- Joined
- Jan 5, 2006
- Messages
- 55,201
- First Name
- Dave
- My Ride
- Speedmaster
- Riding Since
- 1974
Protection. That’s the primary purpose of riding gear. Yeah, it needs to keep you from getting too hot, too cold, and too wet, and style plays a role as well. But after all the sundry features of modern riding gear are touted, rider protection still is its main reason for being. Although we usually do not subject the protective aspects of riding gear to real-world crash testing, it does happen occasionally—but only by accident, as was the case with this jacket and pants from Tour Master. The Sonora Air is a three-quarter-length jacket comprising an outer shell made of Tour Master’s Armor-Link breathable mesh combined with 600-denier Carbolex. The shoulder, elbow, and forearm impact areas have 1,680-denier ballistic polyester on the outside and CE-approved armor inside; the back protector is of articulated, triple-density foam. A two-layer, zip-out liner has one waterproof and one insulated element that can be used separately, together, or not at all, depending upon the weather. There’s no breathable mesh on the Caliber pants, which use 600-denier Carbolex for the main shell and 600-denier ballistic polyester on the knee and seat panels. CE-approved armor protects the knees; removable internal and fixed external soft padding cushions blows to the hips.
I was wearing this combination when accidentally forced off the road and into a large pine tree at around 50 mph. The crash took out part of the bike’s fairing, and I grazed the tree with my right arm as I flew over the bars then slammed into a massive boulder with my left side. Fortunately, I was able to walk away, suffering only a mildly separated left shoulder, a couple of broken left-side ribs, and a bruised right arm. The jacket and pants escaped with only a tiny bit of barely detectable scuffing on the elbows, knees, and shoulders. After both items were washed, they looked practically new. More importantly, the parts of my body protected by the suit’s armor and padding were uninjured. The bruise on my right shoulder ended right where the armor began, and the left-side shoulder and rib injuries were caused by the sheer force of my 210-pound body impacting an immovable boulder at considerable speed. Did the gear keep me cool in hot weather and warm in cold (no rain here in drought-stricken California)? Yes. Would a rider wearing it fare as well in any other crash? Impossible to predict, since no two accidents are exactly alike. But in this one, at least, the Sonora Air and Caliber passed with flying colors.
UPS DOWNS
Tour Master tourmaster.com PRICE: Sonora Air Jacket $239.99 Caliber Pants $179.99
- Comfortable and non-restrictive
- Adjustable for wide variety of weather
- Reasonably priced
- Jacket's collar a too-loose fit
- Installing liners a headache
- Installing CE-approved armor a migraine
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