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.


Read our Product Reviews here!

Hasty Conclusions:  First Look at Viking Cycle’s Warlock Jacket

 Viking Cycle sent Joe Berk a new jacket to test and since I’m the loyal, half-witted sidekick, Berk made sure I got one, too. Viking Cycle was just in time with their products because the heat in New Mexico was getting a bit much for me. I was tempted to go bare on my motorcycle. The folks at Viking Cycle let me pick whichever jacket I wanted and I chose the Warlock, a mesh jacket that should flow plenty of air. I went with the high viz color because car drivers, along with Americans in general, are getting more careless in their comportment. And I look cool besides.

Viking Cycle’s prices are incredibly low. The Warlock mesh in several colors retails for just $54.99 and if you give Viking your email (or invent a new one) they will knock 15% off the already ridiculously low price. All the Viking gear is very economical (check out their website). If you’ve been paying attention to ExhaustNotes you know I’m a cheap bastard. The Warlock appeals to me in that place where my miser instinct festers.

The Warlock comes with a zip-in, vest-style liner, which I promptly removed and tossed into the growing pile of other inner liners. I don’t use them and on a mesh jacket it would defeat the purpose of the mesh. Instead I’ll toss a rain jacket over the Warlock if it gets too cool. Colder still and I’ll put a shirt on underneath the mesh. It’s all about the layers, man.

Kind of a neat feature that I’ve never seen before is the front-pocket lanyard. I guess you can clip your house keys or 9mm semi-automatic pistol to the lanyard and it will prevent them from falling onto the ground when you’re retrieving other items from the pocket. There are four front pockets and one inner pocket. The pockets are plastic so they should delay rainwater from getting inside but if it’s raining you will probably have the whole jacket covered anyway. The Warlock has back armor, elbow armor, and chest armor. The elbow armor slips into a hook-and-loop pouch and sometimes when I slide my arm into the sleeves my finger will catch on the pouch. Not a big deal but since I have not tested the jacket yet I have to come up with something.

The Warlock is made in Pakistan which should appeal to my anti-China friends (I’m talking to you, Keith). To tell you the truth I’m not sure if we are at war with Pakistan or not but it can’t hurt to outsource some of our manufacturing to a wide variety of countries just to keep the world’s economy humming.

I like the fit of my XL Warlock. The arms are slim so they shouldn’t flap around yet the middle is suitably sized for a well-fed Westerner like me. As far as quality goes, the Warlock looks like any other mesh motorcycle jacket. I mean, I’m not a seamstress, I don’t see any glaring problems. I will need to put a few thousand miles on the Warlock mesh jacket to see if anything goes pear-shaped. Unfortunately it’s been raining like mad here in New Mexico and I don’t want to get my motorcycle dirty. Keep watching this space for a full road test of the Warlock.


See more ExhaustNotes product reviews here!