How To Choose A Motorcycle Vest

TEMPERATURE

Heated Vests – A heated vest may be the only piece of heated motorcycle gear you need – why? If your hands or feet get cold, your core is already cold. Your body limits warm bloodflow to your extremities to protect your vital organs.

Many riders go for heated gloves first because your hands are first to fall victim to the cold and go numb, and they are most exposed to the wind. Gloves certainly help, but may not be enough to keep up – heated gloves or grips fix a symptom of the problem, not the cause.

A heated vest can be more effective than heated gloves alone at keeping you comfortable, and, believe it or not, keeping your hands warm. For some riders, it may take both to achieve comfort, but the heated vest is the most often overlooked piece of heated gear, and arguably the most critical.

Depending on your bike, riding climate, your circulation and the personal threshold for comfort in cold temperatures, a heated vest with adjustable temperature controller may be all it takes to extend your riding season comfortably into the colder months.

Cooling Vests – Your body sweats because evaporating moisture pulls a ton of heat with it. Motorcycle cooling vests operate on the same principle, but save you the discomfort of actually getting your body overheated enough to really sweat.

It may sound counterintuitive to actually add another layer when it’s hot out, but modern material science can do some pretty remarkable things. Motorcycle cooling vests are designed to be worn under a summer jacket (vented, perforated or mesh) to enhance the cooling effects of the airflow your jacket allows through. Some have a thin material that simply uses your own moisture more effectively, and others use a thicker layer to hold more liquid – you soak these type vests in water before your ride, and they allow regulated evaporation for hours of consistent cooling.

Whether you ride street or off-road, a cooling vest helps prevent dehydration and heat exhaustion, keeping your head fresh and focus so you can ride your best.

PROTECTION / SAFETY

Armored Vests – Armored motorcycle vests come in two main flavors – the soft, flexible, base layer type you wear under a jacket and the hard shell exoskeleton variety that uses thermoplastics for both impact and slide protection.

If you are dissatisfied with your jacket’s back or chest protection (many jackets don’t have pockets for chest protection, or sometimes any armor at all), a soft armored base layer vest may be the best solution to add impact protection beneath your abrasion-resistant outer shell.

Exoskeleton type armored vests are typically worn in place of a jacket, and are especially popular among stunt riders because these rigs offer considerable impact protection as well as modest low speed slide resistance without limiting mobility or airflow like a leather jacket would. City riders who seldom hit highway speeds enjoy the same features – not to mention the side benefit that hard shell armor vests look incredibly badass on all types of motorcycles.

Hi Viz Vests – Hi viz gear tends to get our shoulder angels going –  “C’mon, be safe” in one ear, and “go ahead – get the cool black jacket” in the other. If you don’t want a dedicated hi-viz jacket, a reflective vest is key when conditions get dangerous.

Although it may seem like it at times, people driving cars aren’t actively trying to run us down. Ask any highway patrolmen what causes most motorcycle accidents involving another vehicle, and they’ll tell you 9/10 the driver of the car “just didn’t see” the bike.

Low visibility situations can arise at any time – a sudden thunderstorm in the summer, a fog at dusk, or a blinding sunset glare on the westbound rush hour commute home. You may not need to rock the fluorescent yellow and huge areas of retroreflective material at all times, but having a compact vest stowed away can make all the difference when visibility drops.

One thing you may be interested to look for as you shop for a hi-viz vest is the “Mil Spec” designation. This is a standard mandated by military regulation for a certain amount of visibility (measured by several factors, mainly the area of retro-reflective material front and back) to make a garment legal for riding on a US military base.

Shop by Collection:
New Motorcycle Vests