The 5 Best Hot Weather Motorcycle Jackets for 2025
We'd know - we've hands-on tested 200+ jackets since 2000!
Our picks are based on jackets that offer the best blend of safety/performance, function/features, and price.
Last updated February 2025 by Devan Martel
You know how the old song goes. “Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun.” Well, we’re here to tell you that there’s a third category that needs to be added here - motorcyclists. And that’s because ever since ancient Greek soldiers realised that going into battle in loincloths might make you look like a legendary warrior and keep you super cool, it sadly does diddly squat to keep you safe from danger.
Fast forward to the present day and that eternal tug-o-war is still going on. Sure, we know about All Of The Gear All Of The Time, but when the mercury really starts skyrocketing, who in their right mind wants to dress head-to-toe in toasty black leather?
So with that thought in mind, here are five killer options to keep you cool and safe next time you decide you want to enjoy a little summer motorcycling without the unwanted mobile sauna extras.
About Our Motorcycle Jackets Recommendations
Founded in 2000, our team at wBW has collectively tested more than 2,500 helmets, jackets, boots, gloves, accessories, and more. We do not fluff reviews. A riders safety is heavily dictated by how they ride and what they wear while doing so. Our goal is to help riders make informed decisions about the gear they invest in to protect themselves.
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Best Entry-Level Hot Weather Motorcycle Jackets
Priced under $200
ICON Mesh AF Textile Jacket
Price: $185
Where to Buy: RevZilla
Why?
No prizes for guessing what the ‘AF’ initials stand for here; and Icon aren’t kidding around, either. It’s not until you see this jacket in the flesh that you realise - surprise, surprise - it’s nothing but mesh across the chest, inside the arms and on the lower back. Yes, it may seem a little MC Hammer at first, but when worn with a suitably modest tee, it’s a really great option to keep you as cool as the Icon once the sun starts doing its thing. Although do note that if it rains, you’re totally taking a bath as it doesn’t come with a waterproof lining.
Of course, all those holes do have a downside, and that is much less abrasion resistance should you ever find yourself in an intimate encounter with some fast-moving bitumen. But being an Icon piece, the fit and finish is sure to please as will the company’s dedication to including top quality 3DO armour in all their jackets.
Key Specs
• Sport fit
• Designed for comfort and aggressive riding stance with stretch panels and waist adjusters
• 300D polyester chassis with 300D polyester internal reinforcements
• Full suite of removable D3O impact protectors covering shoulders, elbows and back
• Added airflow through iron weave mesh panels
• Tested and certified according to EN 17092-4:2020 Class A
Protection & Safety
• Removable D3O CE level I elbow, shoulder, and back protectors included
• Iron Weave Mesh ventilation panels allow for high airflow and cooling, without reducing abrasion resistance on the major panels such as the front lowers.
• YKK zippers ensure that the jacket will stay done up at all times
BILT Techno 2 Jacket
Price: $140
Where to Buy: RevZilla
Why?
The BILT Techno 2 Jacket is a go-to choice for Spring thru Fall sport and street riding. It combines a ultra-flow Techno mesh body material and removable quilted liner with 80 GR thermal body/ 60 GR thermal sleeves for comfortable riding in all weather conditions.
It also features 600D Oxford reinforced panels and a full mesh inner liner to ensure maximum ventilation when riding in the hot conditions.
Key Specs
• Hook and loop fastener adjustment hip tabs
• Zippered hip gussets for added adjustment
• YKK Zippers
• Short connecting zip and jeans loops
• 2 hand warmer pockets
• 1 napoleon pocket
• 1 phone pocket on thermal liner
• 1 hidden storage pocket across lower back
Protection & Safety
• CE Level 1 armor at shoulders and elbows
• Pocket for optional AXIAL back protector (sold separately)
• Size MD AXIAL AX1 and AX2 back protectors fit all sizes Techno 2 Jackets
• 600D Reinforced panels in key areas
• Black out reflective piping
Alpinestars Bionic Action V2 Jacket
Why?
