Motorcycle Mojo – September 2019

PRODUCT REVIEW

Reviewed by Emily Roberts

58 MOTORCYCLE MOJO SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019

I

had just received the Aerostich

Darien jacket and AD-1 jean-cut

pants and was excited to try them

out while on a two-day motorcycle

trip. I was expecting to ride through

rain, sand and hot weather, so the ride

would make for the perfect test of this

riding gear.

The Darien jacket is made of tough,

abrasion-resistant 500 denier Cordura

with a GORE-TEX lining, while the

AD-1 is fully seam-taped HT500 denier

nylon with a three-layer GORE-TEX

lining.

I started off in temperatures of about

10 C. With the jacket’s vents zipped

closed, I was incredibly comfortable

and found the gear breathed but

didn’t allow the wind to affect my core

temperature. The temperature slowly

rose past 23 C and I began to feel the

heat. Opening the pit-zips while riding

was easy enough, and once I stopped, I

opened the remaining vent on the back

WRDOORZDLUÁRZWKURXJKWKHMDFNHW

As I slowly gained altitude, I found

P\VHOIULGLQJWKURXJKÁXUULHVRQ

snow-covered roads in -2 C, which

warranted closing the jacket’s vents.

Even without base layer changes, my

core temperature remained warm.

As I rode down from the summit, the

snow turned into a heavy three-hour

downpour – yet the gear held up and I

remained completely dry.

The Look

Some say that looking good is half the

battle. If you’re a fashionista and that’s

how you feel, then this may not be the

gear for you. This stuff isn’t meant to

drop jaws while you cruise down Main

6WUHHW3HUVRQDOO\,ÀQGWKHVW\OLQJRI

the Darien jacket great. It’s utilitarian,

it’s well made and it withstands harsh

conditions.

I was really happy with the pocket

placement and how the pockets are

built into both the Darien jacket and the

AD-1 pants. Having owned a couple

VHWVRIZRPHQ·VJHDU,ÀQGWKHELJJHVW

ÁDZVLQWKRVHWHQGWREHSRFNHWVWKDW

DUHRQO\ODUJHHQRXJKWRÀWDFRXSOHRI

coins and maybe a tube of lip balm – all

of which I could never get at because I

GRQ·WKDYHWKHKDQGVRIDÀYH\HDUROG

I ditched my tank bag for a day to see

KRZPXFK,FRXOGÀWLQWRP\QHZULG-

ing gear. I rode with my map, camera,

SKRQHÀUVWDLGNLWPXOWLWRROZDOOHW

Aerostich

Darien Jacket

and AD-1 Pants

Quality gear for years of service

and protection against the

elements

Aerostich’s jackets

and pants are long

lasting and durable

for all kinds of

weather. (above)

Quality control

inspections and

signatures

at every stage of

production. (left)

P

H

O

T

O

S

B

Y

J

E

N

N

I

E

S

O

S

N

O

W

S

K

I