Background
I'll admit that the new LEDwear Aurora LED
jacket and the original we reviewed in March of
this year are at the outer edge of the envelope
when it comes to motorcycle clothing.
But I also think that the
embedded LED concept has lots of potential.
For example, just as we were
about to publish the article you are now reading
(and after the video shown below was completed),
LEDwear sent us another new embedded LED
product, the
LEDwear LED Backpack Cover.
The Backpack Cover
is another interesting example of how this technology might
be used in motorcycle products.
Or how about a
waterproof LED top case cover, with a built-in
LED flashlight? Or perhaps a pair of
motorcycle boots?
LEDs are the lighting source of
the future, no doubt about it -- and the
future is here. We've been reviewing LED
lights since webBikeWorld was started over 10 years ago,
when LED
replacement brake and tail lights were just
becoming available for commercial use.
We've reviewed many different LED lights and
systems (see our
Motorcycle
LED Lighting page for a
listing), and have been big fans of the
technology ever since.
Now 10 years on, it's not
uncommon to see motorcycles, cars and trucks
with LED brake and tail lights that were
installed as original equipment at the factory. LEDs
are also now starting to be used in headlights,
and I'm sure someday soon they will replace
incandescent bulbs in that role also.
Good news for motorcyclists,
because LEDs have several important advantages
over incandescent bulbs: LEDs last way longer than incandescents; they require very little power; they're
very resistant to vibration; they produce almost
no heat; and, as you can see here, they can now be
embedded in clothing and other products in a way
that no incandescent can match. For
motorcycle use, LEDs are frequently used to improve
visibility, and they most certainly do that in
the LEDwear Aurora jacket.
So even though the LEDwear
Aurora LED jacket may not have been designed
solely for motorcycle use, we're hoping that
this article will also attract the interest of the
manufacturers of motorcycle gear that visit
webBikeWorld. There is a great deal of potential for
the incorporation of LEDs into all sorts of
different products, and hopefully we'll see more
of that someday soon.
The LEDwear Aurora LED Jacket
The redesign has made the jacket sleeker-looking
and more like something that might be found in a
bicycle shop or worn by a runner. The LEDs
are now incorporated or embedded into the
fabric itself, rather than into the reflective
strips that were sewn on to the
original LEDwear
jacket (review).
This makes the jacket look a
little less like something that would be worn by
a safety crew and more like something you would
want to wear when riding, walking, running or
bicycling.
The Aurora jacket has 10 white LEDs in front,
located at the upper part of the chest, and 10 red LEDs
in the rear, located across a flap that covers a
large zippered storage pocket.
As you can see in the video
below, each time the button is pressed, the LEDs
still cycle through the fast
on/off...on/off "Police/Emergency" style blinking
to a steady on/off blinking to always-on light
to completely off.
The battery pack uses 3 AA
batteries. The battery pack is carried
inside the left chest in a small pocket.
The membrane switch is on top of the battery
pack, but I still wish the switch was
incorporated into the fabric or, better yet,
placed on a flap that hung from up on the chest,
so it could be operated more easily, especially
when wearing gloves. The
LEDwear LED Backpack
Cover
(review) does incorporate a sort of surface
mounted switch, so it can be done.
Jacket Features
The Aurora jacket also has a fleece-lined
collar, a vertical 100 mm deep by 120 mm tall
pocket on the outside of the left chest that has
a non-waterproof zipper (good for carrying an
ID, as long as it's waterproof) but no hand
pockets.
Two vertical zippers on either
side under the arm uncover a mesh vent opening,
and the jacket is fully lined with a mesh liner,
including the sleeves. The jacket includes
a horizontal flap across the upper back that
covers a mesh vent, but the flap does not have a
zipper; instead, it is sewn shut in sections.
The front zipper closes the
entire front of the jacket, right up to the top
of the collar, to keep out the wind. The
rear vent does help eliminate the puffy look
that can sometimes occur when wearing a light
rain cover whilst riding a motorcycle.
This jacket is a size XL and
it's all of that, with sleeve about 65 cm long
(~26"). The body of the jacket seems a
little undersized for the size, and the sleeves
slightly long, so it may take one or even two
sizes over to fit the Aurora jacket over a
normal motorcycle jacket.
