reply in another thread concerning motorcycle clothing useful for the almost unbearable heat and humidity during summer riding. Here are just a few of the options available... that will make riding in this heat somewhat more comfortable :)

Veskimo Personal Cooling System combines a lightweight, breathable personal cooling vest that is worn under ones normal clothing, connected to a Hydration Backpack that is worn over ones clothing. The body cooling vest is supplied with ice water circulated from the backpack via a high efficiency battery powered pump.

SteeleVest® is a patented cooling vest used by people facing extreme heat stress conditions in the military, utilities, hazardous waste cleanup, chemical, medical and other industrial environments. Frozen Thermo-strips; (starch-based gel ice packs which you can freeze over and over again in a household freezer) are simply inserted into the insulated body cooling vest, providing up to four hours of cooling vest comfort at a time. SteeleVest's construction and features provide numerous benefits. There are no mechanical parts or maintenance worries, and no electric, air or water supply is required. The cooling vest weighs only five pounds fully loaded. It conforms to one's body for a slim and comfortable fit, and can be customized to deliver just the body cooling one desires in a variety of conditions.

Ms Cooling offers a wide range of products for Motorcyclists:
Evaporative cooling and phase changing cooling are available in cooling vests, cooling head bandana's for under the helmet. Cooling safety vest in orange for better visiablity. MS Cooling also have added a range of warming apparel for motorcycle riders. Heated gloves and helmet liners. A Warming vest lined with fleece with reusable inserts.


StaCool has a range of under vests designed for motorcyclists and a review can be found in Wing World magazine (Honda Gold Wing enthusiasts magazine). An excerpt from the Wing World article can be read here

Arctic Heat offers a range of products su7ck as cooling vests and claims to be used by many elite sporting bodies, industry workers, doctors and people with Multiple Sclerosis, all around the World. Arctic Heat claim is being sold throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

More information and links to these products and other manufacturers can be found online at webBikeWorld

Thanks for the updated review, Fred. I'm thinking very seriously about getting one of these. Weird question: With so much air blowing through it, do you find that you sweat enough to keep up a steady rate of evaporation? After all, it's the evaporation -- the change of state from water to water vapor -- that cools our skin (it's why we sweat), and if you get too much air flow I'm thinking you might end up getting desiccated on a hot day...

As for getting easily soiled, here's a vendor in Beijing that seems to have the same jacket in black as well as the more attractive silver that you seem to have.

http://img08.taobaocdn.com/imgextra/...!!59086404.jpg

cheers!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by euphonius

Thanks for the updated review, Fred. I'm thinking very seriously about getting one of these. Weird question: With so much air blowing through it, do you find that you sweat enough to keep up a steady rate of evaporation? After all, it's the evaporation -- the change of state from water to water vapor -- that cools our skin (it's why we sweat), and if you get too much air flow I'm thinking you might end up getting desiccated on a hot day...

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Euphonius, with this jacket you get so much air that in fact you don't sweat at all, my clothes are dry when I remove it, I sweat only when I stop. For me it's only positive, because it means you're riding like if it was 20 to 25 degrees Celsius, no need for your body to sweat to keep it cool.
I don't know if I'm clear enough : it's not that the body cannot keep up with the evaporation because of too much air, it's because it's so cool with so much air that the body doesn't need to activate the sweating.

Anyway, I still stop to drink plenty of fluids (water and soda with salt) every hour or so.

I encourage you strongly to get this jacket, you'll not regret it. I chose it in grey as black is not too good when sunny... Just try it in a store without air-con, in front of a simple fan, you will understand. Plus, it looks good on me. ;-))

Many thanks for the strong recommendation. I'll see if I can find one to try on this week. Is Pubei BMW the only place you've seen it? How about BMW up in Wenshui Lu, which is a bit closer to my neck of the forest?

cheers

Quote:

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Originally Posted by euphonius

Many thanks for the strong recommendation. I'll see if I can find one to try on this week. Is Pubei BMW the only place you've seen it? How about BMW up in Wenshui Lu, which is a bit closer to my neck of the forest?

cheers

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As I wrote above, I was not really looking for it, but for any summer jacket really, so I don't know about the BMW store in Wenshui lu... You'll find it for sure on Pubei lu, with maybe more choices over there.

Cheers

I'm still not sure why you guys are determined to wear jackets. A summer jacket is still a jacket, and jackets are horrible in this heat. Mesh armor is mesh.

And rather than worry about liquid cooled jackets and vests that you put in your freezer overnight, do what i do and stop every hour or two, pay 1 yuan for a bottle of cold water, drink half of it and pour the the other half over your Tshirt. That cools you right down and keeps you cool as it evaporates.

OK, I'm listening.

I came close to heat stroke on our jaunt down to the tank grounds on Sunday. I'm fine in my jacket while riding at speed, even in the sun, as long as I take in plenty of water. But more technical riding off road, including the occasional lifting of the bike after a getoff, and heat builds up fast. Big mistake. If we hadn't found water when we did, we, or at least I, might have been in real trouble. Motokai's jacket is more breathable than mine.

