Summary The 2010 AGV Sport Tempest is a good all-around
jacket at a very reasonable price. It's
comfortable in cooler weather and it does a good job at
keeping out moisture on casual rides.
Background
There are literally dozens of motorcycle jacket reviews
that have been published on webBikeWorld over the years,
with prices ranging from front pocket change to nose-bleed astronomical.
I'd guess that choosing a jacket ends up being a decision
based pretty much on two criteria -- style and cost (or
vice-versa).
It all comes down to owner preferences and financial
tolerance. There's a hope that expensive gear
equates to, well, you name it: better crash protection,
better rain protection, warmer, cooler...the list goes
on. But who really knows? There is precious
little real testing done to help the motorcyclist
decide.
The EN standards in Europe are a start, but wouldn't
it be nice to have an independent lab certification?
They would use standardized abrasion and wear tests that
mimic what is needed in the real world to give
motorcyclists a basis for comparison.
One indicator of quality -- like it or not -- is price.
Higher prices usually
(usually) mean "better" gear. The problem here is
that a lot of the extra cost may not be readily identifiable on
or in
the product. Sometimes there are very subtle
differences in fabrics, construction techniques and
styling that make a difference, but the benefits of that
difference isn't always clear.
The price/quality equation has changed dramatically, however,
since we first started reviewing motorcycle clothing
more than 10 years ago. The differences that were
very obvious back are not as obvious now, so comparing a
jacket or helmet costing $200.00 and one that costs two
or three times as much is a much more reasonable
proposition.
While the good stuff may become even better and will
always have buyers who want nothing but the best,
inexpensive gear has improved dramatically in quality,
styling, comfort and features -- pretty much
everything that matters to the vast majority of
motorcycle riders.
Which brings us to the AGV Sport Tempest jacket.
It has just about everything you'd need for street
riding: style, comfort, protection, warmth, air flow, a
modicum of water resistance and it all comes in at a
copper Lincoln less than a pair of Ben Franklins.
wBW Flash Slideshow:
AGV Sport Tempest Jacket Details
AGV Sport Tempest Jacket Features The AGV Sport Tempest jacket is new for 2010. Available in black, red, or blue, the Tempest
is a basic but good-looking jacket. The styling
isn't too
over-the-top, so the jacket should have broad appeal with young
and old. For example, the vertical colored strips down the
front are a classic stylist's trick to help make the
wearer magically shed pounds, and I can state from
experience -- it works!
The Tempest jacket is also very well made; double rows
of stitching or overlapping sections of material have
been used where
necessary.
The black fabric covering the elbows and the rest of the
jacket feels very similar to the red fabric seen in the
photos, and due to the construction of the jacket it's not possible
to tell whether the abrasion areas like the elbows or
shoulders have a double layer or not; feel tells me that
they don't.
But there are no missed stitches, loose stitches or
hanging threads anywhere to be found and
a careful examination of this jacket indicates a much
better than expected level of construction and quality
at this price range.
The Tempest jacket also uses accordion pleats at the shoulders
and elbows, which add some flexibility without too much
added bulk. A section of the accordion pleating is
located at the lower back, but this section seems more
for styling than for a practical purpose.
Shell and Water-Resistant Liner The outer shell material has a relatively dense,
thicker than average feel. It's listed as polyester
with just a touch of nylon. Polyester may have been chosen because
it's claimed to absorb less water than nylon, so perhaps it
works better with the Reissa membrane bonded to the
inside.
The Reissa membrane is one of those "breathable moisture
barrier" types that we've seen before on many different
items of motorcycle clothing and our experience with it
has been positive.
Since the membrane is permanently bonded to the inside of the
polyester shell, the Tempest jacket does not have a
removable water-resistant liner. So the combination of
the outer shell and bonded Reissa membrane must
maintain the water resistance of the jacket (similar to the
Firstgear
Teton jacket we reviewed).
This format is preferred by some riders instead of the
jackets with a removable water-resistant liner.
The outer shell of a jacket with a separate
water-resistant liner may become waterlogged, while the
shell on the Tempest may also become waterlogged, but
the bonded water-resistant liner theoretically keeps the
water from getting past the shell and on to the rider.
