Olympia AST 2 Jacket
4.6
5
67
67
Worth every penny.
I bought this jacket on the recommendation of a friend who had the original AST jacket. I will admit that I have shied away from Olympia products in the past due to a lame set of gloves I had years ago, but I decided to get over myself and give them another shot. I'm glad I did.
The best feature about this jacket is the venting, hands down. I have evolved into a sort of safety nerd in my advancing years and always ride in a jacket and pants regardless of the temperature. The AST 2 moves air well, thanks in part to the full arm vents and the huge exhaust ports on the back.
Leaps and bounds over entry level jackets I've owned in the past, yet reasonable compared to some elite level jackets. You'd be well served with this purchase.
June 11, 2013
Fits huge, good protection
This jacket fits pretty big. I bought this jacket as a person who wears a solid 2XL in everything. My intent was to wear it through winter, with the liners in, with clothes underneath. Given that, the jacket still fit big. Now I've lost a little weight and I'm on the cusp of an XL in everything else, and it's warm so I'm wearing a tshirt underneath with no liner, and I'm just swimming in this thing. Hindsight being 20/20 I'd have bought an XL from the beginning, and I might even be able to get away with a L now with just a shirt.
That said, the jacket is definitely very visible, lots of pockets. Haven't had a leak and I've been wearing it every day here in the PNW which is the opposite of Philadelphia. It's NEVER sunny here. Anyway, that aspect works. Now it's starting to get warmer and I've worn it with all the vents and zips open and yeah, it'll flow some air but you're still going to be warm at anything over 75 degrees, so I'd consider this to be a three-season jacket in reality, and down in the warmer climes it'd even be a two season. On the flip side, I've ridden to work in 23-degree weather (to the great chagrin of my commander), and the jacket did its part. My hands were really the limiting factor at that point.
Heavy duty jacket. I'm not a huge fan of the adventure/bush jacket look, but that's personal taste, and having that extra coverage for protection during the commute or off-road is nice and will help keep you dry. The material is pretty stiff and hasn't broken in like I expected it to, but again, that was definitely a plus in the colder wet weather. I haven't been down other than during a slow-speed off-roading course, but I have fait that it would keep me safe in a fall on-road or off-.
Keep the sizing and warm weather limitations in mind, but for the price I'd say this is a pretty good jacket. It's not a substitute for some of the fancy adventure jackets, but it's also half the price, and it's better than the other stuff in its class, in my opinion.
June 4, 2013
I like this jacket
First trip was in a lot of rain/cold and I was impress.
However, the collar is a bit to high for my neck other than that I like this jacket.
May 15, 2013
Awesome fit!
Wore my new AST 2 jacket this weekend in 90+ degree weather. Ample ventilation with liner removed. Fit is very comfortable with plenty of room for custom fitting with varirous straps. Collar is very comfortable with no chaffing. I love all of the pockets.
This was my first Olympia purchase and I am very happy with my decision.
May 13, 2013
Overall, this is a great product!
I liked just about everything with the exception of the collar fit. The collar irritated my chin just beneath my helmet. A micro fleece neck warmer solved the problem.
May 6, 2013
Great jacket - 3 Season for sure
This is a great jacket. I find it a bit warm and could not see wearing this all summer, even in Upstate NY.
Fit is great. Craftsmanship is great. Would highly recommend.
May 4, 2013
Nice Product just runs too big for me. :-(
I ended up returning this jacket simply because of the fit. The quality looks excellent, and the protection and features are everything I wanted. Although it looked warm for summer I think I could deal with it because of the amount of protection. The venting appears substantial so I think I would have been fine with it. Keep in mind my rating only comes from trying the garment on, not actually using it for real. I can only review sizing, comfort and what appears at the surface of a good quality garment.
The problem for me is that I'm 5'4, 150lbs so I ordered the small. I'm short but not thin with a 38" chest I would guess an average build or slightly athletic build for my height. From my experience, 38" chest typically is the upper scale of small to the lower scale of medium.
The problem, it fit excellent in my chest and waist but was way long in the arms and neck came too high. II tried to push the sleeves up and then Velcro them to the correct position, but then I could not bend my arms. XS isn't an option and if it was, the chest would be way too small at that point.
The quality was everything I wanted though. I would guess if you're a taller person perhaps this will work. But many of the reviews all have mentioned the sizing on this garment. Something to pay attention to for this Olympia product.
I didn't ride with the jacket my review can't reflect that but the overall quality was way up there. Olympia needs to adjust the sizing a bit, at least for me. But again, many have mentioned the size issue, so that's why I went with a small.
Too bad, it's everything I wanted so my search continues. By the way, no hassle return was truly the case at Revzilla.
March 29, 2013
Good Year Round Protection
The huge vents in the sleeves make this otherwise 3 season jacket into a year round, one jacket quiver. In the summer, I can open the sleeve, chest, and back vents and can ride in relative comfort up to the high 90's (as long as I am moving#. In the winter, I can zip in the liner, throw another layer under it, and ride cozy warm down into the low 20's #with the matching pants of course). The craftsmanship is great, and it has held up to everything from rain and snow, to dirt and grime. My only beef with this jacket is that it is a bit big around the middle, but that's just because I am a skinny buggar. I would definitely recommend this jacket.
March 19, 2013
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