I love my trusty Tour Master Jacket, that got me through 6,000+ miles every single day over the summer. But, there comes a time in every girl’s life that you need to move on to something a little more practical, and well, better looking.
While I may not really agree with what ICON has been doing lately with their “women’s” gear, I can’t deny some of the rad things they have made in years past.
The Akorp jacket first came into my field of view, when @motolady did her review in 2013, and well I’ve been day dreaming of it ever since. So, when it popped up in the closeouts on Bike Bandit I couldn’t help myself.
Icon sizes run a little small, I normally wear a Large in Women’s, but luckily I double checked the sizing chart and ordered the Extra Large and it fit like glove. I never knew how much I needed magnets in my jackets instead of Velcro until I experienced not having Velcro. Let me tell you, it’s pretty awesome. I also appreciate that the branding is very subtle.
The satin liner is removable,and is surprisingly warm, and has it’s own secrets. Including a few hidden touches by Icon, like their signature Made in Portland Tag, and a buttoned coin pocket.
This ‘Stay Frosty’ tag hidden inside one of the internal pockets, made my day when I spotted it. Just another example of Icon’s attention to detail, like the waist cinch on the back of the jacket, to keep the jacket from giving the impression that you have a hunchback. Oh and did I mention the leather elbow patches? Hello abrasion resistance!
The removable liner has two, zippered, internal pockets on the right hand side. On the left side, there are two gaps in the liner so you can slip your hand through to the two internal pockets in the shell of the jacket. The shell itself has three internal mesh pockets on the left side, and one mesh pocket on the right. There’s also three tiny internal coin pockets at the bottom of the jacket near the zipper.
My main gripe about this jacket is that the two chest pockets are pretty inaccessible when you’re actually wearing the jacket. As most of you know, raising your arms in an armored jacket is challenging at best, and trying to raise your arm enough to get your hand in these top opening chest pockets is a pain in the rear. In my opinion, things that are hard to access while travelling just end up not getting used at all. So, I’ve just begun to think of these pockets as ‘for show’ or ‘for my insurance’ pockets.
All in all though, a great upgrade from the Tour Master jacket in fit and look. Especially since I have my Aerostich suit now for all of my ‘questionable weather’ riding needs.
As a little end note, Bike Bandit is a pretty great resource.
A) I haunt their closeouts because they tend to have the best sales I’ve found anywhere, and still have great customer service. (I mean come on I got this $340 jacket for $112 on closeout. When I ordered the wrong tires, they made the process of returning them relatively painless) and
B) They are pretty much the only place I order parts for Lazarus now because parts maps. I’m not really a mechanic (haha, ya we’re aware of that Amanda), so I don’t always know the names of parts. Having access to a parts map, specifically of my bike, so I can point at the thing that I need, and order that exact part is amazing. (Like the four random screws on my carburetors that have disappeared since my Pilgrimage, but are just an odd enough size I can’t seem to find them anywhere else.)