Weise Dakar Jacket – All season protection with rally style
Weise Dakar Jacket - All season protection with rally style
- Julian
- June 4, 2019
- 8:30 am
- No Comments
Finding the right riding jacket can be a pain. What works for the road doesn’t necessarily work for the trail, they’re either too hot or too cold and finding one that actually lives up to the promise of being waterproof is like finding the Lord Lucan holding the Holy Grail while sat on Shergar. But from our experience with the Weise Dakar Jacket, we reckon we’ve come pretty close. And it looks cool too!
FEATURE CREATURE
The Weise Dakar jacket is a textile jacket suitable for on and off-road use – whatever you ride, adventure bike or trail, round the world adventures or commuting it’s going to work. It’s well thought out and absolutely packed with features that make sense and have a proper use. We like that.
At the front there is a full length zip that goes right up to the top, where there is a velcro fastener that is actually big enough for your neck and a neck tube – you might think this unremarkable but some manufacturers seem to assume all riders have necks like pencils.
The zip is covered by a full length flap that velcros and poppers into place to keep out the dust or rain. There are two large pockets at the bottom and two further zips that can act as Napoleon pockets if you are not using them as vents. Inside the jacket there is a large pocket with a velcro pad to close.
There is an adjustable belt at the waist that is integral to the jacket, and there are two adjustment straps and poppers on the sleeves to ensure they are snug to your arms. And if you want to keep the jacket from riding up, there is an elastic strap that will go from the rear to the front via the crotch to popper in place. You can also zip in compatible trousers using the large zip that goes round the base of the jacket,
All the zips have a good sized toggle on them to allow operation with gloves, and the sleeves do open up to allow gloves to be tucked inside.
STORAGE OPTIONS
At the rear of the jacket there is a large pocket that can be used to store all kinds of things, but as it is against your spine, it’s probably best to make sure you think about putting anything to hard or spiky in there! The pocket is removable too if you don’t need it, or you just want to take it and the contents with you when not wearing the jacket.
PADDED CELL
The Weise Dakar jacket comes with removable CE approved pads on the shoulders and elbows, and unlike some jackets, removing them is pretty simple. For off-road riding we removed them and used a padded shirt underneath, but for road we leave them in place.
ALL WEATHER OPTION
So the Weise Dakar Jacket is a truly versatile jacket and can take you from tropical heat right down to horrible British winter.
The outer jacket is packets with zip vents on the arms and body and fold down panels on the front and back of the body to allow a massive amount of ventilation in hot climes. There is also a rear pocket to insert a drinks bladder, a port where the tube comes out and a loop to thread it through and keep it in place during a ride. The whole jacket and sleeves has a mesh lining to keep you cool and from sticking to the inside. Clever stuff.
If it gets a tad cooler, you can zip in the 120 gram padded liner which poppers into place in the sleeves to stop it moving around. It’s substantially warmer with this in place and more convenient than just more jumpers!
If the rain is falling, you can also add in the waterproof liner which again zips into place with poppers at the bottom of the arms. The waterproof liner can be used with or without the padded liners. There is also a removable neck cuff that can be zipped and poppered into place which is a great addition and forms a proper seal around the base of your crash helmet to keep out heavy rain.
Whether you are on the high velts in South Africa or the mountain passes in the Himalayas, the jacket is going to be both practical and functional, and it will look good in the photos too!
ON THE BIKE
So we’ve given the Weise Dakar Jacket a thorough testing in a two very different environments. First off in the balmy climes of Catalonia and then the slightly less balmy skies of a decidedly cool and damp British summer.
In hot conditions, the massive amount of vents allows you to keep chilled on the trail or the road. Of course in dusty conditions this does mean that your vents will all get a bit filled up, so you might need to get out the Dyson when you get home.
The fit is good with a suitably long back that doesn’t ride up – the sizing is even accurate, almost a miracle within bike clothing where apparently I’ve got 3XL hands!
In cooler condition, the Weise Dakar jacket works well, you don’t really notice you are wearing it and it keeps you suitable warm. In wet weather, it does appear to be doing its job rather well, but we’ll have to get a few more soakings to be entirely sure that the promise of ‘waterproof’ can be entirely relied on. Although the cuffs open a bit, getting larger winter gloves into the sleeves is a bit tricky and we really could have done with a bit more space.
The cut of the jacket is generous enough to allow plenty of movement when out on the trail, and thanks to the removable liners and venting won’t get you too hot even in snotty and strenuous conditions.
No jacket is going to be perfect, but the Weise Dakar jacket is a damn fine attempt.
APPEARANCE
DURABILITY
We like the look of the Weise Dakar jacket – we normally go for a black option, but the more adventure looking ‘Stone’ option is definitely growing on us.The red sections stand out well, as do the limited reflective details.
It’s hard to establish durability over a month or so, but from the look of the construction, we think the jacket is going to last well. Our only concern is all those zips and keeping the lighter colour clean after mud or dust.
COMFORT
VALUE
No complaints here, the Weise Dakar Jacket is all-day comfortable with a soft collar, mesh or padded liner and lenty of adjustment to tailor the fit to your contours. Lots of pockets too, so plenty of storage for essentials.
Ok so at £280 the Dakar Jacket is not in the budget aisle but to get quality you do have to dig a bit deeper, It’s well designed, well made and suitable for all year riding on or off road. On that basis – its cheap!
RIDE EXPEDITIONS RATING - WEISE DAKAR JACKET
So if you are looking for a jacket that will cover all the bases from trail riding to adventure biking, road riding to commuting, the Weise Dakar jacket is a pretty smart choice. It doesn’t get the full five as we’re not sure the light colour will fare if plastered with mud on a regular basis, but hell you’re a biker – a bit of dirt always looks cool!