under jacket body armour in hot climates.
 

Hey. For my next trip im thinking of using a seperate body armour 'jacket' under my bike jacket.i just wondered if anyone has experience using one in hot weather (as in desert type hot, with demanding riding). Im just wondering if if they get too hot & uncomfortable. Cheers. Karl.

I use one in hot weather and quite like it, I can always shed the jacket and just wear the armour when it gets stupid hot. Just need to think about sun protection then, and wind too - if you're riding fast, better to wear the jacket as the wind on bare skin will dry you out badly, and you won't even know it.

Slow speed slogging, armour only is great. I've worn a full Touratech jacket with armour over under armour mesh jacket for max protection when I KNOW I'm going to fall!

Motocross-style body armour works a treat in hot weather. in heat above 40C there isn't a jacket that will suit because the air is too hot. Couple it with an evaporative cooling vest (google it) and a hydration bladder (camelback). With this setup I travelled for several days in 45-47C across Australia's top-end.

Paul's right, in super heat a heavy riding jacket not ideal worn over armor jacket. A typical heavy riding jacket designed for UK/ N. Europe could be a POOR choice in HOT conditions ... too hot even without under armor.

I rode with armored under jacket, used light mesh wind breaker over it. Not good in cold but good in heat. But best to just lose riding jacket all together in super HOT weather. Stow it somewhere, keep armor on.

Desert riding isn't bad, it's a "dry" heat. Don't stop in the Sun, keep moving. High humidity plus high temps is most difficult condition IMO if riding off road.

I ended up strapping my full riding jacket to rear rack ... still too hot with the armor on. If you can keep rolling you get a bit of wind cooling, if going very slow and technical, it's tough.

Now I use a Mesh Jacket with GOOD built in armor. (no under jacket armor) No, not as protective as a full Armored jacket but plenty good for me. It's a Rev' It, has Elbow, Back, Shoulder protection. It fits snug so armor actually stays in place ... and works in a fall. doh

The whole jacket is MESH so good air flow to arms, chest, back. I still SWEAT a lot but skin is covered and in a fall the armor did it's job pretty well.

I wear MotoCross riding pants (flow a LOT of air!) with strap on knee guards. I wear Fox padded shorts for hip, tail bone, thigh protection. Sweaty and hot but better than nothing I guess! Bottom line? DON'T CRASH! :scooter:

On a recent 20k mile trip around South America I wore body armour like the one at adult Body Armour Motorcycle Motorbike Motocross spine Protector Guard Jacket | eBay

In hot places like the coast of Colombia and Brazil I wore an ice-hockey jersey over the top. In cold places like the high Andes and southern Patagonia I wore a Klim parka like https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/...acket-closeout In between I wore a fleece or 2, a down puffy jacket, or all of the above :freezing:

From the waist down: impact pants, knee braces, MX boots and technical lightweight "enduro" pants with lots of zip-able vents.

I also carried army surplus gortex pants and jacket for riding in the rain or when it was really cold.

I found I had everything I needed for whatever weather/riding conditions and the stuff I wasn't wearing packed down into not very much space.

Cheers folks, especially mr bright! Its all for south america, so the cold is as much of a worry. I like the idea of having the armour snugly in place with layers on top, rather than flapping around in the jacket. Guess ill give it a go. Thanks again... k.