There are advantages and disadvantages to each type, but
suffice it to say that it is very difficult to bond a
water-resistant liner to the inside of a jacket shell
and maintain 100% waterproof integrity, due to the
stitching, pockets and vents. We stopped using the
term "waterproof", despite the manufacturers' claims,
because our experience has indicated that very few, if
any, "waterproof" jackets really are.
Our advice is to not to rely on the manufacturer's
claims and simply assume that every jacket (and pants
and gloves) will leak. Some will protect better
than others for longer periods of time, but if you're
really planning on riding in heavy rain for extended
periods, buy a truly waterproof oversuit.
So where does this put the Tempest? The Reissa
membrane covers the entire inside of the jacket, even
behind the vents. So the Tempest is surprisingly
capable in mildly wet weather, based on our recent
experience in wearing the jacket during a few days of
on/off, light/heavy rain.
The thicker weave of the shell fabric repels water at
first, but eventually it feels like the water starts to
soak in to the outer shell, but the membrane works.
Wearing a T-shirt means bare skin against the membrane
will quickly chill, but it stays pretty dry inside.
Inside the front main zipper, the bonded membrane has a
large flap that covers the rider's chest, with the
mating zipper offset to the left. This keeps a
solid piece of the membrane behind the main jacket shell
zipper, which definitely helps prevent drafts and rain
from entering through the front.
Insulating Liner
The Tempest jacket has a very nice insulating liner,
with sleeves that continue to about mid-forearm to allow
a thinner profile at the cuff to fit into gloves.
The liner feels very comfortable; I've been wearing the
jacket with only a T-shirt underneath due to the
seasonal weather, and then remove the liner as the day
warms up.
Also, the permanently attached mesh liner material
inside the Tempest jacket shell also feels more comfortable
than this type of material usually does. I noticed
that the material feels more comfortable than usual when
I'm wearing the T-shirt underneath. The mesh feels
like it has a finer weave and care has apparently been
taken to either hide the seams or construct them in a
way that does not chafe the rider.
AGV Sport Tempest Jacket Venting
The Reissa membrane system bonded to the inside of the
Tempest jacket and its water-resisting ability has an
effect also on ventilation. The jacket has vents
located in potentially good air intake positions at the
upper chest, on the upper arms and with a pair of short
vents in the rear at the upper back.
But the Reissa membrane covers the entire inside of the
jacket, including the vents. Shine a flashlight
through the vent and the membrane appears very
translucent, but it does block direct air flowing on to
the rider.
However, the air circulates through the vents and out
the back vents in the low-pressure zone, so unless it's
very hot or if the bike is stopped, the jacket remains
relatively cool, although the air does not have a direct
path through the vents an on to the rider's skin.
When I'm wearing a T-shirt underneath the jacket with
the insulating liner removed, I noticed that slow-speed
riding behind a fairing can make my skin feel a bit
sticky where it touches the liner, but that's the
compromise to be made for the water resistance.
When the temperatures reach past 80 degrees or so (27
C), it's time for mesh anyway, so consider the Tempest
as a three-season jacket that can shade either to colder
weather with its removable liner or into summer until
the heat forces a switch to full mesh.
The AGV Sport Tempest jacket has a comfortable
(removable) insulating liner.
The permanent mesh lining is also more comfortable than
average.
Zippers and Closures
AGV Sport says that YKK zippers are used throughout on
the Tempest jacket. I'm not sure if the zippers
are made from a different type of material, but they
seem to slide easier than average. The long fabric
pull on each zipper helps also.
Trying to open the vents with one hand while riding can
sometimes be an exercise in frustration with many brands
of jackets, but doing so is both possible and practical on the
Tempest.
Most of the zippers are labeled as YKK, except for the
silver zipper that attaches the insulating liner.
This is a one-piece zipper that goes up one side, around
the back of the neck and down the other side. The
pull is not labeled but it has a quality feel. The
zipper that connects the Reissa membrane flap offset to
the left also has an unlabeled pull. YKK usually
has their logo on their zipper pulls.
The neck has a rudimentary closure system, with only a
small piece of rubber-like material closing the upper
neck with a hook-and-loop system. There is
basically no neck adjustment and the neck on this size
large jacket fits my 17.5" neck snug, but not
uncomfortable. I don't think it would stretch more
than another 1/4" or so.
