I learned a lot from reviews on this site. Here is a comparison of something I have, with something I’m thinking of getting. I have a Tourmaster Intake mesh jacket
http://www.tourmaster.com/xcart/prod...uctid=43&cat=3 and Venture mesh pants
http://www.tourmaster.com/xcart/prod...ctid=174&cat=4. I bought these for summer riding and they work really well from about 75-96 degrees F on the highway and about 70-95 F in the city. Below about 75 on the highway, the windproof liner is required to make the jacket comfortable. When I bought these, I knew I was trading comfort for protection. Now that fall is around the corner, I am thinking of getting fall-winter-spring gear. I thought that this would be easy, but not so. Here is how I compare potential new gear with my mesh. I am looking at either the Olympia Phantom one-piece suit
http://www.olympiamotosports.com/phantom/Phantom.htm or the Olympia AST jacket
http://www.olympiamotosports.com/ast_mens/ast_mens.htm and Ranger pants
http://www.olympiamotosports.com/men...rangerpant.htm .
I spent about 45 minutes trying one the different Olympia (O) jackets and suits. I will use this gear over jeans or business casual work clothes, for commuting to work or short weekend trips. I used a 0-10 scale with the winner of each category getting 10.
Impact Protection*: Olympia 8, Tourmaster 10
All have CE armor approved in the knees, shoulders, elbows and pads on the back and hips. The TM armor feels better. Also the TM jacket has additional padding on the back (in addition to the pad) and on the shoulder, elbow and tailbone. The hip pad on the TM pants is wider and covers more area. The TM impact areas are covered in ballistic polyester, while O uses ballistic nylon. I think Nylon is tougher. But, if the armor stays in place, it would be better to take an impact while wearing the Tourmaster stuff.
Abrasion Resistance*: Olympia 10, Tourmaster 4
TM stuff is armor-link mesh. The reviews of mesh stuff have been mixed. TM also uses a mix Carbolex and polyester (actually the Carbolex seems to be made out of polyester). I e-mailed TM and they said that that their armor link mesh was comparable to 500 denier Carbolex I think the jury is still out on Carbolex. TM shows Carbolex being about twice as good as Nylon in abrasion and 2.3 times as good in a tear test. However, they failed to note the weight of Nylon or of the Carbolex. Also, there was no comparison to leather or Cordura. I asked TM for some more data on Carbolex but they have not responded.
The O stuff is all 500 denier Cordura and either 1500 or 2000 denier Cordura and/or ballistic nylon in the impact areas. Cordura looks pretty good in lab test (comparing it with leather…not as good, but close) and in many unofficial crash tests.
Riding Comfort below 70 F*: Olympia 10, Tourmaster 8
O wins here because it has better venting. Below 70 F, I would be wearing the windproof liner in the Tourmaster. This thing does not breathe well (ironic that a mesh jacket doesn’t breathe). If you get hot, you have two levels of venting. Unzipping the lining and spreading it open at the chest or taking the liner off. With the Olympic gear you can open the different sleeve and chest vents to control the temperature. In really cold weather, you can add an insulated liner. These liners look about the same. The neck of the TM is designed for how weather so it is low and unsealed. The O collars are a lot warmer.
Jacket Staying In Place In a Slide*: Olympia 10 (6), Tourmaster 4
Although the TM jacket has an 8” zipper that attaches to the pants, (and I always attach it), the front and the sides of the jacket can still be raised quite easily. The back attachment (fabric connecting the zipper) does not look all that strong either. The O jacket and pants have a similar zipper attachment. I gave the O slightly higher marks because the jacket is longer. Of course, the one piece suit eliminates this problem all together so it gets the 10.
Rain Protection: Olympia 10, Tourmaster 9
With the liner in, the TM gear is water tight. I have been in 2 rain storms and stayed dry in both. The problem is, that you have to have the liner in place. I probably would not use the pants liner unless the temp was below about 50F. With the O, everything is always waterproof. Since the O gear has more overlap and/or total coverage, I gave it a higher mark.
Visibility, Day-Morning-Twilight*: Olympia 10, Tourmaster 4
OK, this one was my fault. I thought that the grey TM jacket looked cool. But, nothing in the TM line is as bright as the O neon yellow. This thing is really bright. I have something similar that I where when I bicycle and I can tell that cars really see me well. During the morning commute or during twilight, the neon yellow is much better.
Fashion sense/off bike utility: Olympia 6, Tourmaster 10
I think the TM jacket looks better than either O options (even if I changed to the grey O choices). I just like the look of the short jacket. I have also worn the jacket in the store or at a baseball game without looking too weird. I think I would get gawked at in the neon O gear. I think you would always have to leave the Phantom on the bike or walk around looking like you are on the road construction crew.
Nighttime Visibility: Olympia 10, Tourmaster 10+
This is close to a tie. Both have a lot of reflective piping. TM uses Phoslite. This stuff lights up whenever stray light hits it (I notice it when the jacket is hanging up in my closet). O uses Scotchlite. Assuming it is as good, the coverage is about the same.
Entry/Exit Speed: Olympia 10 (9), Tourmaster 9
It takes me about a minute to put my TM gear on over clothes and boots. I would expect the 2 piece O to be the same. I was able to put on the O 1 piece in a minute or less.
Convenience Features: Olympia 10, Tourmaster 8
O has many more pockets and waterproof pockets. The TM needs a plastic Ziploc bag to keep my blackberry dry. The Phantom can hold almost everything I have in my tank bag
Piece of mind: Olympia*: 10, Tourmaster 5
Carbolex vs Cordura, mesh vs non mesh, one piece vs two piece, visibility vs stealth
And the winner is…….O with 94 out of 110. TM scored a very respectable 78. The fact that TM scored so well speaks to the versatility of their system of multiple liners. I know that the categories I used don’t have equal weights. I “*”’ed the ones that were most important to me. My TM gear will continue to be my choice in hot weather. Now should I get the one-piece phantom, or the two piece O gear???? Hmm….
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Tourmaster Mesh vs Olympia Phantom/AST/Ranger (long!)
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