Spidi Warrior H2OUT in black

The starting point for the Spidi Warrior H2OUT is an outer fabric that is termed Softcell. It's a kind of softshell material. It's thinner and lighter than lots of softshell jackets that we've come across. But the fabric is super stretchy, and it makes for a wonderfully cosseting and comfortable jacket.

 

The downside, potentially, is that it makes for a jacket that's a tad on the warmer side. You wouldn't necessarily want to be wearing the Warrior as the temperature heads towards the thirties; well at least not on a long ride. On a more local excursion you'd probably survive!

 

The jacket is, though, pretty well vented. You get two large, zipped vents on the chest and two exhaust vents in the back.

 

The waterproof membrane in the Warrior is a laminated one. Now we are known to be highly cautious about 'laminated' garments that are not equipped with a Gore-Tex membrane; and that's because most laminated jackets and pants are shoddily put together, and have a high propensity to fail. 

 

For a number of reasons Gore-Tex garments tend not to fail, but if they do it's not a big deal because their waterproofing is guaranteed for life. But we're prepared to give Spidi a bit of a break here because in all the years we've been working with them we can barely remember a single instance where one of their garments has leaked. (If there was one I'm sure that customer will be in contact to remind us)!

 

In terms of the jacket's protective qualities, the Spidi rates single-A for abrasion resistance under EN17092, but honestly that's perfectly appropriate for the kind of 50-60 mph riding that this jacket is intended for. The shoulder and elbow armour in the Spidi is Level 2; and as many of our customers know, in an accident scenario, we take the view that armour plays a far more important role than a garment's outer chassis. A back protector is optional. We'd go for a Velcro-equipped D3O one.

 

The Warrior has a clip-in thermal. We're not always enamoured of built-in thermal liners because we always prefer to bring our own mid-layer solution to the party, but the Warrior has one, and for the kind of rider this jacket is aimed it it will probably be deemed an important benefit.

 

As far as the detailing is concerned, you get knitted cuffs at the ends of the sleeves, water-resistant pockets inside and out, and a drawstring in the hem. You also get some reflective highlighting for better nighttime visibility.

 

There's one other thing; and I have omitted it until now because it's something I personally don't like on a motorcycle jacket. And it's that the Warrior comes with a hood, albeit thankfully a removable one. If it hadn't have been removable, we would never have gone near it! Indeed, I had thought of removing the hood and selling the jacket without it but was told by the team here, in no uncertain terms, that that was not acceptable. 

 

And I suppose they're right; it might even be that, for some people, the hood is the missing piece of the jigsaw. Clearly I am not one of those people!

 

Finally, in terms of price, the Spidi comes in at £279.00. There are cheaper jackets out there, but in terms of value we think the Warrior hits the spot.