Speed And Strength Twist of Fate Mesh Jacket
4.1
5
7
7
Worth it
This is my first motorcycle jacket. I really like it. It fits well, if a tad short. The liner is comfortable, but it is a bit odd that the sleeves are just kind of loose. The liner doesn't allow much in the way of a sweater underneath.
I really bought this jacket because of the high-quality armor, especially in the back.
Overall, I really like this jacket.
April 30, 2013
Love this jacket! Great ventilation and armor.
I have only ridden with this jacket when it has been around 55 degrees outside. I had a thermal shirt on, the liner and the jacket and I could still feel the air right through to my chest. This jacket will be great when it's 90-100 outside! It is a comfortable jacket. I'm 6'0" and 165 (skinny) and the medium fits me well. If you're thicker though the chest, shoulders or stomach go up a size. I got the white version for visibilty and it looks great. The two loops in the back connect to your belt and hold the jacket in place well. The armor all seems well placed and doesn't move around. I think this would protect you very well if you were sliding down the road.
October 8, 2012
Good Jacket
This is my first jacket, but to me it seems great. All CE approved pads and breathes well (without the liner). I have not used the liner yet partially because the jacket is pretty tight and i use it everyday but also the ends of the sleeves come out. Had they put a feature to keep them inside the jacket that would have been perfect! All in all a good buy especially for the price.
August 9, 2012
Looks Great! Venting could be better...
To be fair, I've only had the jacket for about a week, but I wanted to submit my first impressions. I suppose I should mention that lately the high temperature in my area has been 100+ and may not be the best conditions for testing the airflow of a jacket. When its that hot, it will be stifling hot in a jacket no matter how much venting you have.
Fit- I used the sizing chart, which said I needed a small. Thats unusual for me but it actually fits great. I normally wear a medium anything, so I would say they run a tad large.
Finish/Durability- Only time will tell with durability, but I will say that some of the stitching could be better. All the buttons, zippers, and adjustments work great and are well done.
Features-My main motivation for purchasing this jacket were its good looks and the mesh construction for venting. However, I've not been too impressed with the venting. Note my 'average' rating in the venting category. Like I said, its been over 100 here lately and that just kills you no matter what, so keep that in mind. But on a cool morning I swear I get more airflow from my vented leather Fieldsheer SSIV jacket...The arms are the worst part for me. There is very little venting mesh in the arms so they get hot FAST. The black stretch panels on the inside of the arms really don't breathe that well. The LOGO, yeah, looks cool, but its solid rubber and its right in the center of your chest which is exactly where you want a lot of airflow to keep you cool! It doesnt let any air through at all. I gotta say, the "moisture wicking liner" is a joke. I even tried it with the liner and no shirt underneath, and it was like I was wearing a fleece pullover in the dead of summer...
Cost Benefit- Im gonna keep the jacket. Its been so hot lately I dont think its the most fair condition to evaluate the venting. Looks good, comes fully equiped with armor, and good finish for its price point.
July 31, 2012
Good Summer Jacket.
I had on the original Speed & Strength Twist of Fate Mesh Jacket last summer when I hit a deer doing 65mph. I was launched over the bars with the brunt of the impact on my left shoulder. Although I suffered a fractured scapula and dislocated AC joint, my ortho agreed, my injuries should have been a lot worse. The jacket did its job and held up well in such a violent crash. I bought this jacket as a clear upgrade to my first. The Knox Armor is a step up and overall, it's more comfortable than the original. The liner is great too but I was dissapointed to find out it didn't secure to the sleeves some how.
June 25, 2012
Quality Control Issues
I was very excited about this jacket. The style is awesome. Unfortunately, the quality is sub-par.
The stitching all over the jacket is crooked and coming loose. There are multiple thread loops, broken stitches, etc. The Velcro waist adjustment straps pull threads up as well.
The removable liner material is nice, but there are no attachment points at the end of the sleeves.... so every time you put the jacket on the liner comes out the end of the sleeves, and then gets stuck on your arms and flips inside out when you take the jacket off.
I have included pictures.
