Spidi Firebird Jacket

I was apprehensive of buying this jacket, as at the time there weren't any reviews, and I hate being the guinea pig. I took a gamble and won. I've done about 5 rides so far, ranging from 40 to 70 degrees, and this review of this jacket is based on those rides.

I am 5'8" in height, 205 lbs, with a 44" chest. I ordered a size 56, which accommodates my chest size perfectly, but is about an inch too tall for my height based on the charts. I think it fits great. More on fit and comfort below.

For those who are not sure whether the pictures posted here match the actual color of the jacket, it's verrrrrrry close. The jacket might actually be slightly lighter in shade in person than in the pictures. Bottom line, if you like the color of the jacket in the pictures, then you'll be satisfied.

Style is a personal preference, but everyone has been constantly complementing me on it, and of course I wouldn't have bought it if I didn't love the look myself. It's a winner with or without the liner in this category.

I opened the package in the dark and just by feeling the jacket I thought it wasn't leather. It was that soft. It smells awesome. The front panel is kind of like a suede leather, if that's a thing, where it changes shade if you brush it up or down with your hand. Whatever it is, it's very soft all around and you can tell it's very high quality material. After wearing the jacket a few times, it starts to get more of that faded leather jacket look while actually being far from it.

I've worn it in 50F weather for 30 minutes with the liner on a naked bike (S1000R) going 80mph most of the way with just a tshirt underneath and I was comfortable. I felt a slight chill but it was a comfortable chill, as opposed to feeling stuffy and overheated. Anything lower in temperature and I needed more than just a tshirt underneath.

The fur part of the liner is very soft and comfortable, and it sits up right onto a fullface helmet, blocking some air and noise going in, so extra warming bonus there. It doesn't interfere with head turns at all.

The liner doesn't zip up to the jacket like most jackets with liners I've had, but has many buttons instead, with 2 velcro strips, and strap/buttons. It might take a little longer than a zipper to attach/detach the liner, and the buttons can come undone by movement, but there's a lot of them so even if a few come undone it doesn't affect you during the ride.

With the liner, the jacket fits just right based on the size chart, with some room to spare for a couple of base layers or so. It passes as a regular jacket as far as looks go, although the sleeves are a little longer of course when standing as opposed to sitting on the motorcycle, as they should be. It's very comfortable to wear and move in. Even if I were to add the back protector, I feel like not much would be compromised as far as room and comfort.

I didn't really get this jacket for protection, but I think it comes with good protection. I haven't seen the shoulder or elbow protectors with my eyes, but they feel like quality thick rubber, without making the jacket look like they have protectors in them that much. I am most likely going to be adding the back protector (and updating this review with that information where applicable if possible).

If I had to complain about something, it's that the connections for the liner's sleeves to the jacket sleeves are a little too far deep inside for it to be quick and easy to do and undo. People with big hands might have a hard time with this, but I wouldn't say this is a deal breaker. Other than that I can't think of anything bad with this jacket. It even has a label to fill out your information for 'in case found, please return to:' as part of the jacket tag.

P.S. there is one inside pocket for those who are curious - it's in the left chest and I would say it's spacious enough for a large cell phone and a wallet together.

There is not 'but' to this review; I was one of the first individuals to purchase this jacket, and I'm reviewing it now after an estimated 6-8 months of ownership.

It's completely worth it. I love the bomber-style collar and the leather quality is phenomenal. It's warm, and the jacket + liner have kept my body comfortable in 40'F weather (without any base layers or additional cold-weather clothing beneath).

I'm 5'11'' and 195-200lbs with an athletic build. I have a 52 and it fits well, if *ever* so slightly long in the arms, which is often to my advantage as I'm not using gauntlets to 'seal' the space between the jacket-cuff and glove-cuff.

It's stylish, and the armor is comfortable. It does not stick out, necessarily, as a 'motorcycle' jacket and I've worn it out and about simply because it's warm and I enjoy it.

I highly recommend this jacket.

I purchased size 48 and fits me perfectly. I'm 5'8" 155 lbs 39" chest. I was really impressed with the quality and comfortness of this jacket. I thought I may have to buy a size down, but it fits me very snug with the liner in. It's even more snug if I wear a medium thick sweater along with the liner, but fits fine if I remove the liner while wearing the sweater.

It kept my very warm in 50 degree weather wearing only a t-shirt underneath and blocked the wind very well while riding. The neck collar was comfortable and not itchy. I don't know if this was intended but the collar fits right under my full face helmet creating a nice warm seal between helmet and jacket. That was a nice surprise, kept my neck warm and protected from wind chill.

A few things I noticed were that the jacket did feel stiff when I would try to turn my head left or right, but maybe it just needs some breaking in. Also, the liner has snaps to keep it in place and the bottom snaps occasionally come undone when I zip up my jacket. A great jacket for cool fall weather heading into winter.

I usually wear a size large (54) jacket. This fits slightly tighter than most. I love the jacket but was surprised to find the "fur" collar wasn't easily removable if you want to keep the liner in the jacket. I found the fur portion to be a problem but I removed mine from the liner with some patients and an exact blade. Now I'm good to go and love the jacket.

Since i live outside the us i bought it elsewere, but revzilla would be my go to if i lived there ;)

The quality of this product is awsome, i wear a size 48 normaly. Bought a size 50 and the spidi back protector, it fit me perfectly! Double check your mesures, you might want to go up a size!

I would say its identical to the picures!

First of all, it is really warm and worked well for me in temperatures as low as high 30s. The collar is very good at keeping your neck warm if used in combination with a neck warmer or a balaclava. It looks like an expensive and stylish leather jacket to me with better look than some "designer" clothes.

It is about half a size smaller when used with a liner. I ordered size 56 having chest size of 45 inches and it was very snug. If you want to wear a middle layer or a sweater under it, you might need to go one size up.

A few words about the flaws:
- Snap fasteners connecting a jacket and its liner are quite weak and sometimes some of them unsnap when you wear the jacket. Going one size up might solve the issue.
- The zipper is not reliable at all. For some reason, it worked well for me with the liner on (and tight fit thereof) but started opening in the middle when I was riding without the liner. It is not cool at all to find out you don't have wind protection while on the move. C'mon Spidi! Spend a few bucks more and put a proper heavy duty zipper into something that is already quite an expensive (and supposedly quality) jacket!

Fit: I found it difficult to size this jacket. I'm 6'3", 230lbs, athletic build, wide shoulders, narrow waist. I couldn't try any Spidi jackets on, but I tried some Dainese jackets on for a comparison. I found a 56 fit through the shoulders, but was a touch loose through the body, a 54 was a touch tight in the shoulders, but fit well through the body. I went with the 56 figuring I could allow for some middle age expansion.

Turns out it fits very much as expected. Shoulders are good, all the armor in the right spots, but it's a touch loose through the body for me. Still, it looks fine when it's on and I wouldn't want to size down to 54 as my shoulders would feel tight.

The sleeves are seriously long, fortunately I have proportionately long arms so that works out ok, but if you have normal to shorter arms you'll probably find them long.

Quality was tops, leather is really rich and supple.

Bad bits: The collar I got on my lining jacket is not what all the pictures show. Instead of the expected "sheep skin" type look, I got a very fluffy fur collar. I personally think this really reduces the aesthetics and was disappointed, it's quite feminine. I'm in discussions with the Revzilla team (Luke) who are doing a great job following up with Spidi for me so I'll see what comes from that.