PRODUCT REVIEWSAether’s Mojave Jacket
and Pants
by Ian LoughneyFor the last few weeks I’ve been testing the Mojave jacket and
pants from Aether, a Los Angeles-based boutique manufacturer
of outdoor apparel and gear, including motorcycle gear.
One of their claims to fame is a grounding in modern urban
design, which shows in the Mojave jacket. It’s not the most
technical jacket, but when it comes to style, the Mojave has it
in spades. It looks just as much at home on an R1200GS as on a
vintage scrambler, or even a chopper. The clean lines and heavy-
duty cotton canvas construction give it an old-school vibe that
blurs the riding genres.
Aether partnered with D3O to produce a jacket and pants
with the full suite of their Viscoelastic armor. D3O properties are
excellent in that the armor is both soft when you want it to be
and hard when you need it to be. The Mojave jacket is surprisingly
comfortable on the bike. Off the bike, it tends to be a little bulky for
general street wearing, but much less than more technical jackets.
Venting is just okay. You do get chest, back and underarm vents
with the jacket, which provide a lot of air flow. But the problem is
accessing the vents. The chest vents are easy to get to; however,underarms are difficult to open and close while
riding, and you have to take the jacket off in order to
adjust the back vents.
My one big gripe with the Mojave jacket is pocket
space, or the lack thereof. You get one inside pocket,
which fit just my cell phone; a back pocket, which
I didn’t use due to its inconvenient location; and,
technically, four hip pockets. “Technically” because
they’re sets of two pockets overlaid on top of each
other, the result being that once you fill up the inner
pockets there’s no room available to fit anything in
the outer zippered pockets. Ultimately the lack of
storage is a concession you’ll make for the styling.
The complementary pants are an uncomplicated
piece of gear, sturdy and capable. The D3O armor
in the hips and knees is again excellent. The knee
armor pockets allow for some height adjustability,
a testament to Aether’s attention to detail. They
also feature two zippered thigh pockets, which
somewhat alleviate the jacket’s lack of storage. The
pants also have an additional four pockets (two front
and two back) around the hip; however, none are
zippered or have snaps, so I wouldn’t keep anything
in them that I’d be worried about dropping at speed.
Ultimately, the full Mojave outfit is a solid option.
There are definitely some drawbacks to consider with
both the jacket and the pants, but overall, for the right
rider, they’ll fit right in. I found myself really enjoying
this riding suit from Aether, and intend to keep
wearing it long after this review is published. MSRP:
Jacket—$550 | Pants—$425 AetherApparel.comPROS
Great style
Comfortable
Lots of armorCONS
Lack of pocket space
A little bulky20 July/August 2019