For those of us whose tires have more knobs than grooves, here’s a tried and true summer option from Alpine Stars, the snow-gear-turned-go-gear maker and one of motorcycling’s best-known brands. Yes, it looks rad but it also is surprisingly affordable. And with more holes than even Icon’s potty-mouthed Mesh AF, this thing is quite literally all protectors and not much of anything else. But boy, doesn’t it look tough? Sadly, it doesn’t come standard with superpowers, but it will protect you like a superhero.
Designed to be a motocrosser’s go-to protection, the jacket should also provide superior safety for dual-sporters and flat trackers, too. And if the plastic muscles look doesn’t take your fancy, you can always improve things by throwing a MX jersey over the top. But as with all off-road gear, it’s important to note that they aren’t designed for on-road use, and they probably won’t be staying in place should you come off at freeway speeds on surfaces that have much higher friction coefficients than good ol’ dirt or grass.
Key Specs
• Rotating buckle on shoulder straps where the strap meets the chest protector to facilitate enhanced articulation of the arms
• Padded chassis for optimized levels of comfort and a close-to-body fit
• Elastic closure system features quick and easy-to-use buckles that fit a broad range of rider body sizes
• Bionic Neck Support compatibility with elasticated BNS A or X-Strap systems available (sold separately)
Protection & Safety
• Cell Technology protectors feature a highly perforated shell for high levels of ventilation and protection
• Back protector features a flexion channel for enhanced mobility
• Protectors are perforated for maximum breathability and cooling ventilation
Best Mid-Range Hot Weather Motorcycle Jackets
Priced $200 - $450.
REV'IT! Tracer Air 3 Overshirt
Price: $240
Where to Buy: RevZilla
Why?
Because sometimes in summer you don’t want to look like you’re about to ride across the continent; especially if you are just riding around the block. But staying safe isn’t about the length of the ride you’re going on, as accidents can happen anytime, anywhere. So here’s something from Dutch gear gurus REV'IT! that’s lightweight, vented and safe - and it also just happens to make you look as casual as you like.
While technically it’s still a mesh jacket, its finer, tighter weave has the look of a solid textile while still allowing air to flow around your buff, sculpted torso. It’s also a great example of the so-cool-right-now ‘Work look’ moto gear. But unlike a factory shirt, this thing comes with elbow pads, shoulder pads and the option of a back protector. Over all this mesh, already? No problems, as it also comes in a non-mesh style and yes, those shirt-style collars are button-down-able.
Key Specs
• Outer Shell: PWRshell mesh, polyester ripstop
• Sizing: Type RV / Size 04 fits SM-MD, Type RV / Size 05 fits LG-2XL, Type RV / Size 06 fits 3XL
• City fit, regular
• Fully ventilated mesh
• Jeans loop, short connection zipper, triple needle stitching
• Inner pocket, stash pockets
Note: Customers have found this riding shirt to run small and recommend sizing up if in between sizes.
Protection & Safety
• SEESMART CE level 1 protection at shoulder and elbow
• Pocket for optional Seesoft CE level 2 Type RV back protector (sold separately)
• Triple needle stitching
• 3D mesh protector pockets
Best High-End Textile Motorcycle Jackets
Priced over $450.
Helite Free-Air Mesh Airbag
Price: $939
Where to Buy: RevZilla
Why?
Despite the name, the Free-Air Mesh Airbag jacket from Helite is not actually a mesh jacket. Instead, it is a 600D Cordura chassis with some reinforced mesh panels for airflow. It comes with CE level I elbow and shoulder armor, and a SAS-TEC CE II back protector.
However, the best protection this adventure fit jacket provides is a built in Helite Turtle airbag, which is attached via a lanyard to your bike and doesn’t rely on anything other than physics to deploy. No fancy electronic sensors, no need to recharge the battery overnight. 70 lbs of force on the lanyard and the airbag will deploy in milliseconds, protecting you from slides, tumbles, and impacts as best it can.
If you’re looking for a premium hot-weather jacket, this is it.
Key Specs
• Airbag fully inflates in less than 0.1 seconds
• Removable waterproof liner
• Retro-reflective piping at front, back and arms
• Abrasion-resistant 600D Cordura
• Comfortable neck
• Mesh panels
• Zippered cuffs with strap adjustment
• 1 60cc CO2 cartridge and 1 lanyard included
• CE Level 1 shoulder and elbow armor
• Included SAS-TEC CE Level 2 static back protector
• Multiple pockets
• All sizes use the 60cc CO2 cartridge
Note: The Free-Air Jacket runs small. We recommend ordering 2 sizes larger than your normal jacket size.
