Summary
Outstanding air flow, great looks, super-comfy
stretch fabric and Dainese quality make this a current
favorite for riding during the global heat-up of
2010.
Introduction
Ask your
favorite search engine for a report on "July 2010 record temperatures" or "world
temperatures July 2010" or the like and you'll find
results that will be similar to
this report in The Guardian (UK):
"Global temperatures in the first half of the year
were the hottest since records began more than a century
ago, according to two of the world's leading climate
research centres."
The report goes on to state that
"Two combined land and
sea surface temperature records from Nasa's Goddard
Institute for Space Studies (GISS) and the US National
Climatic Data Centre (NCDC) both calculate that the
first six months of 2010 were the hottest on record."
If you don't believe what your body and the The
Guardian are telling you, how about the official
word, via
this graph
from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA)? It compares the record high land-plus-ocean
surface temperatures in 2010 (in red) with previous
years.
Slice and dice it anyway you want, the bottom line is
this: it's one hot summer!
July 2010 has been an absolute scorcher here in the
Mid-Atlantic, with several 100-degee plus days,
including a 106-degree asphalt-melter that had me
cowering in the cool basement and in no way considering
a motorcycle ride.
By the way, 106 F is a scorching
41 C, and that's not all -- compliments of the
Chesapeake Bay, we have miserable humidity
thrown in for good measure!.
wBW Flash Slideshow:
Dainese Shotgun Tex Jacket
The Dainese "Shotgun" Jacket
- Details
Fortunately, I have a new Dainese "Shotgun Tex" jacket
to battle the thermal melt-down. You will very rarely see the
word "best" used in a webBikeWorld review to describe a
product, but this one's easy: in
terms of air flow, the
Shotgun is the best hot--weather motorcycle riding
jacket I've ever worn.
Stretch fabric provides excellent air flow.
There are a few good reasons for its performance. First,
the jacket is made from what Dainese calls their
"Mugello" stretch fabric.
The fabric is a type of polyester with 5% Elastane
and the entire
red, white and gray fabric seen in the photos is a
stretch material. We ran a few measurements and
determined that the material stretches by 20%.
This provides an excellent and very comfortable fit;
the entire jacket conforms to the rider's body without
bulk and it also helps to keep the CE-approved armor in
the elbows and shoulders close to the body without
clumsy external cinch straps.
But the cool part -- literally -- is that the stretch material also allows a
huge amount of air to pass
through almost completely unimpeded. This despite
the fact that it's not an open type of mesh weave
like that found in most hot-weather motorcycle jackets.
Even the two hand pockets and inside chest
pocket are made from a type of fabric that allows air to pass
through, so the entire Shotgun jacket provides superior
air flow by far of any jacket we've reviewed. In
fact, the area covered by the elbow and shoulder
protectors are the only
portions of the jacket where air can't flow directly
through, unless, of course, you count the zipper teeth
and the leather collar and cuff hems!
This design is quite different from other hot-weather
motorcycle jackets with lined pockets or
solid fabric panels on the outside, which end up blocking
a large percentage of the air flow.
The stretch fabric used in the Shotgun jacket is also backed by a special mesh lining
that is treated with a type of nanotechnology coating designed
to prevent bacterial formation. According to a tag
attached to the jacket, the material is
manufactured by TIBA Tricot S.r.l. in Italy.
Based on this example, I can say the jacket fits
exactly as expected. The size 54 (European size)
shown here corresponds to a U.S. men's size large and
fits a 43-44" chest with 34-35" sleeves. The
Shotgun jacket is also available as the
Shotgun Tex Lady
jacket in women's sizes from 40 to 52.
The jacket is available in the brilliant red shown
here, along with a nice and bright yellow. Black,
Black/gray and blue are also available.
Mesh Panels for More Air Flow
The Shotgun jacket also includes a very open and more
traditional mesh weave at the upper chest and in the
back, which is the black material shown in the photos.
This is a "3D" type of mesh, approximately 3 mm thick,
which allows it to sit away from the rider's skin (it's
backed by the full internal liner also) and which allows
virtually unlimited air flow.
The arms and back of the shoulders have a third type
of mesh that appears to be the more traditional mesh
used in hot-weather motorcycle jackets.
So the combination of the stretch weave fabric, the
special ventilating material used in the pockets, the open weave
mesh panels and the traditional mesh provide the maximum
amount of air flow. I'm not sure how any jacket
could provide more ventilation, unless perhaps the armor
were removed.