Note that we do not recommend wearing the
Aurora jacket as a replacement for a protective
motorcycle jacket. The LEDwear website has
a photo and information indicating that the
Aurora jacket has removable zip-off sleeves,
which would make the body of the jacket useful
for wearing over a motorcycle jacket.
However, the sleeves on ours definitely are not
removable and it appears that the photo and
information on the LEDwear website about
removing the sleeves on the Aurora and
converting it to a vest are incorrect.
The stripes seen as grey areas
in the photos are actually some type of
retro-reflective material, and they make the
Aurora jacket highly visible when light hits
them, as you can see in the photos.
It appears that the LEDs used in
the jacket are the same as those used in the
original LEDwear jacket. They have a very intense
light, especially as the ambient light becomes
dimmer. The combination of the
high-visibility lime yellow fabric color, the
retro-reflective material and the LEDs make the
Aurora jacket one of the most visible garments
available. It can potentially be worn over
many other types of motorcycle jackets to make
the rider more visible.
Like the original, the Aurora
also wins the
visibility contest when compared to non-powered,
reflective-only garments like the
BikeSeen jacket we reviewed powered safety
jackets and vests such as the
Roadgear
LED vest, the
Poly
Brite LED vest or the
Safe Lites Beaconwear Vest with it's "GlowSkin"
flat stripes that self-illuminate.
wBW
Video:LEDwear Aurora LED Safety Jacket
When to Use This Type of
Jacket
This section is repeated from our original
original LEDwear
jacket review. Just to be clear, this
jacket is
not a replacement for a motorcycle jacket; it
could be worn over a
motorcycle jacket for added visibility or
nighttime reflectivity.
The LEDs could
then be used in foggy conditions, in
stop/go traffic, when pulled over to the side of
the road, during maintenance, courier duty in
the city, when slowing down to find addresses or
any other time extreme visibility may be
required.
Conclusion
The LEDwear Aurora jacket is a nice update to
the original. The rapid evolution of the
jacket indicates the strength of the concept and
LEDwear's commitment to improvement.
The LEDwear jacket is
highly visible, and like the original, the
Aurora may also be
a potential lifesaver in nasty weather
situations of fog, rain or darkness.
Without using the LED function, the jacket is a
highly visible outer garment with excellent
reflectivity. The LEDs could be used in
fog, at night, in the city, in stop/go traffic
or for couriers. The jacket is light weight, can be easily stowed and has
multiple uses for a variety of sports.
Please
send
comments to
Comments are ordered from most recent to oldest.
Not all comments will be posted. Posted comments may be edited.
From "R.M." (7/09): "Just skimmed through
the review of the LEDWear Aurora. Interesting concept, and
I like the idea, but....
Those amber lights on the back are just too low. On any
bike with a top box, large tail bag, or duffel strapped to a
rack, I think the rear LEDs are going to be hidden.
Getting them up high would eliminate this issue and also, I
think, make them really stand out.
My 2 cents worth...."
From "K" (7/09): "I just read your review of
the new Aurora LED jacket. After you published the first
review (of
the LEDwear LED jacket) this spring I was interested in
making a purchase but was concerned about the ability of their
XL size jacket (XL was the largest size they had), fitting over
my XL motorcycle jacket.
I contacted the company, they assured me it
would fit so I made the purchase and they were right it did fit.
I have a Cortech HRX series 2 jacket with armor on the outside
of the shoulders giving it a power ranger kind of look, but the
LED jacket did fit over it. The LED jacket I have has
removable sleeves so I took them off and actually use the jacket
as a vest.
People have commented that the vest really increases my
visibility on the bike, without having to use the lights.
I do not use the lights during day light hours.
Yesterday I was touring along the south coast
(Rhode Island) and ran into some intense sea fog blowing in from
the ocean and over the highway. I just pulled over, and
clicked on the LED's, and felt a bit more secure in knowing I
had a better chance of being seen by lurking cagers. I
road for about 15 miles through the fog and when I was out of
the soup and back into the sunlight I just clicked off the
lights and continued my ride.
The new version of the jacket looks sleeker and more like
something you would wear riding. I have been very happy
with the jacket and I would purchase it again and recommend it
to anyone who is trying to be more visible out there on their
bike. I just wanted to give my .02 cents about the
product. Thank you for the updated review."
