Hello everyone! It’s summer so lots of people are out shopping for new leather, including myself. I want something that looks great and functions as good as it looks, something from a strong, reputable brand that fits well and will make my summer rides all that more enjoyable for it. To that end- my choice is the Rev’It Masaru. Or I should say it -was- my choice. After trying it on and giving it a thorough look over for this blog- I just had to have it.
So what attracted me to the Masaru enough to make me want it and want to talk about it? Honestly, call me superficial but its the looks. The jacket’s style sort of looks like a subtle blend of sport and racer with just a hint of something more warrior like in there with the shapes the panels make and the positioning of the extra padding on the upper chest and shoulders. I also wanted something with a quick flash of colour aside from being totally black. My intention is to get a hold of a white bike, so I picked up the Masaru with white on to have a look at. And I love it, there’s just enough colour in there to be noticeable but not enough to be obnoxious. Most of the colour is visible on the back but considering the sporty nature of the jacket and how sport riders tend to have a thing for speed- I feel like having the majority of the colour on the back was a deliberate choice; you want the people who see you to be behind you and eating your dust.
The jacket is made from “Monaco Performance Cowhide”, that is to say they’ve made this jacket out of really durable Cow. Its a top-grain leather that’s been smoothed off to correct imperfections and then reinforced to bolster it’s protective capabilities and make it suitable for riding on a track, let alone at lower speeds in the street. Its some of the most protective leather you can invest in and if you take care of it- its an investment that’ll last you a long time too.
Along with the leather, in the arm pits and down the inner side of the arm, is a PWR Shell 500D fabric. Its Rev’It’s version of Cordura which is made of high performace materials with a high melting point and superb durability with it’s high standards of tear and abrasion resistance. There’s also Neoprene in areas such as around the neck for comfort and Lorica- a more soft kind of leather but this has only been used to put on the Rev’It branding over the Monaco Cowhide.
To keep you warm there’s a removable thermal body warmer, it’s basically an extra vest inside the jacket but it’s kept quite lightweight using thin, thermal material so that it doesn’t bulk up the jacket like you would find in a thermal liner with a textile jacket. I’m usually a large when I buy textile jackets and I’m no different in leather it seems as well- I tried on the Large, a size 52 [uk 42] and it fits me perfectly. I was very reluctant to take it off after trying it on so I’ve ended up with a new jacket in my collection. The back of the jacket comes down a healthy amount, so I’m not concerned about the back of the jacket riding up while I’m on the bike and exposing my back to the air. The arms have a really good length too, so even while leaning forward on the bike I could quite comfortably get the very ends of my sleeves into the cuff of my short summer gloves and they don’t shift down the wrist very much.
The protection it comes with is already top notch too. It has SEEFLEX CE Level 2 armour in the shoulder and elbows already- most other brands settle with just giving you the level 1 stuff. While the jacket doesn’t come with a back protector there is a pocket for one- and the opening for the pocket is nice and high up too, so you’ll never need to worry about it falling down your back. The back protector pocket is specifically tailored to the SEESOFT CE Level 2 Back Protector, the 52 [UK42] that I got takes the size 04 protector. If you already own a back protector insert that you want to try out, the back protector pocket can accommodate an insert with a maximum width of roughly 21cm with a length at a maximum of roughly 44cm for the jacket in my size.
I think that’s all there really is to talk about regarding protection but, although its a sport style jacket- lets talk about cargo options. On the front of the jacket there are two pockets, both secured with zippers and they’re actually a pretty good size, so you can safely store your phone and wallet in there if you wished. Behind the main zipper of the jacket is a smaller zip that gives access to a stash pocket- big enough for your wallet, phone or some folded documents. On the other side of the jacket the thermal vest has a decent sized pocket that secures using a Velcro tab but if you take the thermal vest out there is another pocket behind it that is roughly the same size and secures with a zipper.
Speaking of zippers, the Masaru has both a long and short connection zippers in the jacket for connecting them to your motorcycle pants, as long as the zipper is compatible- They’ll almost definitely be compatible with any pants made by Rev’It though. But of course, I’d have to recommend pairing this jacket with the matching pants of the same name- The Rev’It Masaru Leather Motorcycle trousers. We don’t have any of those here at Ghostbikes.com HQ though so I’m afraid I couldn’t try any of those on for you. But if we do get them in-house at all in the future, you can be assured that I’ll be grabbing a pair to slip in to and I’ll let you know all about it.
The Masaru also comes in a couple of other colours too. There’s the White which is my personal choice and there’s also Red and Yellow
All in all- I really love this jacket. There’s just something about leather that feels so cool but also feels so safe. The £369.99 price tag is definitely a dent in the wallet but for this kind of quality and how much I’m in love with the Masaru, I’m almost completely numbed to it.
Thanks for reading everybody! Until next time!
-MattW at Ghostbikes.com
