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Brief If you're not wearing a jacket when you ride, then your missing one of the most important pieces of protective gear there is for motorcyclists. True enough, a good jacket could save you much pain and suffering in the event you're ejected from your bike. When it comes down to which jacket is best for you, there are many manufactures to choose from. Icon's line of street gear is again proving to be very rider oriented and gives us riders what we really need for our day to day riding. Overview Icon's style is yet again top notch. The Neo Daytona jacket may not be as flashy as the others, but it holds true to rider comfort and utility. Features like CE armor in the arms, shoulders and back, longer cut design that doesn't bunch up around the waist and a liner with sweatshirt like cuffs to help keep the cold weather out when riding in the cooler months. All these features are designed with the rider in mind and make the jacket quite suitable for the daily rider. Details The Neo Daytona jacket is made with high quality 1.2 - 1.4 mil leather. Combine this with included anatomically correct body armor in the shoulders, back and elbows, this jacket has more than enough protection for the street rider. Icon's exclusive straight cut design is really a welcome change as it better fits the body for street use. Most sport related jackets are made for the track with a pre-curved design made to better accommodate a rider in full tuck. As most of us are not often riding around the city streets in full tuck, this longer wider cut is more suited for our riding style. At first I was a bit worried that the jacket had no venting on the chest or back. The only venting described by the manufacturer was the perforated arms. Where I live, the summer temperatures can reach well above the 100 degree mark, so I didn't want to get stuck with a jacket that was just too darn hot to wear. What I found was, the perforated arms work great because of the jackets long cut. When riding, I can feel the air move in through the arms, up over my shoulders and back down and out my back and chest. The open cut jacket bottom keeps the air moving and the jacket proved to be very comfortable on those hot days The jacket did so well on the hot days, I was worried that this air flow would also cause me to be cold when the weather turned chilly. Well, that just wasn't the case. When I added the liner to the jacket, I noticed that the cuffs were cinched like what you'd find on a sweatshirt. This kept the air from sneaking in under the liner from the jacket's large outer cuffs. Surprisingly, the air flow that I felt when riding in the summer was significantly stifled by the full inner liner. Now this jacket has no neck protection at all so you'll need to find an alternative mode to keep your head warm, but otherwise the jacket seems to work great in both heat and cold. The jacket does have a couple of areas that I found to be a little troublesome. The inner jacket pocket is too small to store most objects. I would have preferred it to be a little larger for storing my ChatterBox when I don't want to bring the tank bag. Also, the outer cuffs are pretty large and I found it hard to get my Ti-Max gauntlet style gloves up over them. I got used to just wearing my gloves under the cuffs which does get a little cumbersome in the cool months with the liner in. The addition of integrated neck protection would have been nice but even with these few faults, I would definitely recommend this jacket to those looking for a great street jacket that incorporates a lot of unique styling and comfort for today's rider.
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