British Motorcycle Gear

Categories: Gear

I Got Mine: Viking Cycle’s Ironside Mesh Jacket

You already read about Joe Gresh’s Viking Cycles jacket. I received my Viking jacket around the same time Gresh received his. Like Joe’s jacket, mine is vented, and that’s entirely appropriate for the extreme heat we are having here in So Cal.  It flows a lot of air, and once moving, riding in hot weather is tolerable.  And you have to love the orange on this jacket.  Orange is the fastest color; if you don’t believe me, just ask good buddy Orlando.  That’s Orlando and Velma in RAZ (you know, the Rachel Autonomous Zone, where ketchup bottles are assigned to specific tables).  Those two never miss an opportunity to pose with an orange motorcycle.

The Viking is a good-looking jacket, with plenty of pockets.   There are two chest pockets, two belly pockets, and a pocket suitable for cell phones or eyeglasses just inside the zipper.

The inside pocket…suitable for shades, or maybe a cell phone.  The zippers all appear to be of good quality, too.

About those belly pockets…they are sized perfectly for holding a lot of different things.  Baseball hats, cell phones, Yoo-Hoo boxes, and more.

My jacket came with a spec card, and rather than try to describe the specs myself, I’ll let the card do the talking.

The jacket had a desiccant pouch in one of the pockets.  I always wonder what prompts warnings on things.  Take a look:

Don’t eat the desiccant.  Seriously?  You know the good folks who make these things put that warning on the desiccant because somebody did.  Even with warnings, though, people still do the things the warnings warn them not to do.  You know, folks who urinate on the electric fence because they just have to find out for themselves.  Some of those people vote, too.  But I digress. Back to the main attraction, and that’s my review of the Viking Cycles jacket.  It’s made in Pakistan.  That’s okay by me.

Like most motorcycle jackets, the Viking Cycles jacket has a beltline adjustment strap and straps for adjusting sleeve flop.  The jacket also has a removable liner, and mine has the pocket tether and hook Gresh already mentioned in his review, presumably for a spare key.

As Joe Gresh commented in his jacket review, the Viking jacket’s price is surprisingly low at $49.99.  I’ve had lots of motorcycle jackets over the last few decades; this price is way lower than anything I’ve had before, even considering employee discounts and inflation.  I believe the Viking Cycles jacket is of comparable quality to most other jackets I’ve had, and better than most.  Time will tell, but so far, things are looking good.


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Joe Berk

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