REV’IT! Motorcycle Riding Jacket

of REV’IT! motorcycle clothing, and with good reason.  In our opinion, REV’IT! makes some of the best quality, most skillfully designed motorcycle clothing on the planet.

Our enthusiasm for the brand recently generated an email from a visitor who wrote that our REV’IT! clothing reviews were “obviously biased towards the product”.  Yep, we’re guilty on that one!

And why not?  We report it the way we see it, and every item we review is put through the wringer by one or more motorcycle owners for several weeks of trials.

These folks are tough critics, and they don’t hesitate to point out even the most minor faults.  But when they find a truly outstanding product, they’re effusive in their praise.

REV’IT! designers have been able to continually hit the “sweet spot” with their line of clothing with a precise blending of style and function.

They seem to be constantly working to improve their products, and the REV’IT! Motion textile jacket is no exception.  The Motion jacket is an update on the R-Tech jacket, which was only released about one year ago.

REV’IT! apparel is usually loaded with nice features, and the magic is that they seem to be able to do it without adding bulk or complexity.  The Motion jacket does more than most of its competitors, yet it’s easier to use, very comfortable and it has that intangible feeling of something special.

The Motion jacket continues the REV’IT! tradition of combining differently textured fabrics that are sewn together in a way that combines protection and comfort with cool styling.  This is apparently not that easy to accomplish; check out some of the other 3/4-length jackets hanging on the rack and you’ll see what we mean.  Let’s face it: most of them look like they were designed by and for Chairman Mao.

The fabric on the Motion jacket is cut and sewn together in patterns that look great but are actually designed to help it move with the human shape.  The various pieces of fabric offer protection and comfort  and they also help create a secure fit.

Motorcycle clothing must fit snugly for the armor and various protective devices to work during a fall.  All the armor in the world won’t help if it doesn’t stay in a location that will protect the rider.  But snug doesn’t have to mean tight and uncomfortable, and that’s the trick that REV’IT! has mastered.

The jacket uses the typical list of modern textiles with strange sounding names.  Products like Dynax, Kodra (stretch fabric), Airmesh,  ProLife (CE-protection), Temperfoam (back padding), Hydratex (breathable and windproof liner) and Scotchlite (reflective piping).

We’ve given up on trying to figure out who makes this stuff and what it does, but suffice it to say that these 21st Century textiles allow our motorcycle clothing to block wind and rain while allowing the body’s moisture to evaporate without giving the rider a steam bath.

I don’t know how it works, but it does; we found the Motion jacket to be comfortable from about 75 degrees (F) all the way down to 38 degrees (F), which is as cold as it’s been so far this year.

Pockets

The Motion jacket has plenty of storage capability.  Two horizontal pockets are located at the waist on the lower front of the jacket.  Each pocket has a flap that is secured by a Velcro closure and covers the zipper.

These pockets are about 140 mm wide (~5-1/2″, all inch measurements approximate) by 150 mm (5-7/8″) deep.  The pockets are lined with nylon and are independent units, not part of the jacket liner.

Two vertical chest pockets are located on either side of the main zipper on the on upper chest area of the outside of the jacket.  They open with a vinyl-covered, water-resistant zipper.

The vinyl tightly covers the teeth of the zipper when closed.  Each pocket has a wide opening, at 260 mm long (10-1/4″) and 120 mm deep (4-3/4″).  The zipper closes towards the top, and the zipper slider hides under a fabric cover, kind of like a little zipper garage.

These pockets share the mesh lining with the jacket, so they also serve double duty as vents to help regulate the internal temperature.

 Liner

The Motion jacket has the unique REV’IT! multiple liner feature.  It’s quite an ingenious design that we’ve seen on no other motorcycle jacket.   The jacket has two liners that can be used together or separately.

Working from the outside in, immediately inside the jacket is a Hydratex breathable and waterproof liner.  This liner attaches to the jacket with its own zipper, accessible just under the outer flaps.

The Hydratex liner has a wide chest flap closure system that secures with a series of Velcro fasteners.

A separate insulating liner then attaches to the Hydratex liner with another zipper.  The jacket can be worn with the outer waterproof liner only, the insulating liner only, neither or both.  This greatly expands the usable range of temperatures and atmospheric conditions in which the Motion jacket can be used.

The unique chest flap closure system is easy to use, because the two liners attach to each other, but only one attaches to the jacket.  This makes it easy to get the jacket on and off, and it provides a series of flaps that prevent both wind and water ingress.  It’s snug, secure and we’re not aware of any other system like it.

Count the number of flaps that protect the rider’s chest:  first, there’s the internal insulating liner.  Zip it up, then secure its two flaps, which fold one over the other like the letter “Z”.  Next, zip up the jacket, covering the overlapping flaps.  Then the outer jacket has two of its own flaps, which fold over each other and are secured with Velcro.

It’s easier to do than it sounds, and somehow it avoids being bulky, yet provides outstanding protection against the elements.  I’ve used this jacket down to 50 degrees Fahrenheit and was absolutely comfortable on a motorcycle with no fairing wearing only a single, thin polypropylene turtleneck undershirt underneath.

The innermost insulating liner has pockets on either side.  The left side includes a zippered chest pocket that opens to 140 mm wide and is 190 mm deep (7-1/2″).  Just below it is a small open pocket with a vinyl lining.  This pocket is also 140 mm wide and it’s 100 mm deep.  It doesn’t have any type of closure, but it’s useful nonetheless.

The right side chest area of the insulating liner has a large mobile phone pocket.  It should hold up to the largest of phones with its 80 mm width and 150 mm depth.

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It also has expansion panels, so it’s easy to overstuff it if necessary; however, we advise against carrying any hard or pointy item in a motorcycle jacket or pants.  In case of a crash, those items have the potential to cause serious damage to your body.

The jacket has a permanently attached mesh liner.  This liner has a zippered pocket on each side, opening to 140 mm wide and 200 mm deep.  Finally, there’s a zipper pocket on the left hand flap of the jacket, just under the outer closure.  This pocket is big enough for a wallet and/or cell phone, and it’s accessible by unfastening the jacket’s outermost zipper.

Collar

The Motion jacket’s collar is also a new design.  It has a flap that sweeps up to the right-hand side around the neck, and it attaches with a snap.  A male snap closure is attached to the jacket on the upper neck area inside a nylon holder.  The snap can be located in one of 5 different positions to adjust the tightness of the neck.

However, owners with thick necks may wish that the snap had 10 positions; we found that the lowermost position will fit about a maximum of a size 17 (U.S.) neck but is a bit tight for anything greater.

The jacket has adjustable waist cinch straps, and these are very easy to work with one hand.  Short cinch adjusters are also located at the hem of the jacket, with Velcro used to hold them to the desired position.

Miscellaneous

The sleeves of the jacket have tapered wrist cuffs that close with a strip of Velcro.  The cuffs are designed to fit easily inside the gauntlets of riding gloves.  REV’IT! also includes CE-approved elbow and shoulder armor and a thin Temperfoam pad in the back of the jacket.  3M Scotchlite reflective piping here and there to finish things off.

By the way, the Motion jacket works very nicely with the REV’IT! X-Vent pants (see the wBW review) to make a complete riding outfit.

Conclusion

Warning: we’re showing our bias once more!  This is the best 3/4 length motorcycle jacket we’ve found.  It combines style, protection, and comfort with a set of ingenious features that outpace the competition.

Some motorcyclists still believe that a jacket has to look like it came from the WWII Russian Tank Corps to offer good protection, but it just isn’t so.  If you’re in the market for a new 3/4-length jacket, don’t do a thing until you check out this one out.