April 26, 2012
First Impressions and more
I've only recently received this jacket, but I've taken a few long rides with it as well as wearing it around the house to get a feel for it. Thus I can't comment on long term durability, but I will give you my impressions on everything I've noticed so far.
The sizing is a bit on the large size in the torso. I'm a fairly big guy and I wear a size 50 jacket and got the 2XL (50-52). I find the jacket very roomy. It's not billowy by any means, but I think someone wearing a 52 wouldn't find this overly tight. The waist might be even larger than the chest, but the side adjustments let you cinch it down 8"-10" total. I would expect smaller jackets have less adjustment, but it's still a significant amount of adjustment. The velcro adjustment seems to be fairly sturdy, and I haven't found myself having to re-adjust them.
Continuing on sizing, the shoulders and upper arms are nicely roomy as well. Again, not billowy, but someone with large or muscular arms shouldn't have an issue with their shoulders. The forearms/wrist area is quite a bit tighter. I have only barely muscular forearms, but even on the loosest forearm adjustment, the forearms are fairly tight, but not uncomfortably so. This does mean the the elbow/forearm armor is not going to flap around when you need it, but I'd have liked a bit more room and let the adjustment cinch them in place. Speaking of the adjustment, there are 3 snaps, each one about 1" tighter than the previous (I don't have an exact measurement, but rough estimate gives around a 5-5.5" interior diameter on the 2XL). If you have really beefy forearms, you can probably get another 1/2-1" due the the stretch in the fabric on the interior of the arm. The wrists are also fairly tight. I couldn't get my shortie cuff gloves under the sleeve of the jacket, but the wrist isn't uncomfortably tight on its own. I've also found the wrist zipper to either catch on the wicking liner or otherwise be difficult to close, possibly simply due to the wrist being tight. That's a minor nitpick though.
The Knox armor is of good quality and comfortable, as you expect from Knox. The built-in CE back protector is a nice bonus.
Regarding air flow, the jacket has it in spades. It's in the upper-70s/mid-80's here, and the comfort level difference between this and my vented leather jacket is drastic. I feel cool and the wicking liner seems to work well. The jacket does not poof out at all on the highway. I was also comfortable riding in the mid-50's in the early morning. Definitely does what I want it to in this department, but definitely just a 1-2 season jacket.
One odd thing about the liner is that the sleeves don't attach to the jacket at all. This is probably due to how they are extra long, extending a good 3-4" past the jacket sleeve (I believe this is supposed to be for tucking into your glove to wick sweat from your palm, but I haven't tried it). Since they are unattached, it's quite easy to pull the liner sleeve inside-out when you remove the jacket. This probably helps it evaporate sweat faster, but does mean you have to either hold the liner sleeve with your other hand when you take the jacket off (the liner sticks to your skin lightly when sweaty) or shove them back into the sleeve whenever you put the jacket on. The liner is only attached to the jacket by two zippers at the front and a snap loop at the collar. It is open at the collar and bottom.
The liner of the jacket itself is a standard jersey material with medium sized holes. I don't find it the most comfortable liner, but I think I'll be using the wicking liner most of the time, which is very comfortable.
For a <$200 jacket, the quality seems pretty good. All the seams are double stiched, but I don't see any hidden stiching. I haven't found any bad/missed stitching, but it's not easy to see stitching from the interior. The mesh material is soft, and the 800-AR in the impact areas seems like it will get the job done. I'm not sure if this jacket will survive more than one crash, but, for the price, I'm not sure what you can expect. The zippers are all very "chunky" so it seems like they will work fairly well. There is no YKK branding, so they're some knock off brand and long term quality could be suspect. Again, from my limited usage, they seem like they will hold up, but you never know.
As for other features, you have your standard small exterior hand pockets and a single interior breast pocket. It also has an 8" connection zipper. I don't use this, so I can't comment on what style it is, etc., but it looks to be the same kind of chunky zipper used everywhere on the jacket. There are also two belt loop snap attachments. The TPR logos are well done, although I would prefer the giant chest logo was on the back instead.
Overall, I'm very happy with this jacket and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a mesh, summer jacket.
April 25, 2012