Belstaff Crosby wax cotton jacket in black

You may not even have noticed that the Crosby disappeared from the Belstaff line-up for a while, but now it’s back. It is made from a new fabric that has been produced for Belstaff by British Millerain and, of course, the jacket is now fully CE approved.

The Crosby has long been a favourite of ours here at Motolegends. The shorter Mojave is sportier. It can be worn on the street, and nobody would ever know that it was actually a proper biking jacket. The only issue is that, for some, it can sit a little low at the back when you’re on the bike. The Trialmaster,  by contrast, can sit a little long on some people. For us, the Crosby is the perfect length; not too long, not too short. And whilst some people love the classic belted-look of the Trialmaster, the side adjusters on the Crosby make it much easier to live with.

The jacket is made from a fabric that Belstaff is calling Technical Wax Cotton. It is, in effect, a waxed cotton woven with aramid-style fibres for extra strength. It’s a fabric that now meets the CE standard. It is equivalent to a waxed cotton of about eight ounces; again, the perfect weight, in our book.

In just about every other respect, the new Crosby is identical to the old one. It comes with a check lining and corduroy in the collar. You get four pockets on the outside and one inside. There is adjustment at the neck, at the waist and at the ends of the sleeves. Under the arms you get metal aerators, and the bottom two lowest buttons are rubberised.

Obviously, the Crosby comes with a waterproof membrane. CE approved D30 armour is fitted in the elbows and shoulder, and there’s a pocket for a back protector. There’s no thermal in the jacket but, for us, that’s not an issue; you just layer up. Of course, you do have the option to fit into the jacket Belstaff’s Lambfell or Coventry liners.

We have missed the Crosby, so having it back in the range is terrific. It is, in some respects, the perfect Belstaff.