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Brief Warm weather has always posed a problem to motorcyclists who wish to wear proper safety gear. Out of control hot weather like we have here in Central California, where temperatures are frequently in excess of 100 degrees are an even bigger problem. Joe Rocket has taken aim at that very issue with the Phoenix Jacket. Overview The Phoenix Jacket is a polyester mesh jacket with Joe Rocket's dual-density armor designed to offer protection in warm weather. The Phoenix jacket offers a good compromise between comfort and protection. Details Living in such a hot, arid climate makes warm weather gear a must. The Phoenix jacket was cheap and readily available, so I decided to try it out. The polyester mesh is good for one crash, which is about the norm for a mesh jacket. I was not comfortable with the dual-density armor, as I prefer CE armor. I replaced the dual-density armor with CE armor, adding an additional $40 to the overall cost. The problem, however, is that the armor pockets are a bit small for standard CE armor, which makes the fit a bit off. The cuffs of the Phoenix Jacket are fastened with Velcro, which has a tendency to snag on the polyester mesh, making a frayed mess out of it in fairly short order. My Phoenix jacket has been used for about ½ a season, and the front of the jacket is noticeably frayed. When I mentioned this to the Joe Rocket rep at the Laguna Seca superbike race, he just shrugged and said, "Yeah, that happens." I feel that the appropriate fastener would have been a snap to minimize that problem. Better yet, a Kevlar mesh would probably offer considerably more protection than the polyester. If I had it to do over again, I probably would have gone with Fieldsheer or First Gear Mesh Jacket which offer additional features for a similar price tag.
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