Last summer I did quite a bit of research looking for a great summer jacket. The summers in NYC are hot and humid. Pair that with a commuting life style, stop and go traffic, you really need something that breathes. I settled on the Dainese Air Flux. I loved it, rocked it all summer and it was perfect. Light weight, and stylish. I barely felt it on. This spring my brother in law took a little spill on his "new to him" harley sportster, while borrowing my jacket. It was a slow speed 20mph fall, and the jacket was damaged beyond enough to warrant a replacement. Looking at the damage to the jacket, and to my brother in law, i realized that the jacket wouldn't do great at any fall at faster speeds than that. I went to research a worth replacement.

The same jacket was available, and now on clearance so it was tempting. I was just a bit more concerned with safety now. Especially because i had a little spill myself this winter, and my gear was just awesome in that instance. Looking at the damage, the textile around the elbow pad tore way too easily, and the jacket rode up a bit giving him some nice road rash underneath. The plus side was that the actual elbow armor did its job and really well.

I decided i wanted something a little longer, with a stronger textile, but still with a ton of mesh. I found the Dainese Air Tourer S-St. It was actually an end of life product, on close out, and i couldnt find my size or color available from the usual resellers. I really liked the way it looked though. It had what i wanted, stronger textile, while being a little longer, yet still similar enough to the Air Flux. I was also able to re-use the dainese back protector in the new jacket saving me some money. I ended up finding it on eBay new for $180 which was a pretty good deal. It came from italy and took a few weeks to come. Once it did come in, it fit perfectly. Im really happy with the new jacket, and while i feel bad for my brother in laws spill, I'm happy i was able to see that i needed a little bit more protection the easy way.

I tested out the jacket for the past month and though it is a bit heavier, its still really good in hot weather. Commuting in 90 degrees was fine. The jacket is comfortable and i think it looks really great.