Gryphon Moto Vancouver Jacket Review

The Vancouver is a complete technical ADV / Touring suit for around $500 for both jacket and pants. It features waterproofing, tons of pockets for storage, ventilation, CE Level 2 protection, and an included insulated jacket. Straight away, that adds up to a lot of value for the money.

I tested the jacket on two different bikes. First, a touring/cruiser (Yamaha Stratoliner), the second a standard/naked (Kawasaki ZRX) bike. Oh yeah, and a quick ride on a 1961 Honda 55 Cub! The new Cub is great, but there’s nothing quite like one of these old machines.

I am always anxious to get riding in the spring. So the Vancouver jacket and Indy pants seemed like the perfect candidate for riding in the typical mixed spring weather conditions.

During the pandemic, the province where I reside requested no non-essential travel. Although there was no ban on riding, I stuck close to home. By late May, the region lifted many restrictions, and I felt comfortable heading out for longer rides. These changes allowed me plenty of opportunities to test the Vancouver jacket independently and in combination with the Indy pants.

About Gryphon Moto

I first came across Gryphon Moto through social media advertising. I typically ignore these ads, but this ad piqued my interest (mainly because it was motorcycle-related), and I clicked through to take a look. I quickly realized that the gear was legitimate and reached out to Gryphon Moto for more information.

After exchanging a few emails with Gryphon Moto, I determined that they were a relatively new business located in central Ontario, not far from where I live. A plan was set in motion to meet at Gryphon Moto warehouse in early spring.

By spring, we were in complete lockdown in Ontario (impacting my ability to ride), followed by a dock worker strike in Montreal. Both affected Gryphon Moto’s ability to refill their inventory for the riding season.

By mid-May, a friend and I rode up to Orillia to meet with Gryphon Moto’s bosses, Gary and Jenny Cuzner, to chat, try on a bunch of gear, and pick up the Vancouver jacket and Indy pants for reviewing.

Gary has been in the Powersports industry for over 40 years, working mainly at the distribution and warehousing level. His experience and industry contacts influenced the design, production, and distribution of the Gryphon Moto product line.

During our chat, I asked Gary how he came up with the Gryphon Moto name and logo. He explained that his Irish mother’s coat of arms displays a Gryphon, and a Gryphon was the mascot for his high school outside of Toronto. We laughed when I mentioned my mother’s Irish heritage (McCarthy) and that the Gryphon was also the mascot for my high school in Gravenhurst, Ontario.

It was great meeting with Gary and Jenny and seeing their operation in action. The front office of the warehouse has many pictures of Gary’s racing over the years. We spent as much time talking about his racing motocross for Yamaha in the mid-70s and snowmobile racing as we did about gear. It was easy to see where he gets his passion for the industry and the family business.

The goal of Gryphon Moto is to create quality motorcycle gear without the high price tag.

Features

The Gryphon Moto Vancouver Jacket comes loaded with features for both weather and abrasion protection.

Key features include: 

• 600 Denier with 1680 Denier on high impact areas
• CE Level 2 protection for back, shoulders, and elbows
• REISSA Breathable/Waterproof membrane
• A removable neck gaiter helps keep the weather from your neck
• Large ventilation panels on front and back
• Pockets, Pockets, Pockets
• Hydration bladder ready (Bladder not included)
• Thermal layer featuring Gryphon’s Hiking Day Puffer Jacket

For a complete list of features, visit Gryphon Moto Vancouver Jacket.

First Impressions

When traveling any distance, I have always carried rain gear to go over my regular riding gear. I have to say, I was looking forward to receiving the Gryphon Moto Vancouver Jacket (and pants). Unfortunately, waterproof gear at a reasonable price is hard to come by. Plus, no need to take up valuable luggage space with rain gear.

My first impression was that the jacket appears to be well built. I liked the subtle black styling and subtle branding. After slipping the jacket on, it had a nice fit.

Construction

Outer Shell

The 600 Denier Anti-Abrasive Ballistic Nylon with 1680 Denier used in high impact areas at shoulders and elbows makes for a quality outer shell.

As with many layered jackets, the weight can start to add up. However, once the jacket is on, it is not as noticeable.

Outer Shell – 100% Polyester

Lining – 100% Polyester

 Interior

Nylon mesh lines the interior throughout for increased airflow and comfort.

A warning, the Velcro on the Vancouver jacket is powerful.  It is fantastic at grabbing onto its opposing mating surface, but it also likes to attach itself to anything else, especially the beautiful red lining.

Collar

The collar features a soft lining and neoprene edge to minimize chafing and added comfort. In addition, the collar has a small velcro tab to secure to the opposite side for a secure fit. There is also a zip-on gaiter for greater weather protection.

