REV'IT! Sirocco Jacket Review
by Rick for webBikeWorld.com
Summary
The new Rev'it Sirocco may
just be the "perfect" hot weather riding jacket,
offering excellent air flow, light weight, soft and
comfortable (but protective) fabric and great styling.
But even the Sirocco was designed for the heat, it's
also one of the most versatile motorcycle jackets
available, and will work through four seasons for many
riders. The removable thermal lining and separate
removable wind- and water-proof breathable lining extend
the range to four seasons for just about everything
other than extreme conditions.
UPDATE!
(June 9, 2010) -- The Rev'it Sirocco is one of the most
versatile jackets ever made. Last year, Rev'it
stopped shipping it to the U.S. even though it is still
very popular in Europe. Now
Revzilla has made a special exclusive purchase of
new Sirocco jackets for North America! Get one
while you can -- the amazingly perfect summer jacket
that works all year 'round!
Background
The Rev'it Sirocco jacket is brand-new to the Rev'it
lineup for 2008. The Sirocco was designed for the
serious hot-weather rider who wants a high-quality
performance jacket with excellent air flow that still
provides a good level of protection.
I was excited about the Sirocco when it was
introduced at the 2008 Powersports Dealer Expo in
Indianapolis (see
the Sirocco "First Look" report) and I'm glad I
finally got the opportunity to try one, just as Old Man
Winter is giving way to more balmy conditions. So
far, the jacket has lived up to expectations and has
quickly become a favorite.
The Sirocco has performed in temperatures ranging
from the high 40's (Fahrenheit), which is about the low
end of its range, up to a high just touching 80.
Granted, there's still about 20 more degrees of mercury
left in the stick and a bucket full of humidity to go
before our sticky-hot Mid-Atlantic summer yields its
maximum un-comfort zone, but so far the Sirocco has done
the deed.
In fact, I'd say that the Sirocco may prove to be a
nearly perfect four-season jacket for many owners,
including just about anyone living south of about 40
degrees or so of latitude or in climates of the type
found all along the west coast of the U.S.
The jacket is made from a lightweight but strong
Polyamide outer shell with large mesh panels front and
back. The Sirocco features the same Rev'it
Hydratex removable waterproof and windproof liner found
in other Rev'it
jackets (28 at last count!) and the Sirocco also has a
separate thermal liner that's both thin and comfortable.
Rev'it developed new jacket liners this year that are specially
designed to minimize bulk while retaining the same
thermal properties, and the Sirocco has also been shaped
to avoid the Bibendum look when the liners are removed.
This is important, because after all, the Sirocco was
designed to be Rev'it's premier hot weather jacket, so
it's likely to be worn sans liners most of the time.
Rev'it Sirocco Details
The Sirocco is a "classic" 3/4-length
cut, but the Polyamide fabric and Dynax mesh fabrics
that make up the shell are the latest in
soft-yet-protective material. This is Star Trek
stuff and it's immediately apparent how soft and
comfortable the Sirocco really is compared to the
ultra-stiff canvas-like material found in most
3/4-length jackets, which feel like they were made from the
staysail on the Cutty Sark in comparison.
Comfort is paramount in hot weather and the softness
and pliability of the material help add to the
suitability of the jacket for warm-weather riding. I
hesitate to say this, because of old-fashioned "thicker
is better" thinking, but the material in the Sirocco is
very thin, and that makes the jacket feel like it's
almost not there.
But this is high-tech stuff that Rev'it claims still
offers excellent abrasion resistance. I'm not sure
if I've ever been more comfy on a motorcycle than with a
T-shirt and the Sirocco, yet I somehow feel nicely
protected -- and stylin'. By the way, speaking of
stylin', the Enduro design is perfectly suited for Adventure Touring
riders, and the jacket looks great topped by, say, the
Arai XD, the
Shoei Hornet
or the new Givi X.01 (review coming soon!).
The Sirocco also features ProLife CE-approved armor
in the shoulders and elbows; the ProLife stuff is
thinner and more flexible than other types of
hard-backed armor, but it's also more expensive and thus
not found in your common run-of-the-mill motorcycle
apparel. But ProLife is a good match for the
Sirocco because it minimizes the bulk and maximizes the
flexibility. Again, this is a highly focused,
spare-no-expenses, maximum effort hot weather jacket for
serious types.
