Mesh Jacket and Over Pants

[ncbeemer]

I am in the market for a hi-vis mesh jacket and mesh over pants. I am looking at the Olympia Airglide 2 mesh jacket in neon yellow and the Airglide 2 mesh over pants. Anybody had experience with the Airglide? Also, I do not have a local dealer so I will need to order via the internet. Any recommendations on on-line retailers or suggestions on sizing?

Thanks.

[RRDallas]

I have the Airglide II pants. Great gear. I live in Texas so I need something versatile weatherwise. I need a pant that I can wear over shorts, work pants, jeans, etc. Without the warm liner, the Airglide does just fine in this regard. If I hadn't gained a few pounds over the past year, I could even fit them over casual pants while still using the warm liner. Easy to get on and off over boots. My local gear store also raved about the Airglide II jacket, which I didn't buy but it is a great (versatile) and affordable ($229) choice from everything I've read. I opted for a Rev'it Ignition ($400) jacket for colder months and an RS Taichi Armed High Protection Mesh Jacket ($250) - (RSJ235) that is a great find. So comfortable and it has removable hard chest and back protectors. Comes with wind stop inner lining as well. Link below.

https://www.motoliberty.com/prod_detail.asp?Prod_ID=731

BTW, you should check out http://www.motoliberty.com. Incredible selection and you can order online from them but you really need to know your size. As you know, manufacturer's sizes and fit vary greatly.

Below is the review of Motoliberty's review of the Airglide II Jacket

"Olympia makes some of the most intelligent gear that we have seen at Moto Liberty. The quality is outstanding and the attention to functional details are impressive. This particular jacket is the most veristile jacket in our store. You can wear it all summer long without the liner, but because the liner is not just cheapo polyester like most jackets, it is very insulating, you can wear it into the high 40 degree weather. If I only had one jacket, this would be it! Excellent for traveling, when you have temperature extremes. You will not be disapointed. Also check out the matching pants in the textile and mesh pants section. Olympia is the #1 brand when it comes to construction. The rate of repairs is next to none. A++++++++++++++ is our rating on the Airlglides!!!!!!!!!!"

[Roxster]

RRDallas,

Nice write and reply. Your making the rest of our one liners look bad...but nice write up nonetheless.

[MattPie]

I am in the market for a hi-vis mesh jacket and mesh over pants. I am looking at the Olympia Airglide 2 mesh jacket in neon yellow and the Airglide 2 mesh over pants. Anybody had experience with the Airglide? Also, I do not have a local dealer so I will need to order via the internet. Any recommendations on on-line retailers or suggestions on sizing?

Thanks.

I've had an Airglide 1 set for about 4 years/20k miles now. I;ve have a 3XL jacket (my chest measures 52" or so), and size 38 pants (I normally wear 40-34 jeans). The fit is mostly good, although it's not very comfy to wear jeans under the pants.

The goods:
- Seem to be wearing pretty well. I have a seem on the pants pocket that pulled apart. On of the zipper pulls came off last year. Zipper still works though. There a spot down near the ends of the sleeves where the mesh is wearing a little, but it still seems sturdy.
- For me, the jacket works from 70 - 95 degrees (F), the pants from 55-95 (my legs don't get cold). With the liners in, I've taken short day trips (150-200 miles) down to 40 degrees. A short ride (25 miles) at 35 degrees on the highway is tolerable with something warm underneath.
- The pants are comfy to wear all day off the bike. I often ride to work and never bother to change into jeans when I get there.
- The knee armor is adjustable for height, so you can move it around to be in the right spot.
-

The bads:
- The knee armor doesn't really stay put with the liners out. I've toyed with putting some sort of elastic inside the pants to hold the armor in the right place, but never got around to it. It could curve around the knees a bit more too.
- The elbow armor better than the knees, but the sleeves are way to big and don't have enough adjustment to cinch them down. I ended up pulling the cinch adjuster all the way though the loop and using a metal binder clip to hold it in place. That gets it to OK for me. Maybe they figure 3XL means much bigger arms than I have.
- The shoulders tend to flap around a bit over 75 MPH (no windshield). I wear a backpack a lot which mitigates this issue.
- The liners are somewhat waterproof, but there's enough gap between the jacket liner and pants that I'm fairly wet after 1.5 hours in the rain. If you wear gauntlet gloves, water gets through the mesh and will eventually run down the outside of the liner into you gloves (again, 1.5 hours or so). After 3 hours or so, I'm completely soaked other than a couple dry patches around the shoulders and upper back. An external rain suit is probably the ticket here.

[wncbmw]

I had a 1st generation set for a couple of years and thought they worked well. With the short Airglide jacket, you need to zip them together for protection but I found that easy. You might look at the Airglide pants and the Bushwacker jacket as a combo if you prefer the 3/4 jacket.

I sold mine when I got some Motoport and perforated Vanson stuff for hot weather. Never used the liners, since it was only for hot weather. I used rain gear over it or just let it soak me, since I was never wearing it unless it was really hot out!

The new stuff (2nd generation) fixed the arm cinch with a better strap and some other improvements. Acme Motorcyles in Asheville carries it if you want to ride up the mountain from Hickory. I believe the BMW dealer in Greensboro does too.

[ncbeemer]

Thanks all for the feedback on the Airglide. This confirms what I have mostly found to be positive impressions of the gear. I have decided to go ahead with the purchase. Thanks Vann for the info on Acme Motorcyles in Asheville. I gave them a call today and they have the hi-vis yellow in stock in the size that I think will work for me. I am going to head up there this weekend to try it on.

Thanks again all.

[wncbmw]

On the way to Acme, you pass within a mile of my house. I will send you a PM with my phone number. Give me a call and maybe I can meet you there!

And tell Scott I sent you!