Merlin Porta Riding Shirt

Below is the Merlin-published chest size for each jacket’s alpha size along with our estimate of max chest and max waist/belly. This particular style is a sport/street style so there is only a moderate taper from chest to waist, and with a style like this you can effectively tailor the fit of the waist with the side waist adjusters, which makes the jacket look great and fit great, so don’t worry if your waist/belly is smaller than the max. We only list this for those that have a belly so they can know what minimum size they’d have to choose to fit the belly.

Note: Add about 1” to your chest and belly measurements if you plan to add a back protector.

Need help measuring? Get it here

The Porta riding shirt from Merlin is a part of their Leisure Moto collection that is designed to look like casual clothing while providing protection for riders, the Porta shirt’s design is perfect in the urban motorcycle setting. Overall construction of the Porta riding shirt is a combination of a single layer canvas cotton shell that features a close-knit mesh lining for improved breathability as well as a Vision central zipper. Impact protection comes included in the form of D3O® Ghost level 1 elbow and shoulder protectors, but the back protector is purchased separately with a back protector pocket included. This combination of materials and armor earns the Porta riding shirt a CE Level AA rating.

Moving on to features, comfort and convenience, there are two slit side entry pockets (my main complaint here is that they have no closure, no zipper, no button nothing wide open, which would be a problem for some), a single sided chest pocket with snap studs, and a couple of internal storage pockets (one internal is zippered and the other is hook and loop closure). To ensure everything stays in place the Porta features a snap down collar, snap down cuffs, a jacket to jean connection zipper as well as euro hoop connecting straps. 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. Additional features include a reflective strip above each elbow, elbow overlay panels, as well as a rear ventilation panel that goes across the back yoke. From a fit standpoint, I wear a XL normally and tired on a XL and it fit exactly as I expected a EUROPEAN CUT XL to fit, slightly tighter, but it still fit me.

At the time of this review the Porta riding shirt retails for $329.95 which puts it in the same ball park as other single layer, AA rated riding shirts from other major brands. Overall I am not a huge fan of this one, looks wise its trying to go for a casual looking shirt but it isn’t soft or loose enough to truly be a casual riding shirt but then at the same time its not tight or rigid enough to pass as a more sport and supportive riding shirt, its kind of stuck in this in-between space that sort of makes it looks sloppy to me in real life vs the photos. Personally for the money, style wise I would look elsewhere, though nothing technically wrong with the jacket itself. If it fits your style then you are still likely to find a good jacket here. I’m just not a big fan of the “in-between” styles look personally. :: Damir 8/6/24