Yet I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable or safe riding at speed on highways in mesh armor as you've described earlier in this thread, as I think it would be less than useful in a high-speed getoff, g-d forbid. So I'm still partial to the Rev'it approach -- an actual jacket with armor but with lots of cooling air flow.

Felix, are you saying that your own sweat alone does not keep your t-shirt wet and, hence, providing the cooling function of evaporation? Fred did mention that he gets so much air flow that his shirt remains dry under the jacket, and this in fact worries me. Is it possible that our own sweat glands might fail to keep up with the evaporation that is allowed by a garment that allows high air flow? For me, a lot of sweat tells me that my own cooling mechanisms are working properly. I'd get nervous if were generating body heat but staying dry.

As I mention in the previous posts, it's not that the body is not able to keep up with so much air flow, it is that it's so fresh inside (below 36 degrees Celsius I should add) that your body does not need to activate the sweating !
Yes, if I was feeling hot and not sweating, I would worry too. But I'm not hot, I don't feel hot at all ! Like I wrote, I feel like riding in the 22-23 degrees Celsius weather, perfectly enjoyable, you're not feeling hot, you don't need to sweat.

Your cooling mechanisms do not need to get working, you're cool, not even hot.
When I stop for red light or anything however, I start to feel hot under the sun after 4-5mn, then I start sweating, which is the usual body cooling process.

Thanks, Fred. Sounds like paradise! I'll go check out the Rev'it today. (Yes I said that last week, but got busy.)

cheers

"Is it possible that our own sweat glands might fail to keep up..." I laughed reading at that point. Human body can't fail that easily.
I don't like riding at hot day at summer for long distance, feel like sitting on oven, and the skin burning sun on top. Pop in to a air-con car, everything is easier. My 1 fen.

I am such a hot guy, or so the babes tell me, that Speedos & flip flops are my only option. If, however, I was a mere mortal, that Rev`it seems cool - but so too does Felix`s Iron Man option, which is actually what I use when there are no babes around.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by td_ref

Pop in to a air-con car, everything is easier. My 1 fen.

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Air-con bar. My 1980 FEC (foreign exchange certificate)

I just got a mesh jacket and it is wonderful. It has shoulder and forearm pads and I wear back armor underneath it. Prior to getting the jacket, I went riding for four hours with Dewsnap and drank 8 bottles of water that day without the jacket. 6 on the trip alone. Went pee just once. I was quite dehydrated plus tan/burnt on the arms. I got the jacket in Hi-Viz orange. Definitely recommend it.

Wrangler, you saying you got the Rev'it Air jacket in day-glo orange? Or another model mesh jacket?

thanks!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by euphonius

Wrangler, you saying you got the Rev'it Air jacket in day-glo orange? Or another model mesh jacket?

thanks!

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I got another kind: http://cgi.ebay.com/HARLEY-DAVIDSON-...01446494988849

Darn bright and I get a lot of weird looks but it helps drivers be aware of me.

Here's some pics of my jacket. You can see the pads are designed to allow air pass through. The jacket is of a fine mesh with the inside lining also a thinner mesh to wick away sweat.

Attachment 5260Attachment 5259Attachment 5262Attachment 5261

Thanks, Wrangler.

It's bright enough to burn your retinas! I like it!

Is someone selling this in Shanghai, and could you try on several sizes, or did you order overseas?

cheers

Looks like very responsible piece of riding equipment, nice purchase Wrangler. Does it come without the harley logo?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by felix

Does it come without the harley logo?

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:lol8::lol8:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by felix

Looks like very responsible piece of riding equipment, nice purchase Wrangler. Does it come without the harley logo?

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Haha, that's funny Felix. What's wrong with a Harley logo? BTW, did I tell you I'm joining the Chinese Communist party in addition to wearing Harley-logo-ed apparel? =P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wrangler

BTW, did I tell you I'm joining the Chinese Communist party?

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Then you bought the wrong jacket. They have this model too:

http://i.imgur.com/kqJal.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wrangler

BTW, did I tell you I'm joining the Chinese Communist party in addition to...

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:eek2: Wow...... Was that offer to good to resist?

I would so revoke your visa and deport your ass if I was really a member of the party... ;P

Looks like very responsible piece of riding equipment, nice purchase Wrangler. Above that helmet color and design looking also very stylish. I like it so much.

I've bought the black Rev'it Tornado pants when I was back in the Netherlands. It's a mesh pants with a 2-in-1 liner and it's keeping my legs perfectly warm right now with the current weather in BJ. Will have to see how it holds up in the summer.

Barry, do the Rev'it pants zip into your jacket? Did you have to modify zippers? Seems there are several different standards for zipping pants into jackets, and they are not cross-compatible.

thanks