The zippers covering the vents appear to have a
variation of a
water-resistant closing, with a material that almost
seals over the zipper when the run is pulled shut. But the
material feels like textile rather than the rubber-like
substance usually found in water-resistant zippers.
I didn't notice any unusual leakage through the vent
zippers, but any moisture that does get through is
blocked by the Reissa membrane anyway and large amounts
of moisture can drain out the bottom of the jacket or
sleeves, through metal grommets placed there for this
reason.
Reflective material used on the AGV Sport Tempest Jacket.
Reflectivity
Illustrated in the photo above, the Tempest jacket
includes highly reflective strips of reflective piping
along the upper chest, back and arms, with additional
reflective material sewn in as a dart behind the
shoulders.
Jacket Sizing and Sleeve and Waist Adjusters
I'm combining these two sections for a reason, because
they're somewhat interrelated.
The Tempest jacket has adjusters on the
upper arm and forearm. The adjusters are
camouflaged black to blend in with the black material,
but they are nicely styled with rubberized snaps
attached to short sections of elastic.
They seem hardly necessary though; the sleeves on this
size large are a bit tight for me, especially noticed
when I bend my arms with the insulating liner installed.
I'd say that the sizing of the Tempest jacket runs one size smaller than I
expected, with this size large probably fitting a 42" to
43" chest with the insulating liner installed, rather
than the expected 44". The jacket also has a
tighter than average tapered profile, which affects the
sizing.
The AGV Sport U.S. website lists jacket sizes in Euro
numbers only and not letter sizes, and it does not list
chest sizes for each jacket size, which is an oversight.
This jacket is marked "L", but since the sizing is in
Euro numbers on the website, I can't tell what the
corresponding chest size is for the jacket.
AGV Sport products are distributed in the U.S. by
Motonation, who also distributes Sidi boots (and who
kindly sent the Tempest jacket for this review).
The Motonation website has a discussion on AGV Sport
sizing, which says "AGV Sport offers its jackets in two
distinctly different "cuts". The numeric sized
items are a more tightly- tailored cut and is offered in
the more precise sizing runs. The American cut is
a looser fit (especially around the belly) and is
offered in the customary small thru XXL (or larger)
sizes".
Regarding letter sizes, the Motonation website lists the
following: "Small/Medium = 42, Large = 44-46, X-Large =
48-50, XX-Large =52". I think the size L Tempest
jacket shown here is more like a 43/44; I'm not sure a
45 or 46 would fit. I'm a 44 and although I
haven't tried it, I think I may feel more comfortable in
an XL.
So I can only say that the size L shown here feels like
a U.S. men's size 43 (43" chest) when the insulating
liner is installed. The jacket gains back that one
size with the insulating liner removed.
We'll have to assume my experience holds true for other
sizes, but again, having the jacket with a letter size
and the size chart with Euro numbers doesn't help, and
this is something that AGV Sport should fix.
The Tempest has a nice tapered profile, so I left the
waist adjusters (actually hem adjusters) in the full
width position they were set to when the jacket arrived.
They look nicely styled, just like the sleeve adjusters
and they work via a hook-and-loop system, so they should
offer no problems and they provide about 80 mm of
adjustment.
Dual air vent in the rear of the AGV Sport Tempest
jacket.
BUY YOUR
Motorcycle Books, GPS, Electronics,
Training Videos, Clothing and More
at the
wBW Amazon.com Store!
Kudos to the Sleeve Cuffs
The cuffs on the Tempest jacket are actually rather
nicer than I expected. They have a long zipper
that starts about where the insulating liner sleeve ends
-- mid-forearm -- and zip closed down to the cuff.
The cuffs have a very rubbery-feeling snap cover that
hides a metal snap to secure the cuff, and this works
effectively also to keep the zipper closed at the cuff,
a problem we've seen on some other jackets lately that
have a zipper that runs all the way down to the cuff
seam. The snap has two adjustment positions.
The cuffs are lined with a very soft material at the
inside edge that widens to a large area in the rear of
the cuff. This material is also used in the neck,
and it not only feels softer and more comfortable than
the material used in many jackets, it's supposed to be
moisture-wicking also.
A glance inside the sleeve cuff on the Tempest jacket
shows the care that was taken in construction.
