Olympia AST Jacket

Olympia AST Jacket Sand/Black

This jacket is awsome. My buddy bought one befor I could and I liked it so much I bought it anyway. Its warm and vents well. the inner liner is sporty and there is lots of pockets. I have the sand/black and have got lots of compliments on the color. Took it offroad the day I got it to see how dirty it would get and I was shocked to find out that it wasn't as dirty as I thought it would be. Great Jacket. Would recomend it to anyone.

Thanks

Adam

This is one GREAT Jacket

This was my first jacket and still my primary one.

Have worn this jacket on 3 trips north, 2 to Alaska and 1 to the Yukon arctic circle....in many weather extremes...some well below freezing. Always kept me comfortable, dry and warm. Wore it across the CA/NV desert 2009 summer 95+ temp.....hard to keep cool, but jacket has great vents.

The side pockets could have longer zippers and the collar could use some work. The zipped and velcroed collar is uncomfortable to me. When the collar is not in use and the velcro tab folded, the velcro chafes my neck. I finally duct taped it.

Overall eval...very good jacket.

Perfect

I purchased this jacket right after purchasing my new bike. I attended my Motorcycle Safety Class - the first day it snowed, the second day was cold and icy. Because of this, the class was delayed til the following weekend - and - it was a cold rain. This jacket kept me dry and warm through all of it. It was comfortable, and fit perfectly.

Great touring jacket

First of all I like this jacket and it is pretty much exactly what I was looking for. It has kept me warm and dry in the rain, the reflectors are good and the armor is pretty good. It is, as you might expect, a bit bulky, but my biggest problem with the jacket is the pockets. There are like 15 pockets in the jacket, but none of them have an opening big enough to fit my gloves. The pockets all have tiny zippered openings that, at least in my case, make them useless added bulk for most things. The cell phone pocket(s) are nice, but the rest of them are just a waste of fabric.

I also havent been able to figure out yet what the belts are for.

Although I would give this a "good" (4 star) rating, this jacket really isnt for me. I would really rather pay a little extra for something with better pockets that is a little less bulky.

Great all round jacket

Very good abrasion protection for a jacket of this type. Excellent ventilation and very comfortable up to 80F and still wearable in hotter tempatures as long as you are moving to force air through it. With the liner it is as warm as any jacket in winter riding conditions. Without the liner I can feel some dampness from the top of the sleeve zippers on the skin of my bare arms in heavy rain but it does not leak. With the liner this is not detectable - not really a significant issue. The collar fits me fine and keeps out the rain. In my opinion the it has the best combination of performance / $$ in this category.

Olympia AST Jacket

Great in foul weather. This jacket will cover a wide range in temperature. The ventilation works well and there is lots of storage. Very good value. Well designed.

Love the neon yellow color

A friend had this jacket and the color and quality construction is what sold me on it. You can't NOT look at it... it sucks eyeballs right to it. It fits really nice and the waterproofing is excellent. More pockets than I'll ever use. The vented sleeves are a nice touch, as are the back vents (I have a Concours and the wind comes from my back). My only wish would be a bit more venting, but you'd have to sacrifice pockets.

Excellent all round jacket

I wore this jacket on a recent 2 day trip covering approx 1k miles. The weather was mostly in the 70s and I wore the AST with no liner and with one of the vents open and was perfectly comfortable. In the evening when the temp dropped to them mid 50s I was able to seal up the jacket and get away with only a T Short underneath. Yet to try out any real cold weather. Fit was good - I was worried the collar would be too big based on other reports but fitted well for my 6'2, longish arms, 196lb build.

Good Jacket

The back vents are hard to keep open. Try holding them open with one hand as you put on the jacket.

critical review

I bought this jacket for the style (hi-viz, more pockets, 3/4 length, fits with my Olympia pants), design (good ventilation for warm use, removable liner for cold) and reputation. The Olympia pants and gloves I own are high quality.

Pros - good quality material, construction, and finish. The ventilation is excellent - 90 degree dry weather OK, 100+ with cooling vest OK. The hi-viz is very conspicuous, though light color is prone to showing dirt after first wear. Sizing is generous. I have a 44" chest and 34" arms and the Large is plenty big.

Cons - the collar is terrible. I have a 16" neck and this collar will easily fit an 18" neck, but it still chokes my throat. This is a bad design. There is no way you can close the Velcro tab and not fold material that rests on your throat. For one thing, the tab is too short. But mostly, there is something wrong with the design of the collar. Notice the models? There's not one picture of someone wearing the jacket zipped all the way up. Now I know why.I can't wear it like this either. I did for a 4-hour ride and it was very annoying. It may be that having the vents open pulls the jacket back against the throat, but I have other jackets that vent and don't choke.
Comments:
Arm vents - good idea, they work but all that material is bulky if you ever have bend your arms, like when fastening your helmet strap.
Lining material - feels tacky on bare arms. Something less slick would be better - only matters in warm weather.
Protection - elbow and shoulder pads are good. Back pad should be upgraded.
Pockets - waterproof and almost hand-proof, not so useful when it's hard to get stuff in and out.
Overall - I'll probably keep the jacket because it meets the needs I bought it for, though still debating because of the collar issue. I can probably get away with leaving the collar open to relieve the choking.

I bought this mainly for hi-visibility. For that, it excels.