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Motorcycle Jacket Reviews
The sole reason for quality jackets is to protect plus ... make you look good :o) This means that it will let you ride in comfort and not make you feel like a knight going into battle.
Jacket Introduction  Summer jacketsThis is often a shorter type of jacket with a thin liner. Protection can vary widely (from good solid armour to minimum extra padding). Even if it's only for riding in good weather try to find a quality jacket (avoid look good, no benefit, flap in the wind & look like a hot air balloon-jacket)  Winter jacketsThis kind of jacket will be a longer version of the summer motorcycle jackets. Included should be a detachable liner, good weather protection, good seals and of course safety features. Such motorcycle jackets become quite expensive, quite fast.  Leather jacketOf course leather jackets are one of the most popular jackets selected by riders around the world. A detailed discussion about leather can be found on the motorcycle leather page.  Rain jacketsDepending on what you ride in normally, you might need an extra rain mc jacket. This is often no more than a thin plastic coated jacket to keep water from heading in. Rain jackets and pants are often combined into (easy to use) rain suites.
Jacket Advice & Checks A good jacket is like 'your symbol of individuality'. (Nicholas Cage in Wild at Heart). Yes, a motorcycle jacket is style, comfort and features all combine. Before you scroll down, decide on the model of jacket you like!  Comfort For a mc jacket to be comfortable it needs to take a riders position into account. This means your arms need longer sleeves (and sometimes rotated a bite), your shoulders need more space, your lower back needs more material (to cover the gap in between pants and jacket) and the jacket needs to contain closings to keep out wind & rain. Furthermore a nice lining goes a long way in ensuring good comfort. Jacket material Jackets are normally split up into two kinds. Leather and non-leather. To read more about leather motorcycle gear please refer to my section on leather. Non-leather material is normally Dupont Cordura which is a form of nylon and has a scale going up to about 1000 denier (this is heavy duty and often only found in luggage). Clothing is more around 500 denier. Lining Some jackets contain linings that can be removed, for example a winter lining). If your jacket contains such a feature make sure that the lining can be secured in different places (otherwise it is going to roll up and come out each time you take off your jacket). You can also opt for a great neck warmer. But try to get one with a wind stopper(to keep the wind out). This combination makes for a great connection between motorcycle helmet and jacket. I recommend you get something like this at a trade-show, where they often have special discounts. Pockets The more pockets the better, as long as it doesn't mess-up your look. You need at least one inner pocket (preferably waterproof) to hold your wallet or some papers. Outer pockets have no use if they can't be closed. Ask yourself ...are you going to use them while riding? So make sure all pockets can be secured. Some pockets will contain a little flap over the zipper to keep water out. Zippers, Velcro & others Closing your jacket will be a routine job (no wiz kid stuff). But actually it's quite heavy duty on a motorcycle jackets. Closures get blasted with wind and other elements. So a simple zipper will not do, get something strong. Try to ensure that the zipper has a cover-up. Wind will just blow thru the zipper teeth, so if you get a piece of material behind or in front of the zipper, this will keep the mc jacket much warmer. It's a small extra benefit to have zippers that can be used with gloves and can be secured in their place (this avoids flapping in the wind). Padding Extra padding in essential places is no extra luxury, it's mandatory. These are the most common places to look for padding: elbows, shoulders and back. This padding can be in the form of extra material sown onto the jacket or carbon Kevlar shells in the lining (or anything in between). Closers How does the motorcycle jacket deal with sealing you up? Can you tighten the neck, sleeves, waistband and/or thighs? This helps with two things (1) cold air and rain coming in (2) plus it avoids the jacket from flapping and bulking up in the wind. If your jacket doesn't contain this feature make sure it is a heavy (leather) material which isn't so prone to flapping. Suit integration Motorcycle jackets can be integrated into a suit via Velcro or a Zipper at the back (which will provide a better closing at the waist). What I am talking about is a little zipper or likewise to attach pants to. Of course you can also decide on a one piece-suit which often is more a personal choice. People often do it because a one piece provides maximum protection and it will be more wind & weather tight. A disadvantage is taking it on/off and they are less flexible (hard to combine, it's on or it's off) Reflective material The no.1 reason for motorcycle accidents is that another driver did not see you! Just quickly check out if your motorcycle jacket has any reflective material or maybe a brighter color, for example the orange stripe found on many Harley Davidson jackets. Don't forget that some very small linings can be reflective with a material called scotelite. Ventilation First I talk about closing the motorcycle jacket up, now ventilation?! On a hot day it's nice to be able to open a few ventilation holes without having to open your whole jacket (which makes it flap around and curl up on your back). Under the arm pits is the most common place for ventilation zippers. Keeping your jacket waterproof After a while all material starts to loose it's power. It becomes dirty, stinky and less effective. So you decide to give it a wash (like a new start)! Oops.. often you are much worse off. The material looks good again but isn't waterproof & effective anymore.  Useful Jacket Tips  More and more riders are starting to wear back protection. If you think about the risk your back / spine run of injury, it's a pretty smart idea. On the inside of the nylon their needs to be a waterproof material. If this material doesn't breath you are going to get very hot in a jacket. A breathable material is often more expensive than material treated with a non-breathable coating. One of my favorite features is an extra comfy lining around the neck. You' re using your neck all the time while riding (looking over your shoulder, checking your mirrors etc). So a nice neck seal avoids wind blowing in and scratched up neck. Every time I read a test about jackets I notice that the outer pockets nearly always aren't waterproof. So give them a good look if you really need this feature. This is what it's all about of course. Elbow, shoulder and back protection. Find out if it stays in place, is it removable and easy to use (e.g. with a backpack) If you want to decide very fast on how effective a jacket is going to be. Look how well it closes the rider off. And I mean bottom, middle, neck & hands. Wind and rain coming in spoil the fun of your great motorcycle jacket very fast. I realize jackets can get very expensive and you might be wondering about the right price for you. As motorcycle jackets get more and more high-tec the difference between a cheap and expensive jackets are getting bigger and bigger. Ask yourself how often are you going to be using you motorcycle jacket and for how many years? Take the total and divide the price by that number. Are you willing to pay that for your motorcycle jacket per riding day? Or take the amount of miles / km which you're going to be traveling in your new motorcycle jacket and divide the price by that. Is every mile / km worth that to you in safety? Don't end-up with an expensive jacket which you hardly use... Jacket Fitting Guide: Get a perfect fit 
A few selection pointers. (doesn't apply for every jacket type): (1) good closers - (2) elbow protection - (3) avoid flapping in the wind - (4) shoulder protection - (5) good neck seal - (6) reflective material - (7) closers at bottom - (8) outer pockets waterproof - (9) waist strap - (10) flap over zippers - (11) strong material / waterproof - (*) back protection - air vents - inner liner -
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