REV'IT! DEFENDER GTX JACKET

My last two touring jackets were above average in quality, quite comfortable, warm, well vented and versatile. While effective at keeping me dry in "normal" wet conditions, their "waterproofing" could not stand up to a sustained Texas deluge. Since I "live" in my gear and plan to for years to come, I decided to take this jacket thing to a whole new level. "Guaranteed waterproof for life" caught my attention. I pulled the trigger.

ReV'it! Defender GTX

I can't remember reading a more extensive or glowing webbikeworld review.

http://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/revit-defender-gtx-jacket

I was particularly attracted to the two-way sleeve zips that should make pulling the rain liner cuffs over my gauntlets much easier. This has been a pet peeve of mine for some time.

Here's my initial report:

Premise: How much would you pay for a high quality, feature laden, infinitely comfortable, guaranteed not to leak for life touring jacket? Well I just found out.

Motivation: My previous touring jackets all developed leaks before their time which, in my opinion, rendered them useless without a separate rainsuit. This new jacket has a removable triple layer genuine Gore-Tex rain liner that is guaranteed waterproof for the life of the jacket. How much is that worth? Well, enough, I suppose.

First impression: Quality of material and workmanship is absolutely impeccable.

Fit: Try one on if possible. This is not your daddy's Cayenne Pro. I wear a 44" coat. The size XL Navigator was a perfect fit. While not enough to warrant stepping down a size, the Defender is even roomier than the Navigator and the sleeves are 2" longer. I do not have short arms - wear a 34" dress shirt and the sleeves are almost too long with the liners out. Maybe it's a bit of a tradeoff to get the ingenious cuff closure but well worth it.

Features: The long cuff zippers are outstanding - one of the features that attracted me to the Defender. In all my jackets to date the task of tucking the gauntlets inside the cuffs/rain liner was daunting and even more tedious with heated gloves. Not so with The Defender. I can just unzip the cuffs, pull the Gore-Tex liner over the gloves and zip the sleeves closed in a matter of seconds. BRAVO! The vent zippers have long corded pulls to make them easy to operate while in motion and triangular flaps on the chest openings are even easier to manage.

Construction: The new rip-stop Cordura feels lightweight with no hint of stiffness. All day comfort. The absence of stiffness is also attributable in part by not having the waterproof membrane laminated to the exterior material. The exterior, however, is coated so as not to soak up water and become heavy. The SAS-TEC shoulder and elbow armor is an improvement over the Pro Life which wasn't bad. As before, I elected to upgrade to the SAS-TEC back pad. I highly recommend this upgrade because the foam insert that comes in the jacket is useless. The bomb proof SAS-TEC material is quite malleable but designed to become rigid on impact.

I'll have more to add as my Defender GTX and I get better acquainted. Stay tuned.

So I just lived in my Defender more than 4,000 miles in 13 days in temps from the mid 30's to the mid 80's. I had to get used to how supple the material is. The comfort level is way up there. My first motivation again was to get the guaranteed waterproof Gore-Tex liner. I did not encounter what I'd call heavy rain but there's no reason to doubt the quality of the Gore-Tex. The second most important feature is the long cuff zippers. Tucking in the gauntlets in preparation for rain riding has always been a pain but these big zips make it incredibly easy to pull the rain liner over the gloves - even the second glove - and then zip the sleeve closed in one stroke. I could not be more pleased. I wanted a two liner system so I could feasibly wear the jacket in higher temps. I rode in the mid 80's comfortably enough and would have been more so if I had chosen the gray instead of solid black. The gray looked too pale in the video but now having seen it first hand, it's a very good shade of silver/gray. Pocket placement is very good - I'm not much for pockets but I actually used them conveniently on my trip. The only issue I have is the fit, which is no fault of the jacket. It's a bit roomier than my last ReV'it! jacket which was also XL. It's nothing I can't live with. I had a chance to try on a size L at Revzilla in Philly and found it to be as much too snug on me as the XL is roomy.



I'll post again after I get 'er good and wet.