The Barton II jacket from Merlin is a part of their Heritage Collection that aims a blending classic styling with modern Moto protection. The Barton II construction is a combination of Halley Stevenson® 12oz Scottish Silkwax Cotton, a Reissa® Active Waterproof/Breathable Membrane, a 150g Removable Thermal Full Body Liner With OverFlap, British Marton Mills® Tartan Liner Trim, a Mesh Drop Liner For Improved Breathability And Comfort, YKK® Zippers Used Throughout as well as antique looking hardware that complete the jacket’s look. For impact protection, included is D3O® level 1 elbow and shoulder armor as well as a back protector pocket. Overall this combination of armor and materials earns the Barton II a CE Level A rating.
Moving on to comfort, convenience and features, there are two chest pockets that are closed via flap and stud, two size pockets with zippers (one complaint here is that the side hand pockets have rather narrow openings, I struggled to get my hands in them without gloves on and I don’t have massive hands as I wear a size Large glove, sometimes Medium), an inside facing jet pocket as well as a couple of internal pockets (one zippered napoleon, one zippered regular and one hook and look on the liner). Additional features include an adjustable collar, adjusters at the biceps, front and rear ventilation points, as well as a short connection zipper and euro jacket to jean connector hoops. Fair warning on Merlin’s connections, the short connection zipper is a good amount shorter than the ones I have seen on for example REV’IT! Jackets, and the jean loop hook is a single strap versus the two strap design that I have seen both Alpinestars and REV’IT! utilize, not necessarily a bad thing, but something to note.
Unfortunately I have a few gripes with this jacket, the first being the collar adjuster, the collar itself is super comfortable, but the closure/adjuster is just overly complicated and just seems over done, a simple button design would have been sufficient, instead it’s a strap through loop plus button design, just seems over done. The second issue I have is the main closure, it is a zipper, button and hook and loop combination, that is just too much for me, you don’t need three different ways to close a jacket, one to two tops will do, three is just over doing it. Next, this jacket is simply too bulky for me to be only a CE Level A rated jacket with level 1 armor, it just doesn’t make sense to me. At the time of this review the Baron II jacket retails for $399, if this jacket is your style then it might be worth the money for you based off of style alone, but from a safety, fit, comfort, features and functionality aspects, for this price point there are plenty of CE Level AA jackets that I would personally rather choose, again style and safety importance will play a factor here. Overall I am not a fan, I think it’s just trying to do too much without any real benefit. At this price point if you wanted to stick with Merlin, I would pay the additional $100 and get the Edale II, to me a much better jacket that is far less bulky, more comfortable and is AA rated. (more about less-than-favorable reviews) :: Damir 8/6/24