So Many Pockets

There are nine pockets in total:

• Exterior
  • Two large cargo-style pockets on the front. These have a zipper and a velcro flap closure, with a rolled top for waterproofing.
  • Two slash pockets behind the cargo pockets.
  • One large pocket on the lower back. Again, with a velcro flap closure and rolled top for waterproofing.
  • One large pocket on the upper back to hold a hydration pack. The hydration pack is not included with the jacket. There is a pass-thru for the hydration pack hose. There is no loop in the front to secure the hose.

• Interior
  • A zippered chest pocket with a key clip.
  • A large pocket on the left.
  • A phone pocket on the right.

Hi-Viz

There are several pops of reflectivity:

• One on the lower back
• Two on the upper back
• Two on the chest
• One on each arm

The reflective bands are very subtle in the daylight. Reflection areas use 3M Scotchlite 360 Reflective elements.

The Vancouver is not a high visibility jacket, but it has good reflection for night riding.

 

Branding

Branding is white on black but remains subtle, which I like. The Gryphon symbol is on each bicep and below the collar. Additionally, the Gryphon name is on the left chest vent covering, closure flap on the lower back pocket, pocket itself, and most tabs and pulls for zippers//adjusters.

Zippers

All the exterior zippers are YKK, with the main zippers having sizeable glove-friendly pull tabs. The ventilation zippers tuck into hoods or “zipper garages” at the top of the zipper.

The main zipper also has an additional rain/wind flap with Velcro and dome snaps.

There are two YKK zippers on the interior; one for the interior chest pocket and one for the zipper to connect the Vancouver Jacket to matching Indy Pants or other Gryphon Moto ADV pants.

Colorways

The Gryphon Moto Vancouver Jacket is only available in black.

Overall Build Quality

Sizing

The Gryphon Moto Vancouver jacket comes in 7 sizes; S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL.

Using the size chart on the Gryphon Moto website, I selected the XL. My size at the time of the order was 6’3” in height and 47” chest, which falls perfectly in the XL sizing chart.

Sizing Guidelines Men’s Jackets

	Chest	Hip	Sleeve Length
S	36-38 in / 91-96 cm	35-37 in / 88-93 cm	33.5 in / 85 cm
M	39-41 in / 91-104 cm	38-40 in / 96-101 cm	34.0 in / 86 cm
L	42-44 in / 106-111 cm	41-43 in / 104-109 cm	34.8 in / 88 cm
XL	45-48 in / 114-121 cm	44-46 in / 111-116 cm	35.5 in / 90 cm
2XL	49-52 in / 124-132 cm	47-49 in / 119-124 cm	36.3 in / 92 cm
3XL	53-56 in / 134-142 cm	50-52 in / 127-132 cm	37.0 in / 94 cm
4XL	56-59 in / 142-149 cm	51-54 in / 129-137 cm	37.8 in / 96 cm

Comfort

I found the jacket to be very comfortable to wear. The adjustment straps also allowed room to wear the included insulated puffer jacket.

The lined collar with the neoprene edge should have allowed for neck comfort. In addition, you can zip on the included neck gaiter for added weather protection.

Adjustability

The Gryphon Moto Vancouver Jacket allowed for size adjustments in several ways:

• Adjustable straps on each side near the waist
• Zippers on each side at the bottom (hips)
• Adjustable velcro at the biceps
• Zippers at the cuff
• Adjustable velcro cuff at the wrists
• Elastic crotch strap

These straps and adjustments allow you to fine-tune the fit for comfort and reduce wind turbulence. The cuff adjustment allows for an easy fit into a glove with gauntlets and opens wide enough to put the top of your gloves inside if desired.

The Vancouver Jacket comes in sizes from small up to 4XL, which is fantastic.

If you find that the bottom of your jacket rides up your back, the Gryphon Moto Vancouver Jacket offers a crotch hold-down strap.  It stores neatly in a pouch at the back, ready to spring into action when needed.  Simply pull the strap between your legs from back to front and snap it into place.

Sorry, no pictures of me modeling this feature.  My wife is still laughing from the one time I modeled it for her!

Functionality

Waterproof

The Gryphon Moto Vancouver uses Gryphon’s Waterproof 2 Layer System, a REISSA Breathable/Waterproof membrane.

If possible, I try to do a water test on gear with the claim of being waterproof. This test could be either riding in the rain (preferred) or sprayed from a hose. In this case, I did both.

On the first test, I rode about 30 km in what I would call a light rain with intermittent heavy rain. After that, I am happy to say that I stayed dry.