Protection & Safety
• CE level I elbow and shoulder armor
• SAS-TEC CE level II back protector
• Built-in Helite Turtle airbag technology
• 600d Cordura chassis is highly abrasion resistant
Frequently Asked Questions About Hot Weather Motorcycle Jackets
What makes for a good hot weather motorcycle jacket?
Hot weather jackets include large mesh panels to allow for maximum airflow. If used in conjunction with a cooling shirt underneath, it can wick away heat as fast as it’s generated, keeping you comfortably cool, even with the sun blazing down on you. While these are for the most part textile jackets, they have the most mesh panels and best airflow, hence their own list.
Are mesh jackets safe?
Very much so. Around the start of the millennium, the materials used for mesh jackets weren't as resilient as they are these days. The mesh is still mostly nylon, but it is a resilient, ripstop, high temperature resistant type of nylon, and on top of that, it is usually wrapped in polyester for extra abrasion resistance. Put that together with armor, and you have a pretty safe jacket!
Are any of these jackets naturally waterproof, it can suddenly rain where I live despite the hot weather?
None of them are waterproof by the materials alone. However, many hot weather jackets do come with a removable (zip-in/zip-out) waterproof liner, such as the Fly Racing Coolpro and Helite Free-Air Mesh Airbag jacket. As well, you can get rain shells on their own that fit over most jackets.
What materials are hot weather jackets made from?
Depending on if it is a textile, mesh, or overshirt style jacket, the most common materials are polyester, ballistic nylon, and Cordura, a synthetic fiber that has the same abrasion resistance as leather. Armor is either non-Newtonian impact foam for the Rev’It! Gear, otherwise TPU armor for the rest
I’ve been riding in hot weather without a jacket, do I really need one?
While we recognize that how much and what gear you wear is totally your choice, we are proponents of “All The Gear, All The Time” (ATGATT) here at webBikeWorld. So, naturally, our answer is Yes, you do really need one. Wearing gear is all about mitigation of risk, and if you should slide out, it’s better to have a destroyed jacket than to have to deal with road rash and other injuries.
Could I just use a normal textile or leather jacket with the vents open?
You could indeed. The reason we have separated these jackets from the textiles lists is because there are many riders in places where it gets extremely hot all year round, such as California, the Florida Keys, and places like Italy, Greece, and Spain over in Europe. Riders should always have the best protection options available!
What To Look For In A Hot-Weather Motorcycle Jacket
As these hot weather jackets are meant to maximize airflow while offering the best protection possible, there are many things to look for. While the basics are the same as textile jackets, you do want to pay special attention to three areas: Materials, armor, and Denier abrasion resistance ratings.
Materials: In general, you will find most hot weather jackets to be made from polyester-wrapped nylon, polyester, ballistic nylon, and Cordura. It is important for the nylon types to be either “wrapped” nylon (with polyester or Cordura wrapping) or ballistic nylon, because while nylon is in effect plastic, these two types have the best heat resistance rating when abraded. This means that they’ll act more like fibers and fray, instead of melting like turn-of-the-millennium nylon mesh jackets sometimes did.
Armor: A lot of hot weather jackets use non-Newtonian impact foam in place of TPU armor, for two specific reasons. The first is that impact foam is lighter, and the second is that because it’s foam, it’s porous, allowing air to flow through. However, when impacted, the foam can get as hard as steel as long as there is a force applied to it. You definitely want shoulder and elbow armor, and you have multiple options for back protectors for those jackets that do not come with one installed.
Denier abrasion resistance rating: You’ve seen numbers like 450D, 600D, 1650D, but what do they all mean? Those numbers are the “Denier rating,” which is a measurement of both how thick and how heavy fabrics and fibers are, as well as how long it takes them to be abraded away. The higher the number, the better the abrasion resistance, for example a 450D bit of gear should give you about 6 to 8 seconds of slide on a typical pavement surface before it’ll start to wear through. Because of that, we usually recommend at least 400D, and as high as you want to go. All of the recommendations here are 450D or better.
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