Looking Cool, Staying Cool

American motorcyclists have it easy. If you don’t like the weather where you live, just ride cross a couple state lines and you’ve got warmer, cooler, drier roads to lay rubber down. My dad always made a habit of crossing at least one state line on his Sunday jaunts, if only to get out of the summer heat or winter chill.

But other parts of the world don’t get the same advantage. In England, you can only go so far without crashing into the sea, fostering ingenuity instead of riding until the season suits. And when the weather gets hot, it gets seriously hot!

So the clever folks at Ventz have a brilliant but simple solution: their patented sleeve inserts that rough cooling air into your riding jacket to decrease the rider’s body temperature. Gear makers have been trying everything for years to keep jackets cooler, from zippers, flaps and even specially treated heat-reflected materials. But for a fraction of the cost, Ventz lets you add air to your favorite jacket as the weather dictates.

It sounds brilliant, but how does it work in the real world? Better than you’d think, but they come with a few quirks. Bad news first: they add one more step in your daily gear-up process. Not a big deal, but if you ride with glasses or other junk, you may find yourself juggling in the morning as the bike warms up. And if you like to run errands down to grab a pint of milk, stop at the bank and so on, you’ll find yourself taking them on and off at every stop…unless you’re the type to walk into the grocery in full riding kit.

But the good news? Cooler temperatures, no question. Even when you’re sitting at a red light, the extra space at the end of the sleeve helps keep a layer of cool air between you and your jacket. And even moving at a slow pace in urban traffic, the comfort factor is easily noticeable. As inexpensive as Ventz are, it’s hard not to justify the purchase if you ever ride in temperatures above 80 degrees F.

One more comment. Some riders may say that all this is unnecessary when you can just strip down to a vest or t-shirt when the weather gets too intense. Well, that’s your right as a rider. But I’ve gone down before, and I’m here to tell the tale because I was wearing full gear. Riding a motorcycle is serious business, and if you take it seriously than Ventz is a practical, inexpensive solution to a real problem for dedicated motorcyclists.

More info at ventz-range.com