As we've reported many times, Rev'it is relentless
in evolving their products, and over the past couple of
years they've been the leaders in the movement towards
laser cutting and lamination for many of the fabrics
used in their garments. The plentiful reflective
panels on the Sirocco are laminated to the fabric, which
not only gives the jacket a smooth look but it also
eliminates stitching, which is always a weak point in
protective gear.
The rest of the stitching and the cut of the fabric
is perfectly executed and assembled; every section fits
together like a jigsaw puzzle with both purpose and
style. I happen to know from many conversations
with the Rev'it folks that it takes a huge amount of
effort to design, test and build something like this and
then get it into full-scale production while maintaining
the original design and quality goals, which is a huge
effort unto itself.
Pockets
The Sirocco has two waterproof patch pockets in front,
covered by Velcro-backed flaps. Hidden behind each
pocket is a hand warmer pocket, accessible by pulling on
the side of the patch pocket to release the Velcro
attachment. I'm not sure how often the hand warmer
pockets will be used, but I use the patch pockets to
hold a cell phone and wallet.
The jacket also includes a full-length pocket across
the lower back that can hold the liners, and the upper
chest features vertical pockets under the mesh.
These pockets are covered with mesh, but they have a
piece of soft foam inside that acts as a simple wind
block and insulating layer in cooler weather, which is
easily removable (but not so easy to replace) when it
gets warm (see photo below).
Both front vertical pockets close with a zipper with
a nice sized pull. They're easy to work and I can
take off my clip-on sunglasses with my left hand, pull
down the zipper on the right pocket, stow the clip-ons
and zip the pocket back up quickly and efficiently.
I mention this because there are very few jackets that
allow one-handed zippering -- usually the fabric bunches
up or the zippers are balky. These work very
smoothly.
The jacket also has an internal pocket in the left
breast and it closes with a zipper also, plus the
thermal liner has its own zippered horizontal pocket in
the same location. The thermal liner includes a
neoprene cell phone pocket on the right-hand side.
Hydratex and Thermal Liner Installed.
Thermal and Hydratex Jacket Liners
One of the interesting and unique features of the
Sirocco is that the waterproof and windproof Hydratex
liner can be used with or without the thermal liner, and
the thermal liner can be used without the Hydratex
liner.
This isn't as easy to engineer as it sounds; when
you think about it, the waterproof liner must retain its
integrity, which means no holes or zippers or the like.
The thermal liner (by the way, it's a full-length
thermal liner, not just a vest) attaches to the inside
of the Hydratex liner with metal snaps located on fabric
loops.
There are also two 190 mm long zippers located on
the upper part of the placket on each side of the
thermal liner, with matching zippers on the Hydratex
liner. These snaps and loops and zippers are
repeated on the inside of the jacket itself;
high-quality metal "King Star" snaps are used.
So
the thermal liner can be securely attached to the inside
of the Hydratex liner while the Hydratex retains its
integrity, but the Hydratex liner can be stowed in the
large back pocket and the thermal liner will just as
easily snap and zip into the shell. Got it?
The Hydratex liner uses fused or bonded or laminated
covers over each of the seams, and I deliberately took
the jacket out for a spin in one of this year's frequent
spring rainstorms and it worked like a champ. Even
though the shell was pretty well soaked, the Hydratex
liner did its job. This isn't a full-on
Cayenne Pro
(First Look) by any means (review on that one coming
soon also!), but it does a decent job of keeping out the
wet.
Also, the thermal liner snaps to the Hydratex liner
with two snaps and two loops at each cuff, and the
Hydratex liner in turn also zips and snaps to the jacket with a
pair of snaps and loops on the outside of each sleeve to
the inside of the jacket cuff.. All of these
connections keep the liners in place when they're
installed and you're putting the jacket on and off, so
no inside-out sleeve pulls here.
Finally, the Hydratex liner includes some soft
material for the inside of the collar, and it has a
waterproof/windproof full-length flap that acts as a
barrier under the main front zipper of the shell.
wBW Video:
Rev'it Sirocco and Cayenne Pro (Select 480p in the YouTube drop-down for best
quality)
Shell Externals
Besides the pockets described above, the Sirocco has a
shock cord adjustment at the very bottom of the hem.
