[Monark26]

What do you think is the best hot weather gear on the market? Living in Texas the summer has been pretty rough in the afternoons! I've heard there is some great protective gear out there that actually help keep you cool. Anyone have any personal experince they care to share?

 

[bikendad]

I've got the black Victory mesh jacket and it works well but still not as cool as a T-shirt but I feel much safer in it.

 

[Extrooper]

I wear a white mesh jacket made by First Gear with amour in the back,shoulders and elbows. I don't know what it is made of but it does a pretty good job at reflecting the sun's rays. I am actually more comfortable in the heat with the jacket than without because it does provide a barrier between you and the sun. In temps over 100 I also wear a cool vest under the jacket. Remember, I live in an dry area where the humidity is usually in the teens and we consider 25% humidity "sticky". I don't know how a cool vest would work in the high humid areas of the country. Greg

 

[Dimonback]

The cool vest doesn't work well here. If and when I wear a jacket in hot weather I have a cheap black mesh that I picked up in Vegas. Didn't wear it much there, either.... I figger it's heatstroke or road rash, and there's a helluva lot better chance of heatstroke.

 

[Roadrocket]

I don't want anything black near me in the summer. Gotta be something in a cooler color available.

 

[phoenix9]

The cool vest doesn't work well here. If and when I wear a jacket in hot weather I have a cheap black mesh that I picked up in Vegas. Didn't wear it much there, either.... I figger it's heatstroke or road rash, and there's a helluva lot better chance of heatstroke.

+1 Heatstroke is easy to come by in Nevada, Arizona, Texas, and the gulf coast....I have a black vented jacket with padding and there are days that if I wore it I'd probably succumb to overheating within an hour. For me, I wear a helmet, vented gloves, and a white long sleeved shirt when the temps are over 100.....which happens every once in a while out here.

 

[rdeerx]

I live in FL. On day trips in the heat, I wear a long sleeve, light colored moisture wicking shirt. Been on some long trips the last 4 summers(from 3700 to 6800 mile each) and have worn the same in heat up to 106F. Yea it's hot, but it keeps the sun off your skin which is half the battle.

 

[Monark26]

The long sleeve tee shirt is starting to sound like the winner. I was hoping for some magic, but maybe it doesn't exist. I was riding back from Shreveport last summer and wanted to get home ASAP. The only way I could keep going in the afternoon was to stop once in a while and poor a bottle of water over my shirt and then ride until it evaporated. Sort of a hassle but it does cool you...

 

[trell]

Well i hve only 600mile on my vision now that i've had it a wk. it's acooler bike than the gl 1800 wing.I wear jeans or bibs with long sleeve tee shirts wht or pale grey, seem to work ok on upper 90 degree days for us here in ky.

 

[gadgetman01]

It's almost always over 100 here in the summer & I haven't found any shop that carries anything worth wearing more than 15 minutes in the glaring sun. I have heard that Vanson makes a great summer mesh jacket with armor in a choice of grey or black, but no one near me carries them. I wear summer mesh 1st Gear gloves & my regular shirt under a long-sleeved Hi-Viz Walls work shirt. It is made of polyester mesh and is Hi-Viz yellow with multiple reflective bands & it really makes people see me day or night. The air passes thru it & it doesn't hold smells. It doesn't offer a lot of protection, but its better than nothing & people see me from a mile away. Yeah, I look like a garbage collector in it, but it works for me no matter how "uncool" it looks. Here is the link and a photo of it: http://www.walls.com/walls-importer/images/56362.jpg

 

[FedByFuel]

It gets pretty humid and hot over here in GA but I still wear my Scorpion mesh jacket with armor. Yeah it gets hot if I'm sitting still but once I'm doing 20+ the air rushes right through and cools me quickly.

 

[BBob]

I picked up a low cost light colored mesh jacket from Jafrum earlier this summer and it helps. When I'm not wearing an evap vest under it I sweat and the mesh jacket allows just enough air flow once I'm moving to keep me much cooler than if I'm not wearing the jacket. Gotta drink a LOT of water in the Summer out here and make more stops when traveling. Heat stroke comes on fast and hard. I used to use a long sleeve white shirt but the mesh jacket works better I think. Definitely get a light color though.