REV'IT! GT-R Air Jacket

We tried a size Medium and an XL on our Fit Check mannequins Huey and Dewey. Those are sizes they usually wear in an “American” cut jacket. This jacket from REV’IT! fits well enough and it looks sharp, but there is very minimal room left. Many brands from Europe exhibit a fit like this, such as Alpinestars. If you look at REV’IT’s published size chart (below), you’ll see their estimate of chest size is at least a full size smaller than what you’d find in equivalent US designed clothing.

So, having said all that, and judging the fit ourselves, we conclude that the fit is just about one half size smaller than what you would find in ordinary US men’s clothing. The amount the jackets are undersized is not as severe as REV’IT’s size chart would have you believe. For most people, this means you’ll be able to buy the size you normally wear if you want a snug, European style fit. If you want a looser American fit, or if you are between sizes, choose one size larger.

Below is the REV’IT!-published chest sizes for each jacket’s alpha size along with our estimate of max chest and max waist/belly. This particular style is a normally styled street jacket so there is an average amount of taper from chest to waist, which is about 4”. For your convenience we’ve listed the max belly for each jacket size, so if you have a bit of a belly, you can check and make sure the jacket size you choose will be big enough for you. If your waist is smaller, there are side adjustment straps to tailor the fit.

Need help measuring? Get it here.

Many brands of jackets offer mesh styles with average or lower build quality which makes them very affordable. And then we carry a couple brands that offer summer mesh styles with high quality tailoring and materials, and this GT-R Air Jacket is one of them. Just last week, I reviewed a jacket that also could be described this way… the Alpinestars T-GP Plus R Air Jacket (these guys must use the same alphabet soup random name generator for the products!). I’ll borrow a few comments from that review since these jackets are SO similar. This jacket will give you comfort in hot weather, sharp styling, simple construction and better-than-average crash protection. This jacket is made of a combination of textile and mesh, but there is plenty of the mesh used to allow a lot of air flow and therefore we are going to call this a summer/mesh style. You can see the areas of mesh if you take the “View Larger Images” above. And even though the jacket is not a full-mesh design, I think it will work very well in the hottest weather because the solid textile areas are pretty lightweight material as well. REV’IT! sells an evaporation vest for this jacket which you can take a look at by using the link below. I’ve used evaporation vests before, and they work great with mesh jackets like this. And they work best in very dry weather conditions. In high humidity though, they remain kind of clammy rather than cool and airy, and of course they work best with constant air flow such as on the highway. In town they’ll lose much of their evaporative mojo. The styling is typical REV’IT!... low flash and high class with a nice mix of colors and textures to make them appealing. There is a unique green/black color combo in this style so take the “images” link above to see bigger shots of those. Also in the photo gallery, we have a couple “night shots” so you can see the reflectives. The two side logos and the back logo light up pretty good. The jacket comes with removable protectors in the shoulders and elbows and has a pocket for the addition of a CE rated back pad if you want to add it (see the link below). Add a Back Protector: This jacket is made with a pocket to accept a Seesoft CE Level 2 Back Protector Insert type RV (RV refers to the shape). For size XS, choose size 3; sizes Small or Medium, choose size 4; for Large thru XXL, choose size 5 and for XXXL and larger choose size 6. There is a short rear zipper for connection to REV’IT! pants. I think you’ll agree with me about the looks and nice build quality with this jacket when you see it in person. The price is a bit higher than many mesh styles, but I find that with motorcycle apparel, you really do get what you pay for. :: Paul, 03-03-14

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