HWK Mesh Motorcycle Jacket Riding Air Motorbike Jacket Biker CE Armored Breathable

If you're looking at this jacket, you're probably in the same boat as me. You want the protection of a (lightly) armored jacket but you also don't want to roast to death while you ride in warm weather. This jacket is a good compromise. I've worn it every time I've gone riding this year and so far it's worked quite well. The open mesh is very breathable even in mid-80s temperatures (I haven't ridden in hotter weather). At 35 MPH you get enough of a breeze to feel pretty comfortable. Leave the front open and you get even more airflow, though I tend to close it up in all but the hottest weather. It fits me well. I'm 200+ pounds and a weightlifter, and while I'm no Mr. Universe candidate, my proportions are wider and bulkier than average. I ordered a 2XL based on the sizing chart and it fits fine. Very roomy but not cavernous, and I have good shoulder and arm mobility. Nothing feels restrictive but the jacket fits well enough that it should protect me if I have a mishap. I don't know how resilient the armor is. For the $60 that this jacket costs, I'm not expecting it to stop bullets. I consider it better than nothing at all, and it will (hopefully) save me from a couple of bumps and bruises if I end up making friends with Mr. Pavement. I always wear a helmet and I have some armor along my spine and arms. I feel this is a good compromise between comfort and safety, and I hope I never have to prove it. I CAN tell you that the back armor doesn't interfere with my backpack. I've ridden with a pack several times including a couple of moderately long trips. My pack has a sternum strap so it cinches tight to my body. I thought the armor would poke the daylights out of me with a pack on my back but so far it's been fine. I have yet to try with fully loaded pack but if it's a problem, I'll just remove the back armor temporarily. It probably wouldn't do much good if I low-sided with a pack on my back anyway. I'm looking forward to trying this jacket in cooler weather. I may try wearing an insulating liner from an M65 field jacket under it as the weather cools off. If it gets really cold I'll either have to layer, or switch to a thicker jacket. I most likely won't be wearing this in late fall unless I have a REALLY thick layer on underneath, and at that point it makes sense to switch back to my leather jacket. I'm really glad that I bought this jacket. It's kept me moderately cool at speed even on a hot day and on an air-cooled naked bike (IE an oven with wheels on it). It also kept me pretty dry when I got caught in a pretty big downpour at speed on back country roads. My upper body was dry except for where the jacket was open and I felt comfortable despite slicing through a wall of rain at speed. I may explore other options from this manufacturer but for now I'm just enjoying riding in this jacket. Read more

Bought XL for hubby as a backup jacket. 5'11"/200 lbs. He says it breaths well and is comfortable & likes the blue color. I can't speak to wearing it in 80/90 degree weather since he wears it with a shirt & leather vest underneath on 60/70 degree days. Now that the morning weather is getting chilly (40s) he started layering a shirt, light sweatshirt & hoodie underneath and it's says it's not restrictive at all and keeps him warm. If you wanted more layers underneath I'd probably size up since I'm not sure how much can be stuffed under the XL jacket. That said, I'm impressed with the fit and quality so far and he has been using this as an every day jacket lately. Read more

I needed a jacket for summer riding and this jacket does about as well as expected. My testing has not (yet) exceeded anything above 91 degrees, and I live in a place where the summers are very dry (very low humidity). The air flow, while riding (at a good pace), is pretty good and feels a lot like not wearing much of a jacket at all. It is a lot cooler compared to wearing my jeans jacket while the bike is in motion. When stopped at a traffic light or stop sign, with no air flow, it is expectedly hotter. Overall the jacket's quality is very good, and it looks good and fits me well. I did replace the elbow armor that was too stiff for my liking, and zipping the jacket all of the way is too tight and restrictive for me. I may have to add a Velcro patch so I can keep the neck area open a bit more, and not have the Velcro strap flapping in the wind, or rubbing on my neck. Read more

Wow! What a pleasant surprise this was. I was not expecting much for fifty bucks but this jacket is really great for hot weather Summer riding. The ventilation is SUPERB. You get a TON of airflow. Also the quality of the stiching is very good. And the armor (not the thickest but it should provide a reasonable level of protection) is comfortable and feels good. You can upgrade the armor if you wish but I would not bother. Its fine. I already own a $150 textile jacket from AGVSport and this one measures up VERY WELL, and compared to the textile jacket this HWK branded mesh jacket is SIGNIFICANTLY better at ventilation and air flow. I see so many reviews saying that it runs too small and to order a size larger than normal but I do not agree with that. Keep in mind the jacket needs to fit snug, if you order a size too large than it will be baggy and the armor will shift around in the event of an accident and it would cause you to get injured. So choose a form-fitting jacket like this in your actual size. I wear a size small polo shirt and I selected a size small in the jacket and it fits great. Very comfortable. If you are a smaller person that wears small or medium in a polo shirt than I recommend just order that same size in the jacket as you do for a polo shirt. If you normally wear large or XL or above than I dont know what to say about that. I got lucky and got the jacket for an additional 10 dollars off because it was a used customer return but it looked brand new to me. The only problem is that the zipper is of lower quality so keep it lubricated to make sure it lasts a long time. But if the zipper breaks its not too bog of a deal, just search on YouTube they teach you how to change just the head of the zipper it is an easy 5 minute job. So dont let the zipper dissuade you. This is a fantastic Hot Summer jacket. There was no "bonus interior liner" however. So forget about using it in the Winter or when it drops under 70 degrees. You will need a textile jacket for the cold weather. Something with a wind-proof liner Read more