Because the rain was relatively light, I thought I would make a second test under the hose in the yard. Unfortunately, this time the Vancouver Jacket allowed some water to get in.  It appears the outer fabric gets saturated, and the water pools at the bottom of the jacket.  This pooling enables the water to saturate or wick inside the membrane around the waistline.  The water then seeps inside the pants to give you a wet waist and crotch.

A line of mesh or weep holes at the bottom allowing water to escape to the outside might help.  In this case, the water poured out of a snap near the main zipper.

The large pockets on the front of the jacket remained dry. However, the water did wick up to the bottom of the interior pockets.

To be fair, you would rarely ride in this volume of rain.  But if you get caught in a heavy downpour for an extended period, pull over to let it pass or prepare to get damp.

My impression was that the Vancouver jacket and Indy pants combo would eliminate the need to carry rain gear, especially if you combine them with a decent adventure helmet and waterproof touring boots.

I would conclude that you will stay dry in light to medium rain. However, if you plan to ride for an extended time in heavy rain, I would be reaching for a rain suit.

Breathability

The Vancouver Jacket contains four pairs of ventilation zippers: chest, shoulder, cuff, and back.

I was able to use the Vancouver Jacket in many weather conditions. From 5 C (41 F) in combination with the provided insulated liner/jacket to heavy rain to 32 C (90 F) with a humidex of 37 C (99 F). Where I live in central Ontario, this is considered very hot.

On many spring rides, the day starts cool, so I wear the internal liner with the vents closed. By lunch, the temperature becomes moderate, and  I remove the liner and begin partially opening vents. By mid-afternoon, when the temperatures peak, I open the vents completely. Even with the excellent ventilation available, I will swap for a mesh jacket on hot days.

I always wear a jacket while riding, plus I tend to run hot naturally. I can overheat while wearing a mesh jacket. That said, I found the airflow to be very good, making it a fairly capable hot weather jacket.

If you were adventure riding in the heat and needed to move around a lot, things could get hot.

Overall I thought the ventilation on the Gryphon Moto Vancouver Jacket was very good.

Protection

The Vancouver Jacket offers several layers of protection:

• Outer shell made of 600 Denier Anti-Abrasive Ballistic Nylon.
• 1680 Denier used in high impact areas at shoulders and elbows.
• CE Level 2 protection in the back, shoulders, and elbows.

Many jackets in this price level use the lower CE Level 1 armor and do not include back protection. Well done, Gryphon Moto.

EN1621-2 – Certification Standard for Back and Spine Protection

EN1621-1 – Certification Standard for Shoulders, Elbows, and Knees

Protector Style S = Shoulder, E = Elbow, K = Knee, FB = Full Back.

Type A has smaller dimensions

2 – Protection Level (higher protection level as compared to Level 1)

The armor used in this jacket are:

• Back Certified (EN 1621-2:2014; FB; Protection level:2)
• Shoulder Certified (EN 1621-1:2012; S TYPE A; Protection level: 2 )
• Elbow Certified (EN 1621-1:2012; S+E+K TYPE A; Protection level: 2 )

Care Instructions

I found the best way to keep the jacket looking good was to wipe it down with a damp cloth. Then, if you get caught in the rain, let it drip dry.

Here are the attached instructions on the jacket.

For details, please visit Gryphon Moto Care and Warranty

Included Gryphon Moto Hiking Jacket

To keep you warm on those cold days, the Gryphon Moto includes a Gryphon Moto Hiking Day Puffer that can also be worn as a stand-alone jacket when you reach your destination.

In this case, the jacket is meant to be worn under the Vancouver jacket. However, it has small loops on the collar and sleeve ends to attach to the outer shell.

Features include:

• Fiber-filled for additional warmth
• Tall collar
• Two zippered exterior pockets
• Two interior pockets, one designated for your phone
• $100 value if bought separately

Nice touch!

Warranty

The Gryphon Moto Vancouver Jacket carries a one-year guarantee on materials and workmanship. One year is the minimum standard, and many manufacturers offer two or more years.

For details, please visit Gryphon Moto Care and Warranty.

Conclusion

I picked up the Gryphon Moto Jacket in mid-May, it is now the end of June, and I have put it on for almost every ride in that time. If it is cold, I would add the insert jacket. If the temperature is moderate, remove the liner, and as the day warms, open the vents. Hit some rain? No problem, it’s waterproof (mostly).  In most conditions, the Gryphon Moto Vancouver jacket does the job.

Is it the latest flashy gear on the market? No. Does it have the latest Gore-Tex laminated technology? No. But it does offer subtle styling, comfort, wet and cold weather protection, and CE Level 2 protection. Best of all it costs $300. I think that is a great value.

Overall, the Gryphon Moto Vancouver Jacket is an excellent piece of gear at a very reasonable price.