Spyke Cruiser Jacket - Review

The Cruiser Jacket from Spyke is one of their most versatile items in the range, with convertible mesh panels from warmer weather and hi-vis inserts on more bleak rides they seem to have thought of it all, Leigh gets one on to see if it lives up to the spec sheet

Initial Thoughts

I must admit to being a fan of these kinds of clothing item, when a manufacturer offers something that has features for all seasons it really floats my boat and mainly because here in the UK we get weather than can go from scorching summer heat to a wintery hail storm or torrential downpour within a matter of a few days. The Cruiser Jacket from Spyke was excitedly introduced to me by their UK importer as their go anywhere jacket so I was keen as mustard to get one through and put it to the test for a few months at the same time as their Hudson trousers which I also had the chance to review.

Construction

As I have mentioned in other reviews for Spyke sizing is usually quite small but the Cruiser jacket I would say is probably a little more generous than their norm and the 3XL is truer to a standard Euro 60 size than I expected it to be. What this means of course is that you can fit the various liners to the jacket without too much of a squeeze and not have to go up a size that I would typically advise on Spyke kit, Italian brands specifically seem to be more of a slender fit compared to a similar UK manufacturer.

The Cruiser jacket I got was all black, quite a plain looking jacket with multitudes of pockets, white and black looks simply amazing and also has the bonus to increase visibility so had I been buying this jacket the white and black would have been my choice, you get a total of 8 front pockets on the cruiser and half of these are waterproofed and lined, you also get a handy back pocket which is removable and ideal for maps or documents if you are travelling with a pillion and even more perfect when riding solo for stuffing in your spare jacket bits when they are removed. What I am talking about here is that two of the chest pockets unzip completely to become mesh panels and coupled with side panels that also zip off you have a truly convertible jacket for those really hot days, pack them in your back pocket and should you get caught in a rain shower or worse it is a simple job to fix them back in place and keep dry.

The Cruiser Jacket from Spyke also has an additional ace in the hole in the form of Hi-Visibility bands that cross the bicep and fold into their own little compartment if not required, in practice I found this to be a little awkward as there is no instruction on the best way to fold these out of the way and on my first few attempts I found the rolled up arm band created a bit of an uncomfortable lump. Once you get used to them though they work well and really add to the levels of visibility out on the road when things go dark, they compliment the reflective detailing on the Cruiser Jacket nicely and with all this talk of compulsary Hi-Vis at the moment offers a neat little swing on things.

When the heavens open and the wet stuff comes the Cruiser Jacket performs above average without the waterproof liner fixed back in place, it managed to hold off a couple of showers without giving me the soggy feeling of damp textiles on my tshirt, one thing that works better than I expected was the waterproof zip surrounding the mesh vents, on another jacket I reviewed I found over time that a little bit of cold air would get through and make for some really cold areas - especially after a bit of rain had got through. Putting the waterproofing back in place means that you are going to stay dry with the Cruiser and when the weather turns for the worse and that winter season brings the cold the thermal liner does an excellent job of keeping you warm too which makes this jacket one for all seasons.

There are a couple of things though that while good also annoyed me after a while and these are the very features I just mentioned. All those zip panels seem to be clunky in application and not as elegant as I would otherwise have expected from the usually stylish and suave Spyke, the side mesh panels for instance are twin zips with a velcro top which of course brings twice the amount of fasteners you would like to have, this is odd because on other parts of the jacket you have a single curved zip which in my opinion would have been a much more elegant solution. The way the side panels work along with the little arm band stowaway makes the jacket feel a little bit overengineered - I certainly felt on occasion that I needed a doctorate to make any changes quickly.

Finally, the liners, again feel overengineered and I cannot explain why as they are just a waterproof drop liner and a thermal liner, something felt more complicated than it ought to have been and seemed to have more zips than it actually needed. Once you have the jacket as you like though it works really well, all armour is of high quality and stays where it should be while riding.