Xelement CF-624 Armoured Motorcycle jacket review

The Xelement jacket is a made from tritex fabric, with interior elbow armour and exterior shoulder padding / armour. I have to say I think it looked quite smart having said that there are both good and not so good points with this jacket.

The exterior armour looks great but the practicality of not so good especially  if you are wanting to wear a backpack. It’s extremely difficult to get the straps over the shoulder armour with ease although once you have the backpack on the straps won’t slide off.

This jacket is claimed to be waterproof, this is far from the truth, it is fine in light rain or a shower but if you’re planning on not needing wet weather gear, think again. I have to say that after it getting wet in a light shower it does dry quite quickly while you are riding so that could be seen as a plus.

The jacket does have zip out liner which I find great. It is still quite hot to wear in the summer even with the liner out but put the liner in in the winter and it is quite warm. It is quite possible that the interior liner is waterproof as I have ridden in the rain and not felt all that wet through but I generally don’t risk it as I like to stay dry.

There are exterior panels both back and front which I think give the jacket a little extra thickness which is great

There are zippered wrist cuffs with Velcro straps, this would be the worst thing about this jacket. The zippered wrist cuffs are great but the stitching at the end of the sleeves is already worn and starting to come apart, not good for a jacket that is only about 9 months old, definitely a weakness with this jacket.

In general all the zips are sturdy and move easily, and there are plenty of vents to keep you cool in the Summer.

The lower back kidney belt area has a zip to enable you to attach it to your jacket assuming you buy a jacket that’s compatible.

If you are ordering this jacket they do stipulate you order a size larger than what you would normally wear, I did do this but actually could have been ok with one size smaller although having the extra space is great in the winter when you are wear extra clothing underneath.

Although the jacket has some bad points I have found it reasonably good to wear and considering it wasn’t expensive  in terms of jacket prices.

My personal rating for the jacket would be as follows,

If you have one of these jackets or don’t and have any comments you would like to leave please do, I would like to hear you view.

Jacket quality             5/10

Construction               4/10

Usability                    5/10

Value for money          6/10

You can check out textile motorcycle gear here or leather gear .here

Rapid Transit Recon 45 review

Recently I got in a set of Rapid-Transit-Recon-45-Saddlebag, I have to say i was quite impressed with the overall quality of the bags in general.

These bags are made from wind water resistant 1000 d nylon. The bag material feels sturdy. There are two pockets on one end of the bags both with zips.You would only get small items into these pockets such as thick wallet in the inside pocket and the outside you really wouldn't get anything in there at all, this pocket is really a waste of time.They could have made one pocket just a little bigger in overall size with a divider in side the pocket.

These bags are throw-over style saddlebags ,they have a  4 hook and loop adjustment system which enables you to fasten the saddlebags to the bike. These straps can be folded up and tucked into a small pocket in the back of each bag. Inside each pocket there is a fastener clip that allows for quick adjustment of the straps when securing them to your bike.

On top of each bag there is a handle for carrying convenience and inside the bag a water proof cover for if it gets really wet, a handy little addition although they come with most of these bags. as the bags has a reflective stripe on the outside of the bag in my opinion it would have been a good idea to do the same with the rain cover as this is the time that it  is most needed so other people can see you.

The load capacity for these bags is 5kg total, this gives you a reasonable amount of storage area. the size of the bags makes them quite a good size for a bigger sport bike although this will probably depend on things like the shape of the seat and the general make up of the tail of the bike.

The reflective stripe doesn't appear to be very reflective with this color bag but would possibly be more so with different color but this probably isn't something that would put you off purchasing the bags

Feature summary

• wind water resistant nylon construction
• 4 hook and loop adjuster straps
• Scratch guard rubberized contact fabric
•  Quad adjust mounting system
• Heat and water resistant bottom 
• Reflective stripe

These bags are retailing at about $99 US

In general I find these bags good value for money, and for me personally they are a good size not too big and not too small, with the addition  of a tail bag and tankbag you would have a decent amount of storage space for a couple of days on the road

Saddlebag quality                 7/10

Construction                          6/10

Usability                                 6/10

Value for money                    6/10

If you own a set of these saddlebags it would be great to hear your comments on what you think.