TourMaster Sonora Air Men's Textile Motorcycle Jacket

Bottom line: I strongly recommend this jacket.Pros:- Cool in summer heat.- Lots of external pockets, plus internal pockets.- Feels like bare sleeves in the wind, without getting sunburned.- Hi-vis yellow feels more visible to the rider.- Internal liners allow use of the jacket in both hot and cool weather.Cons:- The price is high enough that I tried other alternatives first- Wrist velcros are too small/too stiff.- No CE-approved back protector.- Snaps aren't super-durable.The first jacket I bought for my bike is a Street and Steel leather jacket from Cycle Gear with thermal liner and arm/back vents. It's ok in the Florida winter but gets hot in the summer, and it has no adjustments of any kind, so it fits me too loose. So, I decided I needed a summer jacket. I wanted a mesh jacket for airflow, and I wanted a light color because I found that my leather jacket soaked up too much heat from the sun at stoplights.I researched and found the Tourmaster Sonora Air as one of the top-rated, but before I could make the purchase, I was gifted with a Joe Rocket Textile jacket (purchased for less than half the value of the Tourmaster Sonora). That one was a nice jacket, but I was hotter after my 22 mile commute home from work in the Joe Rocket than in the leather jacket (great winter jacket for Florida though).I decided that the Tourmaster Sonora was still going to be my next jacket, so when I had the funds arranged, I placed my order. Motorcycle Superstore via Amazon. I paid a little extra for sales tax in exchange for a return policy that would allow me to return it if I had any issues. The jacket sizing chart at Motorcycle superstore is accurate, so I was able to choose the correct size on my first try.It was on my doorstep on Friday after I arrived home from work. I had worn the leather jacket, so I was pretty hot. I tried it on with all the liners first and then took out both liners and tried it on again to test fit. With both liners installed, it was hot to wear and it stuck to my skin. To me, this means it will probably be warm in the winter because the inner liners fit fairly snug. I definitely don't want to wear them when I'm already hot though. Maybe a long-sleeve t-shirt would have been a good idea as a barrier. It has room for a sweater underneath if I need it.I took out the liners (lots of snaps and loops for each liner) and tried it on again. Standing in my house, already hot, the jacket felt warmer than shirt-sleeves, but I think this was to be expected. It felt a lot cooler than with the liners in though. I couldn't wait to get out on the road with it.I liked the adjustable waist straps. I I buttoned down the bicep arm straps to keep the elbow pads in-place. The forearm straps cut off a bit too much airflow around my arms for my comfort so I leave them at their loose setting. The velcro closures on the sleeves are a bit bulky, and I bought a pair of non-gauntlet summer pair of motorcycle gloves to get around the bulky cuffs.Monday morning rolled around. Sunny and warm, with a 40% chance or afternoon showers (normal for coastal Florida in the summer). In my first use of the jacket, the ambient air temperature was about 75F. With no liners, I actually felt a bit chilly. That's a good sign. The jacket allows the wind to pass right through. It felt great. Heat from my engine is still a factor at stoplights, perhaps a bit more-so than with the leather jacket because it just lets the air flow right through, but I'm not complaining. On subsequent days, I experienced the same level of breeze-through coolness.On the West coast of Florida, the temperature seldom exceeds 93 degrees, and it's usually not as humid close to the Gulf of Mexico as it can be further in-state. 92F with 60% humidity is not the same as 105F in Dallas during July/August, or 95F with 80% humidity during June in Dallas.However, hot is still hot. Sitting in traffic with the jacket on at 92F with a sunburn from weekend boating is still somewhat uncomfortably warm, but it's not as hot as wearing my black leather jacket, nor is it as painful as sitting in the sun with a sunburn.I felt like I needed to compare how hot it feels by testing what the jacket feels like in direct sun and in the shade relative to my leather jacket. In the black leather jacket, I could immediately tell the difference between sun and shade. Sun felt way hotter. In the Tourmaster Sonora, the difference between sun and shade is much less pronounced. To me, this means that the Tourmaster is much cooler than my black leather Street and Steel jacket.I made another comparison relative to the feeling of heat on my legs. In the sun, my black leather jacket felt so warm that I didn't notice the heat of the sun on my jeans. Conversely, my legs feel hot when wearing the Tourmaster.All the hot feelings go away though once my bike is moving at 1st gear speeds or higher. It doesn't take as long to begin cooling off, and I don't arrive home soaked with sweat.I like the Hi-Vis. It was immediately apparent that other drivers could see me more easily than when wearing my black leather jacket.The pockets are great. There are hand pockets in the standard position for most jackets. There are also two large zippered breast pockets with outside zipper closures, and there is a single huge lumbar pocket with zippers on either side. The jacket and the liners each have a full set of internal pockets, although the liners' largest internal pockets are slightly smaller than the jacket's largest internal pocket. The internal pockets have velcro closures, many of them have flaps. The exterior pockets have zippered closures with large tabs and the breast pockets have glove-friendly tab-extenders.The liners completely change the jacket. First, the rain liner will keep the rider's upper body dry in the rain. I simply put it on and then put the jacket on over it (without attaching everything). I store the rain liner in the jacket's back lumbar pocket during summer months so it's there if I need it. It gives me an added lumbar support under my backpack when stored this way. The rain liner can zip and button into the jacket, but I will only use this ability if I'm expecting to need both liners for an extended period of time. The rain liner's velcro water seal over the rain liner zipper takes a bit of getting used to. When the rain liner is fully installed in the jacket, there are two zippers to close. The rain liner zipper is followed by the rain liner velcro, followed by the jacket zipper.Second, the thermal liner adds about 10F degrees of additional comfort to the jacket. I'm pretty cold-intolerant, so I get chilly if the temperature outside is 72F. The thermal liner zips and buttons into the rain liner in the same way that the rain liner zips and buttons into the jacket. I find that I tend to fully install the thermal liner into the rain liner and then put the duo on before putting the jacket on. I could just as easily wear a ski jacket under the two and have a similar, or better effect. The two liners together won't fit in the jacket's rear pocket, so additional storage is needed if commuting to work on cooler mornings and home on warmer afternoons.If I ride into a shower without the rain liner I get wet fast, but with the Sonora I also dry off fast. One morning I left the house and ran right into a shower on my 45 minute drive to work. I was mostly dry by the time I got to work.If I ride in cool weather without liners or additional outerwear, I get pretty cold. Wearing short sleeves in 64F temperatures at highway speeds results in pretty noticeable wind-chill.About visibility - It's always important to watch out for inattentive drivers because there are far too many out there, but this jacket seems to make me more visible relative to other motorcyclists on the road.After using the jacket for over six months, I have a small set of areas where the jacket could be improved.- First, the back protector really could stand some beefing up. I removed the back protector from my Street & Steel jacket and added it to the Tourmaster Sonora via the included velcro pocket in the back of the jacket.- My second wish list item is more difficult to address effectively. The wrist velcros are rubber-covered and they're about 3/4" by 2" long. The rubber adds a lot of bulk to the velcro strap, making it difficult to fit gauntlets over without adjusting the velcro on the gauntlets. I would rather a 2" wide by 3" long velcro strap without the fancy rubber because it would do the job, it would be more secure, and it wouldn't interfere with gauntlets.- Third, the forearm and upper-arm cinches use snaps that allow you to tighten the jacket around your arms. The snaps started out very tight. Recently, one popped off when I tried to adjust the forearm tightness. Now, the snap flap flies annoyingly in the breeze. I recommend opening the snaps before laundering and using a lubricant inside the snaps before re-closing them.- Finally, the waist velcros are nice to have, but they don't really hold any real tension. If you tighten them too much and then inhale, expect them to release.

