THE RIDE VERDICT
WHAT WE’VE FOUND is that the idea of a sporty, summery textile jacket can be interpreted in many ways – and the more focused on summer it becomes, the less flexible it is. While we’ve weighted our scores to emphasise hot-weather performance, it does mean the most-summery jackets don’t score as well as those that make a few concessions to the great British summertime, with waterproof layers and even thermal liners.
However, if you want a jacket that will be really light and cool for riding in really hot weather, you can’t beat one that makes use of mesh panels. The coolest was the practically transparent Revit Airforce (even without its cooling vest), but the most practical below £200 was the Alpinestars T-GP Plus V2 Air. At the upper end of the market was the Dainese Super Speed D-dry – a well-vented jacket with an effective waterproof liner. But these are still summer jackets, with less flexibility. For a year-round jacket, we’d look at the Wolf Freestyle II or IXS Everton.
What impressed was the quality of
some of the jackets in the £100-£200 price bracket. At £130, the Spada Burnout performs better than many far more expensive jackets – and at £100 the Weise Corsa is outstanding value. But from fully vented jackets like the IXS Levante to practical three-season ones like the top-scoring Buse Asola, there are good options at good prices.
It was encouraging to see not only a good selection of ladies’ jackets but
also a good standard. These aren’t lower-spec but carefully designed and finished garments for serious riders. Our picks were the Revit Jupiter 2 and the Alpinestars Stella Amok.
There were some disappointments – jackets that lacked adjustment and comfort or were sweaty, leaky or just not very well specified for the money. Generally, though, there are plenty of good sporty textiles out there.