One caution about this much air passing over the body
is that it can quickly dehydrate the rider from
evaporation that isn't always noticed because it happens
so fast. So it's important to stay hydrated by
drinking as much water as possible when riding in hot
weather.
I wore the Shotgun jacket during our
Drift 170 HD video camera
evaluation runs, with some of the hottest temperatures I
have ever experienced when riding a motorcycle at
approximately 95 to 100 degrees F (35-38 C), which is
much hotter
than my normal tolerance level for riding, especially
when combined with the brutal humidity levels we also
experienced. But I was
astonished at how cool I was wearing the jacket -- it is
just like wearing no jacket at all and as soon as the
bike started moving I was actually comfortable.
The Shotgun jacket also weighs just a tick over 1 kg
in size 54, so it's very light weight, which also helps
enhance the feeling of the magically disappearing
jacket.
One more thing: believe it or not, the Shotgun jacket
flows so much air that when the weather did finally
break, I was too cold wearing it on an 82-degree (28 C)
day!
The mesh fabric used in the Shotgun jacket
also provides excellent air flow.
Armor and Padding
Of course, there are always compromises, and I can't
vouch for the abrasion resistance ability of the stretch
fabric used in the Shotgun jacket. The jacket has
no abrasion or wear protection panels on the shoulders
or elbows, another reason why it has such outstanding
air flow.
However, in addition to
the CE-approved (Level 1) shoulder and elbow armor, the jacket can be
optionally fitted with the Dainese Shield Air G1 or G2
back protector, which fits in a pocket in the back of
the jacket that is accessed through a zipper at the
lower part of the back on the inside.
The jacket also has a nearly full-length attachment
zipper for the Dainese "Drake Air Tex" pants and I'll
definitely be looking for a pair of those next.
Shotgun jacket collar has two
snaps. Thick "3D" mesh can be seen on either
side.
Shotgun jacket sleeve cuffs have
two snaps with not quite enough adjustment.
Note stretch in fabric.
BUY YOUR
Motorcycle Books, GPS, Electronics,
Training Videos, Clothing and More
at the
wBW Amazon.com Store!
Zippers and Pockets
The Shotgun jacket is designed with two front hand pockets, covered by
unbranded locking zippers. The main zipper is an "Opti"
brand with what feels like an anodized metal zipper pull
and runner. The inner chest pocket uses a smaller Opti brand zipper and this type is also used on the back
protector pocket.
The collar secures with a two-position snap.
The snap on the collar tab appears to be riveted on to
the fabric and I'm not as enthusiastic about the design because the
method of
attachment does not appear to be as robust as other
types of collar snaps.
The collar is unlined except for the stretch material
and it has a thin leather piping or hem along the top.
The leather hem is matched at the cuffs, which also feature a
two-position snap. The snaps used on the collar
and cuffs are unbranded and my honest feeling is that
they are not quite up to the quality that would be
provided by a Prym or other snaps I've
used.
Sleeve cuffs need more adjustment
to fit comfortably under the Dainese Guanto gloves.
Sleeve Cuffs
The only nit I have to pick with the Shotgun jacket
is in the sleeve cuff design. The
two-snap cuff closure system doesn't provide enough adjustment
to tighten the cuffs to fit comfortably under a pair of
short-gauntlet gloves, such as (surprisingly) the
Dainese Guanto
gloves we reviewed recently. I'd rather see
hook-and-loop used on the cuff or possibly a third snap,
as long as it was
positioned to firmly secure the cuffs so they could slide
under any gloves.
As it is, the sleeve cuffs bunch up under the glove
gauntlet, making for a messy appearance. But all
things considered, this is a minor issue.
Conclusion There's no question in my mind that the Dainese
Shotgun jacket provides the most air flow one could
expect in a motorcycle jacket and still have a modicum
of protection. No, it's not anywhere near as
protective as, for example, the Dainese D-System D-Dry
jacket we reviewed in the winter, but then again,
there's no way I could wear the D-System D-Dry jacket in
95-degree weather.
So when the going
gets really, really hot and you're tempted to strip down
to a T-shirt (you wouldn't do that, right?), reach for
the Dainese Shotgun jacket for the most comfortable,
stretchy air-cooled experience ever!
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.
From "B" (8/10): "I have the Dainese
jacket also and love it. My only complaint is that
when I speed up to 150 km/h, the jacket causes so much
buffering that I can't even focus because of the shaking
of the helmet. Below that speed though everything
is great. Before you say anything, I know I
shouldn’t be speeding but that’s my choice, just my 2
cents."