There's a belt waist adjustment system also, seen in the
photos, and it's very nicely hidden in front and the
black "loop" part of the Velcro serves as a styling
feature.
The Velcro used in this year's Sirocco and Cayenne
Pro is a new type of "soft" Velcro that is designed to
resist pilling. It also seems to be less prone to
attracting cat and dog hair and other detritus.
The waist adjusters work very well -- I keep the
jacket fairly snug when I'm riding, and this prevents
billowing and also will hopefully keep the jacket secure
during a slide.
The sleeve cuffs have another interesting Rev'it
feature: they're cut asymmetrically, which gives a lot
of room when the cuff is loose, yet folds over very
smoothly when the cuff is secured. The
forearms each have a Rev'it "Ventilation Control System"
waterproof zipper which can be opened for more air flow.
The elbows are articulated in back, which again adds
to the comfort factor by making the sleeves more
flexible and providing a greater range of movement for
the rider. The sleeves are made from a combination
of mesh and solid fabric, and they include a
two-position snap adjustment at the forearm and an
elastic infinitely adjustable strap on each of the upper
arms.
Most Rev'it apparel is designed and cut to fit
snugly -- that is, properly -- but I kind of wish the
sleeves on the Sirocco were a bit narrower to fit over
my wimpy arms. Surely I'm in the minority here,
because most motorcyclists wear their riding apparel way
too loose anyway, but I'll take mine snug, thank you.
Although I do have to admit that as the thermometer
rises, looser does feel better...
The entire inside of the arm is mesh, along with the
big panels in front and the panel across the back, seen
as the darker gray areas in the photos. This
provides plenty of cooling air, and if I hold the
Sirocco's shell up to the light, I can pretty much see
through it everywhere. Just yesterday I noted the
temperature as 77 degrees F. (25 C) and riding without
the liners was almost too cool for me; I sort of wished
I had brought the thermal liner along.
The collar features what is now a standard Rev'it
snap, used on their textile garments. The male
part of the snap slides back and forth in a housing to
allow some adjustment range, but as always, I wish it
had twice the adjustment that it does.
The collar also has a little plastic hook on the
left side. There's an elastic loop on the collar
that you can see in the photos, and the loop can be
placed over the hook to keep the collar open when it's
really, really hot.
The shell is topped off with the new Rev'it logo,
which is laminated (no stitches) on the back and also
appears on a rubbery type of material on each sleeve.
Unobtrusive yet sophisticated.
The Rev'it Sirocco is available in the light gray
color shown here and a light gray with darker gray front
panels. The size large shown here is a true size
for U.S. men's size 44, but I think it would fit a range
of 43-45. Based on this example, we estimate the
Sirocco runs true to size.
The jacket weighs only 1.4 kg (3.0 lbs.) and the two
liners together weigh 450 grams (1.0 lb.).
The
wBW
Opinionator
Picks
Nits
▪
Light weight
▪
Sleeves slightly tight with liners
installed
▪
Excellent air flow
▪
Sleeves slightly loose without liners
▪
Very comfortable
▪
Can't fit/stow foam inserts in
rear pocket
▪
Styling and light color
▪
Armor feels thin
▪
Mix 'n' Match liners
▪
Back foam instead of armor
▪
Waist adjusters keep jacket snug
▪
Do the lighter-weight fabrics protect?
▪
Laminated no-stitch reflectors
Conclusion
The year is still young, but the Rev'it Sirocco is
shaping up to be the current "perfect" 3/4-length,
nearly all-season motorcycle riding jacket. It
seems more sophisticated than any of the cheap mesh
jackets that we've seen and it certainly is put together
with higher levels of quality.
The Enduro styling may not be for everyone, and it
isn't a true cold-weather jacket, but it sure ticks off
most of the boxes on my short list.
Comments are ordered from most recent to oldest.
Not all comments will be published (details). Comments may be edited for
clarity prior to publication.
From "D.C." (8/09): "Based on your
review I purchased a Sirocco jacket this summer.
Unfortunately I had an opportunity to crash the test the
jacket last week.
The crash occurred at approximately 60 mph, the
jacket held up well. There was some thread
separation in the back of the jacket and I suffered some
abrasion through the jacket on the left forearm. A
full report
can be found here.
