Summary: A good, stylish, hot-weather jacket that wishes it could be more.
Background: Let me set the scene for you. I refuse to ride without protection. ATGATT baby. But last year all I had was the Fieldsheer Highland II which is excellent untill the thermometer hits 70, and is heat-stroke inducing when it hits 90. This year, I was determined to get some good gear that would keep me cool on those hot days, and hopefully look good. When Revzilla had a sale on Fieldsheer stuff I jumped at the chance to grab a Judy Cool for $80.
Sizing & Fit: Having already bought one Fieldsheer product I knew that their sizing charts were pretty accurate and they didn’t disappoint. Overally the fit is quite good. The wrists are a bit tight when done up correctly. However, while the jacket fits correctly, there’s a design flaw that’s not unique to Fieldsheer: It’s short, especially in the front. This seems to be a trend in the industry. Unless you’re buying a 3/4 length jacket it will barely meet the top of your pants, especially if it’s designed for women. The Judy Cool does dip lower in the back and looks as if it is long enough to compensate for when you bend forwards, but what actually happens is that the extra fabric just tilts outward away from your body leaving a large gap.
There are two problems with this. The first is safety. As you go skidding down the asphalt a shorter jacket like this is likely to get pushed up and expose your midriff. The second problem is what happens on cool and wet days, because as you lean over on your bike or scooter the cool and / or wet air will be chilling around the exposed sides and back of your midriff. I suspect this would be mitigated if I happened to own a pair of Fieldsheer pants to attach them to, but I don’t.
The Heat: This is where the Judy Cool shines. Take out the liner and the wind rushes over you. Your back isn’t going to be as cool as it could be because of the back armor, but personally I’d rather have a slightly hot back than risk having no back at all. Similarly, the outside of the arms are covered with ballistic nylon which you’ll be very thankful for if anything goes wrong. While I haven’t had a chance to take this out in 90 degree weather yet I have no doubt that it will perform excellently.
The Cold: The Judy Cool comes with a liner that can be taken out and used as an insulated waterproof windbreaker. It really wants to be a jacket that you can wear almost every day, and it would succeed if it wasn’t for air rushing in under the back. I took it out for a short ride in the low 40’s the other day and my lower back was freezing. Like most Fieldsheer liner’s this one does a surprisingly job, but there isn’t much insulation behind the front zipper, so while I wasn’t cold I was definitely cool along that line (as well as my freezing lower back).
The Rain: Fieldsheer claims the liner is waterproof, and I believe them, but when I had the opportunity to test this in the rain I asked myself “What’s the point?” because no matter how dry my upper torso stays, my rear midriff is pretty much guaranteed to get wet. So, I put on gear I knew would keep me dry instead. For me, this is a big deal. I constantly find myself riding in the rain. Eventually I did end up riding in a medium strength rain with it whilst on my scooter, and the upright seating position meant that the back of the jacket continued straight down over my waist and did keep me dry. I do not believe this would happen on a typical motorcycle where you’re curved forwards to reach the bars (street or cruiser).
The Liner: most of the time when someone claims you can take out a liner and use it as a jacket it’s more of a “if there’s nothing else available” type of situation. But the liner is actually comfortable and doesn’t look bad. It’s not high fashion, but it’s not bad. I have only two complaints with it: On some of those days where it’s slightly too cool to go without it you may find yourself sweating when you come indoors. For me this was as I stood in line at the counter of the local motorcycle shop, and I rarely sweat. Even worse, I found that I would stick to the inside of it which made it really difficult to take off. I’d also note that the warmth of the liner concerns me if I ever need to use it on a hot rainy day. Given, things do tend to cool off when this happens, but even if it drops from 90 to 80 I’m still not going to want to have to wear a thermal liner to keep dry.
The snaps Fieldsheer has used to secure it to the outer shell are just evil. While they do a great job of holding it in they’re really really difficult to grip and pull apart when you want to take it out. Even when you look at it it’s not obvious where to try and pry in a fingernail to coax it open. I feel sorry for any woman who has nice manicured nails and wants to open these.
I really wish that Fieldsheer would give up on the pretense that this is an all weather jacket, declare it for summer use only, and halve the thermal properties of the liner.
Armor & Protection: There is no question about it, Fieldsheer does armor right. The Judy Cool comes with CE rated back, shoulder, and elbow armor that feels strong and comfortable. Unlike many jackets you don’t feel, or look, like you’re wearing football pads under everything. In addition to the Back piece there are also a couple padded ridges towards the lower back that are shaped like wide V’s. As I mentioned earlier the outer arms are covered with ballistic nylon that should do a good job of keeping your skin on. I’m not sure how well any mesh, even “Polytanium mesh” is going to hold up against asphalt, as I can’t seem to find any numbers on it’s tear resistance, but like most things it’s a compromise. You give up a little protection to keep from overheating.
Reflective Material and Piping: You’ll see mention of the Phoslite piping and retroreflective panels at the front and rear of the elbows, and while I appreciate both, the former is like advertising it has a couple highly visible strands of spaghetti, and the latter, while helpful, feels like too little too late. It’s all stylish and good but I really wish more manufacturers would start adding significant amounts of this because it’s so incredibly visible at night.
Construction Quality: Everything seems well made on this coat. I wish that the loops that the liner snaps around at the wrists were thicker, as when I was having trouble getting out of it due to sticking to the lining and being unable to unsnap the snaps, I was really concerned I might rip them out in my attempts to escape.
Conclusion: Ultimately the question is “Will you keep using it?” and I’m really not sure. I’m not a fair weather rider. I ride all the time, and the chilly, wet, midriff just doesn’t sound very appealing. Would I wear it on sunny days, or recommend it to others for the same? Definitely. If you only ride on sunny days then I don’t think you’ll have any complaints. If you pair it with some Fieldsheer pants on cooler days I think you may overcome some of the problems I had with the wind sneaking in the back when you don’t want it to.
