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JTS 3008 Cordura Touring Jacket
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In this era of silly money prices for substandard clothing, it's nice to find a piece of kit that does both the job and is affordable too. JTS do a budget range of bike wear, and wandering round the NEC a couple of winters
ago looking for a basic fabric jacket I happened across their stand and the snappily titled 3008. It's described as a 100% waterproof cordura touring jacket, and can still be found in the current catalogue. It fitted, it was
the right price so I bit the bullet and passed over the credit card
It's now done around 18 months service in tandem with my Aerostich Roadcrafter, so I'm pleased to say it's performed pretty well in that time. Like all
fabric jackets with a waterproof membrane that I have tried, 100% is something of a tall claim, but it gets close enough. It'll stand up to a couple of hours rain without leaking through the body of the jacket but after that,
it gets slightly damp inside. Less of a leak, more of a seepage - the storm flap at the front certainly does the job of keeping the rain out. Reproofing the fabric would probably help the dampness a bit. The hip pockets fill up
with water almost from the off, despite the storm flaps, so best not to store any documents or wallets in them, and the front of the suit is cut too long, so the water gets driven under the front edge of the jacket as it rests
on your thighs. If I know it's going to be a really wet day training, I generally wear one of the cheapie Hein Gericke Splash jackets over the top, a genuinely 100% waterproof combination, but for a short storm or a bit of
drizzle I'll rely on the JTS jacket to keep me dry.
The suit has also held up pretty well in terms of wear. The edge of one hip pocket and the vertically zipped pocket on the left breast (ideal for keeping the radio in)
has just started to tear, but they are the only faults resulting from wear and tear I can find.
A few detail criticisms. Getting into and out of it is a bit fussy - the double zip may well help keep the rain out and
exclude drafts, but because they are both identical in width and nearly the same length, it's easy to plug the wrong end in to the wrong zip, and end up having to unzip and start again. I'm not really sure what the point of the
button down flap at waist level is, and then on top of that is a click together tension strap which does a good job of stopping the jacket flapping. At the neck are two poppers on the collar - I found them impossible to do up,
the collar being too high and too narrow for my neck with just a thin Buff on underneath. There are also a couple of more or less useless tensioners on the arms, which keep coming unbuttoned and flap in the breeze. On really
hot days, even without the liner, it's a bit too warm - a couple of vents like the 'Stich would make a huge difference.
Other info... I haven't crash tested it, so I can't comment on the strength of the fabric, but it
hasn't torn when I have caught it on a handlebar or something, unlike a more expensive competitor's product! So I can't comment on the CE-approved body armour either, though it feels tough and chunky and doesn't move around too
much - the back protector seems particularly large. There is some Scotchlite piping in the seams - don't look much but they really show up at night. The Thinsulate lining is zip out and has stayed that way since I bought it -
thus without the liner, and with just a fleece and my headed waistcoat, the jacket has stayed warm enough on all but the very coldest of days - nice and light and not at all bulky to wear.
Mine is a yellow and black
colour scheme which shows up nicely during the day, but it appears to have been discontinued - the catalogue lists red, blue or black as the options. With sizes running from XS to XXXL and priced at £135, it would make a good
commuter jacket, or at a pinch behind a big fairing or with an overjacket, a decent touring jacket.
JTS are at 235-237 Ashby Road, Coalville, Leicester, LE67 3LG. Telephone 01530 812121
www.jtsbikerclothing.com
Survival Skills is an approved trainer and assessor
for Buckinghamshire County Council
and "National Motorcycle Escort Group" Qualified
Copyright © 2007 Survival Skills & Kevin Williams
Last Page update Wednesday, November 14, 2007