5'8" 235, Shoulders 19", 38" waist. I lift regularly. I based this size off of a 48-50 inch chest, which put me in an XL. Even with all of the layers installed, it was much too large. This was probably sized for 24" shoulders? On me, the pads were so loose that they would never stay in place in an accident. The sleeves were ok, but had to be knocked down a size, which you can do as it has adjustable snaps. Length a little long, but workable. Waist had to be cinched in, again doable as there are velcro straps. Breathability was great. I didn't ride in it, but i could feel the air flowing through it walking around the house. Elbow and shoulder pads are plastic with a 1/4 " foam lining it seems like. This thing is a little complex. Both layers have their own set of snaps at the sleeves, shoulders, wrists, as well as zippers. When all assembled, getting your arms out is a little tough. The fabric wants to go with you as you pull out your arms, and it all gets kind of twisted. However, with both in place this is a very warm jacket. I re-ordered in a large, which fit me great. however, the front zipper (another gripe) is a double pull so that you can zip it all the way up, but open it up in the front by pulling down the second pull. I guess so you can reach in to an internal pocket this way. This, for me (and apparently another person) was really hard to pull up. Putting the male end in to two pulls, took some jiggling and tugging down on the jacket. Once situated, they pulled up fine, but getting everything aligned was a little tough. The large jacket i received had been sent to someone else. The plastic wrapping was torn, and there was an extra elbow pad shoved up in the jacket. However, they had also broken the top zipper pull... partially. Apparently they had the same problem i did with both jackets. As i was trying to get the pull up, the tab broke off (plastic pull tab). This is not fixable, so i'm sending this one back as well. I am going to try a different jacket. There were just too many neg's that overrode the looks (great looking jacket) and breathability(good air flow).

I really like this jacket. It's very "modular" - the three layers can be removed/added depending on weather conditions. Unless you enjoy the smell of burning asphalt coming from your elbows I recommend always wearing the outer layer. This is armoured mesh, pretty heavy and looks like it offers pretty decent protection. Thankfully I havent tested that yet. The armour seems very solid for absorbing impacts, and the mesh doesn't look like it would rip easily in the event of a slide across the road.There are then two inner layers that can be individually removed: - Waterproof layer. Also works well as a windproof layer. Mostly waterproof, but lets be honest you're still going to get wet with water coming in from above or below the jacket. - Thermal layer. Haven't used this very much, even at near-freezing, the other two layers were enough for me. Comfy though.The pockets are large and plentiful, so there's lots of room for your gear. My gloves live in the two front pockets where my hands naturally want to go, so that's easy. There are two huge pockets in the front that fit my phone/wallet etc.Overall this seems very good value for money.