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Tracy V. from Florida
June 6, 2008
I've had a Phoenix 3.0 jacket (and Phoenix pants) for a few years now, and it has served me well in brutal Florida heat with the mesh body and textile shoulders and elbows. I added CE hard armor to it, as I didn't fully trust the mesh/text areas. In the meantime, after two "offs" over the years while wearing full textile/leather gear during cooler weather (I was wearing the First Gear "Fuel" line, no longer available) with zero skin damage it got me to thinking about the advantages of leather protection at the "hard points", such as shoulders, elbows, and knees. This Reactor Jacket is just the ticket. The quality has gone WAY up since the early Phoenix days. It is beautifully made, with excellent features (earphone hole, visor pocket, top-notch zippers, pretty good armor) and very nice perfed leather that is much cooler than the solid textile of the Phoenix. The wrist closure is much better than the basic, messy Velcro of the Phoenix, because it adjusts with Velco (once), then opens and closes with a strong snap. Overall, it's a fine jacket. My only gripe is that there is no matching Reactor pants. If there were...I'd buy them in a second, as I would love to have an upgrade from the Phoenix pants. Maybe Paul will call his buddies at Rocket and have give 'em the word!
I've had a Phoenix 3.0 jacket (and Phoenix pants) for a few years now, and it has served me well in brutal Florida heat with the mesh body and textile shoulders and elbows. I added CE hard armor to it, as I didn't fully trust the mesh/text areas. In the meantime, after two "offs" over the years while wearing full textile/leather gear during cooler weather (I was wearing the First Gear "Fuel" line, no longer available) with zero skin damage it got me to thinking about the advantages of leather protection at the "hard points", such as shoulders, elbows, and knees. This Reactor Jacket is just the ticket. The quality has gone WAY up since the early Phoenix days. It is beautifully made, with excellent features (earphone hole, visor pocket, top-notch zippers, pretty good armor) and very nice perfed leather that is much cooler than the solid textile of the Phoenix. The wrist closure is much better than the basic, messy Velcro of the Phoenix, because it adjusts with Velco (once), then opens and closes with a strong snap. Overall, it's a fine jacket. My only gripe is that there is no matching Reactor pants. If there were...I'd buy them in a second, as I would love to have an upgrade from the Phoenix pants. Maybe Paul will call his buddies at Rocket and have give 'em the word!
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