Waist length or 3/4 jackets? Could anybody explain the differences to me?

Damn it. I just turned 30 and ordered a 3/4... My wife has told me that I'm prematurely turning into an old fart. Maybe there's something to her ramblings after all...

Nope, nothing to it at all. Don't feel bad, I've been riding for a decade, turned 30 last year and have never had anything but a 3/4 length jacket. Maybe I'm just ahead of my time? Or a dork! Well at least I'm not overweight.

Each of these pictures is of a one piece suit, not a 3/4 length jacket.

This being said, of course there is a point to having armor. Even if the jacket (or pants) is 10 sizes too big, having any armor is better than no armor. Obviously buying gear that is your size is best, but I'd rather have armor on gear that is a size too large than not having armor on gear that fits me.

The armor on my 3/4 length is more loose then on my onesie leather suit or my onesie road crafter. Doesn't matter to me I'm not too worried the comfort and function balance work out.

I'm in my mid 20's and own a leather Belstaff 3/4 and a Barbour International... Maybe I'm aged well beyond my years?

I don't own a BMW either

-Jake

I'm over 46 , but I still use a short jacket ( nice weather ) for a coffee, and a 3/4 for serious stuff

Thank you all very much for your informative responses

I get some of that "Clint Eastwood" stuff from the assistant principal where I teach. I actually wear one of those "newsie" style flat hats to take away a bit of that goth look. Gives me a reasonably friendly look. Can't quite justify some big brimmed hat, especially a cowboy or bush country hat - that'd be a step too far.


The justification for me was:

• waxed cotton - wind/waterproof - important in our area here where it seems average wind is like 15 mph and I wanted a decent coverage rain/snow coat - especially when shovelling the drive.
• long - see about wind/rain/snow above, keeps my legs dry further down.
• reasonable cost - about $100.
• looks kinda cool - even the wife didn't find too much fault with the look.

So, why not!
It has the inner thigh straps to keep the coat from flapping when riding a horse, but no way I'm wearing this on a bike.

That or don't want to get rain where it shouldn't go...






Of course if one looked like this, we'd prefer the shorter coat... or no coat at all!
:eek1




And sometimes not...




All I can say is PLEASE use good judgement!

Great Scott!!! Where do you find these pictures???? That's some funny stuff right there....

I've tried riding my GSXR with my Darien partly unzipped at the bottom. It's still annoying (to me - on a sportbike).

I don't wear it at all riding any more because I realized that, while it is the correct size for me, the protection it offers is just about worthless. It's not as heavy duty as my Roadcrafter and the sleeves are too loose to hold the (fairly small and pathetic) armor in place if I'm flying through the air. I mean, the armor would be better than nothing if I did in fact land on it. But, the jacket is so loose that I'm not betting my health on actually landing on it. If you crashed in a Darien and did actually land on the armor, I'm going go with, either, you have huge bodybuilder arms, or you got really lucky.

My Roadcrafter suit fits much more snugly and I have reasonable confidence that the armor will be in the right spot, if I get off. And, in fact, my one and only street crash in over 20 years was just about 5 years ago. I was doing an estimated 55MPH and low-sided my GSX-R off into a ditch. My Roadcrafter needed about $175 in repairs, but I didn't have a mark on me, nor a bruise.

That said, I don't even generally wear my Roadcrafter any more, either (except for special occasions). My Motoport mesh kevlar 2 pc suit (with jean style pants and a waist length jacket) fits me better. I am HIGHLY confident that the armor in that will stay in place if I go into low orbit. And even if I don't zip the jacket to the pants, it does not ride up and give me a draft in the back - even when I'm riding my GSX-R. A correctly tailored waist length riding jacket won't. And with the liners, it's better in the rain than my RC, and just as warm in the cold.

Oh, and I'm 46.

One solution that I've found is to buy your jacket a size large and to wear something else under it.

My Barbour International is a size large but my Vanson Vent Max 4 mesh jacket fits snugly against my body and fits underneath the Barbour without a problem. The Vanson is constructed of 1000 Denier Cordura mesh with leather patches in the elbows/shoulders and CE back/shoulder/elbow armor. It fits snugly enough to where the elbow/shoulder armor is always snug against my body.

I couldn't ask for a better combo and for the kind of riding I do I feel very comfortable with the protection that it offers.

-Jake

Next thing you know,your buying hi-vis, cause it safer !

Then you know your old

The 3/4 hides the beer belly better plus I m nearly fourty years old...

Hmmmm... Funny you mention that. I just placed an order for Hi Viz Dariens. Guess I really am old.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=863490

I keep looking at the new high-viz Klim Badlands... now where is my Geritol?

So now that we know the differences between waist length and 3/4 length jackets, does anyone know of a 'tweener? Like many have said, I hate how the 3/4 jackets bunch up for the "man boobs" effect, or if you unzip some from the bottom, you get the "flying nun" effect. I never use all them pockets anyway, so they are pretty useless to me.

The shorter waist length jackets are much more comfortable, but sometimes do seem to be just a tad to short for good coverage. Sometimes they feel like they are riding on the waitsband of my pants too, and I feel like I have to pull them down at each stop. Problem too with these is that they are pretty much designed for street use, so don't have good chest pockets, neck collars, etc. like the more dirt oriented 3/4s do.

Something just a bit longer than a waist length, but shorter than a 3/4 with no lower pockets would be the ticket (for me).

Anyone come across such an animal?

I'm glad you asked because I wonder, too. Back on page 1 bomber referred to a 2/4 jacket, what might that be?

Sarah

bomber was typing poorly ;-}

a tweenerr jacket, though, is quite likely available . . . . not all 3/4 length jackets are the same length . . . . . and, if you find one that hits your sweet spots in every other way, take it to someone with a heavy duty sewing machine and have it altered . . . . . . . ..