Hi!
Let's unpick this Linesman Jacket feedback from Mika.
Firstly, let's not get too carried away, The Linesman Jacket is not a fully waterproof outer layer, I need to manage your expectations, but it does include water resistant tech that helps keep you dry.
Let me explain.
The Linesman Jacket was born out of our experience of lightweight adventure trail riding.
(You can read more about our design approach here).
Ten years ago your option was relatively heavy and cumbersome textile motorcycle jackets, or lightweight and not very protective hiking soft shell jackets.
Nothing in the middle.
It was as though the motorcycle industry only really expected us to ride adventure bikes on the road, and the hikers didn't really expect us to ride adventure bikes on the trails.
The Linesman Jacket was our answer to that middle ground.
A soft-shell hiking jacket with the additional abrasion and impact protection you need for trail riding on a motorcycle.
And here's Mika's secret ingredient.
The Linesman Jacket fabric may look like a traditional soft-shell material, but it's actually a three layer fabric.
You read that right.
A three layer fabric.
The inner fabric is a soft brushed liner that traps air to insulate your body and wicks and distributes moisture (sweat) away from your skin and throughout its own structure to speed up evaporation.
The middle membrane is a PU film, a thin stretchy layer of material engineered to be waterproof, windproof and able to transport moisture (sweat) through its molecular structure allowing it to ‘breathe’.
The outer fabric is a tightly woven polyester. The tight weave of this layer offers a good balance of protection and abrasion resistance but remains soft and subtle. Elbow and shoulder abrasion zones are further protected by a nylon 6-6 and Kevlar mix fabric.
So, that magic middle membrane PU film that you can't see or feel is doing a heck of a lot of work while you are out riding.
It's keeping you warm by stopping the wind from getting through, and it's keeping you dry by stopping the rain... mostly... in light conditions.
Because what The Linesman Jacket doesn't have is any seam tape (which stops rain getting in through the seams).
And that outer polyester is going to wet out eventually.
We built The Linesman Jacket to exist as part of our layering system, which means its field of operation is focussed.
When the suns out and you are on the trails, you're going to be good.
If it rains a little, you'll be OK.
And if the heavens open, you are going to want to put an Aqua Pac Jacket over the top.
And as Mika says, take the armour out and add The CE AA Supershirt underneath and you are going to be flying.
☝️☝️☝️
Greg Villalobos
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