Sleeve cuffs are usually thrown together with the
basics, probably figuring that the owner will never look
inside. But the stitching and seams are perfect
inside the cuffs of the Tempest jacket, with a double
row of stitching used in the back of the sleeve in the
wider section of lining mentioned in the previous
paragraph.
The sleeve cuffs have a metal grommet drain hole, as
does the body of the jacket. This is to drain any
water than might penetrate the liner and get to the
outside of the Reissa membrane.
So AGV Sport gets an extra gold star for paying attention
to a small detail like a sleeve cuff system (including
the cuff, the zipper and the snap). It's a very
nice detail, especially at this price point, and better
in fact than the cuff system used on jackets costing
twice as much and more.
Close-up of zipper pulls and neck closure on the Tempest Jacket.
Pockets
The Tempest jacket features two hand pockets in the
front. They are vertically oriented and open with
zippers only. The pockets are lined and the lining
feels like it's the same Reissa membrane material, but
this is unconfirmed. The pocket feels like it's a
separate membrane placed in front of the membrane
attached to the inside of the jacket shell.
The zippers used on the pockets do not have the
water-resistant type of material that joins in the
center when the zipper is pulled, and some water can
enter through the zipper, but the location of the
pockets and the zippers are such that this isn't much of
a concern.
The insulating liner has a tall narrow pocket inside on
the right; it appears to be designed to hold a cell
phone. A twin of this pocket is also located on
the inside of the jacket shell. The left side of
the insulating liner has a larger patch pocket.
Both of these are secured with hook-and-loop.
There's also a slit sewn into the insulating liner on
the left to allow access to a horizontally-oriented
zippered pocket built into the permanent mesh lining
inside the jacket shell. This is a simple but nice
feature and the pocket has the same long zipper pull
used on the outside zippers. This pocket is behind
the Reissa membrane and is handy for storing a wallet.
I'm not sure why they didn't add a slit in the
insulating liner over the jacket shell cell phone pocket
also; instead, there are two of these pockets, one on
the insulating liner and one on the jacket shell.
So they could both be used for storage also.
Sizing
See the Jacket Sizing and Sleeve and Waist Adjusters
section above.
The model shown in the photographs usually takes a size XL,
and the photos show that this size L Tempest looks a bit
tight in the waist and across the shoulders. The
Tempest does seem to have a sharper "V" profile than
some of the other short textile jackets we've reviewed,
such as the
Shift Trifecta jacket that was reviewed as part of
this ongoing series.
Safety and Protection The Tempest jacket includes CE-approved dual-density
elbow and shoulder protectors, which feel well shaped
and are integrated into the design.
The back has a thin (~8 mm) piece of removable padding in a
pocket attached to the inner mesh liner. It's
possible that some types of small accessory back
protectors could be fitted inside the pocket, but this
is not confirmed.
The lower back of the jacket also has a built-in section
of padding, seen below with the embroidered AGV Sport
logo on top.
Detail of the lower back and embroidered AGV Sport logo.
Close-up the waist adjusters, hand pockets and zipper
pulls.
Sleeve cuff and arm adjuster on the AGV Sport Tempest
Jacket.
Miscellaneous Features The Tempest jacket has a short attachment
zipper in the rear that can be used for attachment to AGV Sport pants. Although we haven't tried them,
the 2010 AGV Sport "Telluride" pants look like they'd
make a nice match for the Tempest jacket, as they have
similar styling.
Conclusion The AGV Sport Tempest jacket is a good all-around
choice for street riding in a range of temperatures and
conditions. It has an array of usable features
that provide utility and
excellent construction, and the Reissa membrane
offers good protection from the weather (within
reason).
The insulating liner
and the permanent mesh liner feel comfortable when
wearing only a T-shirt underneath, and the extra care
taken with the sleeve cuffs is a bonus. That
AGV Sport has an excellent worldwide reputation also
counts, because you're buying an established brand that
has years of experience and a strong following.
All of this makes the Tempest jacket a solid choice.
But the jacket has
one big Ace up its sleeve, so to speak -- when the very
reasonable $200.00 list price is factored in, the
Tempest also becomes an excellent value.
Please
send
comments to
Comments are ordered from most recent to oldest.
Not all comments will be published (details). Comments may be edited for
clarity prior to publication.
