Every experienced sport bike rider reaches a point where they have to choose between prioritizing safety or function in their jackets. These two design principles are often in conflict and rarely come together in popular motorcycle brands and products. Typically, you have the option of either having a jacket with excellent protective padding and features, or the freedom of a lightweight and functional design with decent padding. In this post, we will delve into the benefits of using each type of motorcycle armor, allowing you to determine which aspect matters most to you.
Safety Vs. Function
As far back as the 1950s, motorcycle manufacturers have debated what is more important in a motorcycle jacket: Safety or Function. Eventually, most of them decided to split the difference, making excellent jackets that were both stylish, comfortable, and wardrobe-friendly and utilitarian jackets that were designed to save your life.
Every once in a while, we see truly outstanding products that bridge the distance, usually compromising the other feature. Today, you can find a wide variety of riding gear designed specifically for safety.
Protective Motorcycle Jackets
Safety motorcycle jackets are typically reserved for professionals and individuals serious about their safety while on the road. They feature several patches of high-quality C.E armor in important impact areas like the back, shoulder, and elbows. The construction material could be mesh, leather, carbon fiber, textile, or even a Kevlar hybrid. A few jackets even feature additional pockets for armor storage to improve survivability and impact protection due to its spine protector. Other gears offer very little protection especially if they do not meet the safety standards.
A proper armored jacket could sometimes come with some basic water and windproof to protect you from the elements in case of rain or debris. They also sometimes feature vents to help with airflow.
However, it's important to mention that most jacket manufacturers prefer to specialize when making great armor jackets that provide the best safety. They work a great deal on comfort, flexibility, safety foremost. Safety jackets are, most times, not generalists. The types that feature all the protective gear padding, textile technologies typically aren't all-season jackets.
They are mostly cordoned off into one of the many categories of biker jackets. For example, the Joe Rocket Atomic jacket features shoulder pads, elbow pads, an upgradeable back protector, and great ventilation for summer months. It is an excellent sports jacket.
On the extreme side of safety, there is the protective armored jacket. It is specifically designed to take dozens of C.E armors. They typically feature thick leather, removable liners, textile jackets or cloth exterior and ample internal pockets to fit in the array of high-grade C. E armor. These kinds of armor might not be the prettiest, but they get the job done and provide excellent protection.
Functional Motorcycle Jackets
Functional Motorcycle Jackets are designed to do more than protect you in the event of a garish crash. They are fashion statements that provide ample protection and practical, real-world mileage. They are made with various materials, and they are typically not as hard or as protective as armored jackets. They mainly feature C.E protective armor, in very rare cases, C.E 2 armor.
However, they have above-average abrasion-resistant, excellent ventilation, flexibility, breathability, and stitching. A few of them even sport reflective panels and are made for cross-seasonal use. Functionally, they are superior to armored jackets because of their flexibility; however, they do not provide a similar level of protection or more protection.
A great example of a great functional jacket is the Resin & Resin Mojave Jacket. It is styled to taste, with great abrasion protection and very little armor. It is an excellent cross-seasonal jacket and great functionally.
So, Which is Better: Functional or safety Jacket
Technically, prioritizing safety when shopping for your jacket is better, but for most people, impact protection is not the end-all, be-all. Functional jackets exist because of how reliable and diverse they can be.
Safety jackets featuring ample armor and tight stitching are often limited to single motorcycle categories like street, Sport, touring, while functional jackets effectively blur the line. They are lightweight, properly ventilated, and pack just the right amount of armor including shoulder armor, removable armor, and integrated armor. They can be worn throughout the year, and not to mention that some of them complement your wardrobe excellently well. Well-made all-year jackets can be worn to social events and casually without looking too out of place or strange.
They would be an excellent choice if you had to pick one, and only one jacket. Safety jackets are better for the specific use cases they were designed or made.
The Outliers
Though it's not common, there are some jackets out there that provide exceptional year-round protection while also remaining stylish and safer than your average functional jacket. These types of jackets are mostly textile and feature extensive protective armor under their breathable textile exterior. The ridiculously good ones are expensive, but they are also very comfortable too. Great examples of great all-season jackets with great protection are: Revit Neptune 2 GTX Motorcycle Jacket, Held Carese II Goretex.
