Weise Nomad Jacket Hot

Weise Clothing send us their new for 2010 Nomad jacket which sports their usual WRS alongside a bucket load of ventilation, lets see how all season it is!

Initial Thoughts

There is a lot to be said for the standard issue all black textile utilitarian jacket, leather is nice especially on a sportbike but there are just those times where textile is the order of the day, however when the sun is up and the mercury is high they can be a real pain - often suffering from stifling lack of ventilation in order to maintain high protection - not the Nomad though!

Construction

We have reviewed a fair bit of the Weise range which really does show that as a company they put their money (and reputation) where their mouth is, there are still a few of the more expensive brands that for some reason dont want us to review their kit (could it be that the likes of Weise would show it up?) In any case the Nomad arrived with a few other items and had my name all over it, it is all black and pretty standard looking although a good looking standard if truth be told, the first thing that springs out here is that there are some seriously big zipped panels on the chest and also two on the arms. Open all these up and you find massive mesh areas to provide that all important ventilation when required but of course in position they allow colder weather riding.

Speaking of colder weather riding this jacket seems to be geared towards it, with fleece zip out insulating layer which is also usable as a separate item (nice touch Weise) you have a jacket that can and will handle all types of weather - I have had this now in freezing conditions, rain storms and recently a heatwave so I really can vouch for its function in different seasons. In the cold the fleece does an ample job of getting the warmth in to you and for the heatwave the vented panels offer a massive amount of air flow through the jacket - on the last Weise jacket I commented on  the lack of a rear exhaust vent which I am happy to announce has been added to the Nomad, this time when you are plodding along the air finds its way out of the jacket rather than puffing it up which leads to greater concentration on the road. As well as the fleece there is a zip out waterproof liner for extra wet weather protection - talk about all the bases covered.

In the rain I have had the Nomad barely wet in showers with the vent panels undone and while the weather was nice and warm found the airflow dried out any dampness quickly, I had to pull over once as the shower turned into downpour and adding the vent panels back on kept the cold out, the water away and made for a nice and dry ride home.

Fitting wise the Nomad is a more snug fit to my frame than the Climate Jacket but not tight - it simply feels like it has been more carefully cut to a shape, however there is still the small niggle with the location of the velcro cinch banding around the waist which again showed a tendancy to hoist the jacket up at the back while riding, not so bad if you are connected to a set of Weise textiles but in Kevlar jeans I did find I had to pull the jacket down when I came to some lights. All in all though the Nomad is an excellent jacket, with velcro adjusters round the neck, plenty of pockets on the front and a handy rear compartment you have enough storage, the front pockets have waterproof zips which didnt seem to let any water in but for extra security for phones and MP3 players Weise really should have added an inside zipped pocket which again is missing from the Nomad jacket.