Held Cosmo 3.0 jacket review

We first advertised the Cosmo/Avolo suit last year but, as ever with Held, availability was laughably poor. Yes there was Brexit, and yes there was the pandemic, but their distribution arrangements over here were totally inadequate, and getting hold of stock was nigh on impossible.

Well this year we are taking a different approach. We have chosen a pretty small collection of lines that we really like, and we are buying deep. And we can do this only because we are buying direct from the company in Germany. Well this suit that comprises the Cosmo jacket and its matching Avolo pant are a case in point. We think it makes for an outstanding outfit, but the good news is that we can now offer it from stock in just about all its sizes. And there are a lot of sizes!

Everybody in the motorcycle apparel business describes their leather jackets as being made from soft leather. And I suppose it would be foolish for a retailer or manufacturer to describe the leather of a jacket as ‘hard’ or ‘stiff’. But the leather on this jacket really is soft; really, really soft! And that means that it’s a very comfortable jacket. The stretch concertina banding in the elbows and back also play their part in this respect.

The leather is TFL Cool treated. This is a coating that reflects the sun’s UV rays, meaning that the garment will not get hot on a warm day in the way it might otherwise have done. It is really effective on black garments; and particularly so on black, leather garments. Now, as we’ve discussed already, leather is not the most breathable of materials, but in an effort to make this jacket as breathable as it could be, it comes with a mesh lining. You also get vents on the arms and in the back of the jacket to ensure a good flow of air. The chest pockets also double as vents. Finally, there’s a second perforated, zip-up placket inside the main zip that allows you to ride with the outer zip undone to create additional airflow. The bottom line, bearing in mind all the features that Held has incorporated into the jacket, is that the Cosmo is going to be much cooler to wear in hot conditions than most leather jackets.

As far as pockets are concerned, you get four on the outside, all fastened with YKK zips. You also get two inner pockets and an internal phone pocket. In terms of adjusters, the neck fastens with a very neat magnet arrangement (not recommended if you have a pacemaker, by the way). At the ends of the sleeves there are zips and poppered straps. There’s also an elasticated, poppered belt for the hips. At the waist, there are poppers to take the optional braces. The jacket, obviously, comes with a zipper for connecting to any Held pant, but we can also provide a connector so that, by using the Halvarssons Waist Zip, you could also zip the jacket into a pair of jeans.

SAS-TEC armour comes fitted in the elbows and shoulders. The armour is okay, but it’s not the softest; for the last word in wearability, we would upgrade to SAS-TEC’s Phantom armour or D3O Ghost. There’s a pocket for a back protector, and that pocket will take a Level 2, D3O Viper protector like it was designed for it. There’s also a Velcro system that allows you to wear an optional chest protector.

Now, one of the things that impresses us about Held is the wide array of sizes their clothing is available in. This jacket goes from a frankly diminutive 46 (36”) up to a frankly huge 70 (55”). And, in addition to a regular fit, it comes in what Held call a ‘slim’ and a ‘tummy’ fit. We reckon that rare is going to be the person we cannot accommodate in the Cosmo.

In most respects, the pants mirror the jacket. The same leather. TFL Cool. Mesh lining. And so on.

But you don’t get a thermal lining in the pant, which we understand. You get two zipped pockets. Two air vents. Concertina stretch in the waist and on the knees. Stretch Cordura behind the knees, in the crotch and inside the legs. A connecting zip. And buttons for braces. Whilst, for adjustment, you get Velcro straps at the waist and zips and a leather straps at the hems of the pants.

Armour comes as standard in the knees. There are pockets for optional hip armour. And whereas there are three size options on the jacket, there are four for the pants: ‘regular’, ‘stocky’, ‘slim’ and ‘tummy’.

For more information and to purchase online, click Held Cosmo 3.0 jacket and Held Avolo 3.0 pant.