Modern Vespa

In a quandary over buying Corazzo Postale or Olympia Airglide as a Christmas gift. I am familiar with the Olympia as I have a AST (I find it to be a very high quality jacket but very heavy) but have never seen any Corazzo product in person. Since my husband currently does not wear any motorcycle specific jacket, I want to encourage him by getting the most comfortable for his type of riding - motorcycle, temperature ranges from mid 40s to mid 90s. - no windscreen.
I think the simple styling of the Postale would appeal to him but to me it doesn't look very well insulated for colder weather, the arms (from the video) in particular look very thin, AND it looks like insufficient venting for hot weather (2 pit-zips look to be it). Wind-flap under zipper looks rather puny. Additionally, the fabric in the front looks like it is very stiff and like it puckers / balloons out at your chest in sitting position (but that could have been a picture of the 5.0 jac.). However, every Corazzo opinion I have is strictly based on internet pictures, so what is the Truth? If he crashes in the Postale (or the Airglide for that matter), is it going to be rugged enough to protect him? Oh, the Postale style is the only Corazzo that I think will appeal to him (and I think the style would be more to his liking than the Olympia. He will only want one jacket, so it will need to be able to cover all of his riding temps - comfort will be paramount for him and the highest level of safety is what I am after. I don't like that the Olympia spine protector does not widen out and cover the shoulder blades, whereby the Knox looks better in that category.
I am don't know what to choose because if he doesn't love it first thing, he will lose interest in wearing any armor.
So, real world Postale testing:
How does it fit / feel?
Is it flexible / comfortable (with back-pad)?
Temp. comfort range?
From a safety aspect - would you choose the Postale??

ScooterBeagle,

Hi, I have an Postale. It's my third Corazzo jacket so I might be a little biased. I've never had a problem with the fit of their jackets and the Postale is comfortable, even with the armor in place. It has a removable fleece vest for those hot days. If you're worried about a more "cooler" jacket, I think the Speedway mesh is another option to look into. If you're worried about protection goto youtube.com and type "RampCrashTest" and see. I've never
seen the Olympia just pictures. So I can't say...Good luck with your choice, my first option is always a Corazzo, but any protective gear is a good option.

(p.s. I am not affiliated wit Corazzo, just love their stuff)

I found this on Corazzo Blog

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They didn't have my size, but one is on order!
I was impressed with the Postale, and I would recommend it for a wide weather range. It is a good looking, versatile jacket. Contrary to your impression, the fabric is surprisingly supple for a Corazzo jacket. My Corazzo 5.0 is like cardboard by comparison. The arms didn't seem overly thin, and remember, on motoclothes, you don't want floppy.

I think that your goal of a 40-90 degree jacket is maybe not the best approach. Jackets that are made for cold weather are not at their best in summers heat, and I don't care if you can zip off a bunch of flaps and sections, there is a big difference.

The Postale jacket is waterproof and lined, so it will function pretty well in cool temps. For warmer days, the liner comes out, and the shell fabric is fairly light, and you can zip down, so it will function at high temps. For comparison, I wear my warmer 5.0 in the low 90's and it does OK, so the Postale--especially in the light tan--should fare about as well as a jacket can and not be mesh.

But, summer heat is summer heat. Even with no fairing, there is not much windchill at 95 degrees. You are better off with mesh on the hot days, and even then you are gonna sweat. It is summer after all.

Thanks for replys - Do you all think the Postale would be comfortable with just a shirt on a 50 degree day without a windshield? You are probably right about wanting to achieve too broad of a temp range. I don't think he will be overjoyed with the Olympia styling even though I think it is a pretty quality CE jacket. But the first goal is to get him to want to wear it - he dresses conservatively - LL Bean and Brooks Brothers, so if he feels conspicuous or uncomfortable, he won't wear it. I like the idea of the Knox armor in the Corazzo, as I understand that it is much like the Forcefield TPro which I find very comfortable and flexible - particularly for the spine pad. And true if I can convince him to wear armor every time, (been riding 30 years without, but has been in accidents), I will get him a summer specific one later.

Corazzo, I think I may be making my first purchase with you.

I got him (for Xmas) the new Nolan Trilogy because he has been wearing an open face or crappy 3/4. Seemed like the best option since he won't go FF.

Any additional opinions / reviews are appreciated.

I have seeen many of the Corazzo jackets and they do have a more style based design. I have worn my Olympia AST in temps from 35-107*F and I know how well the vents work. As for summer heat, I found I was MORE comfortable in my AST than I was in my Frank Thomas mesh. I think the closed design of the AST protects me from the sun and the venting created a cooling effect when at motion. When stopped at a light, nothing helps the 'oven' effect of a 105 *F sacramento summer.

I live in an area that ranges from 30-80 F thru the year. I have two jackets: fabric Tourmaster when its below 65 in bright yellow. Works great down to the the 20's but I also have a Vespa tall windshield. It comes with a liner, but I haven't used the liner in the 3 years I've had it and I've never been cold. The other is a Joe Rocket mesh/perforated black leather jacket. A very cool looking jacket but no very conspicuous tho it does have a 2" wide reflective band on the back that's not visible during the day tho my yellow Shoei Multitec flip up face helmet has great contrast to the black so I do show up. This jacket works great when the temps are above 65.

Regarding safety gear, show him some gory videos/photos of motorcycle accident victims that don't wear safety gear. A client of mine watched as his nose sanded off by the pavement when he was hit and wearing a 3/4 helmet. I got a flipup helmet the next weekend and now wear Toreador Pants (all the gear all the time). The flip up is great when its hot and waiting in traffic. I'm sure a search here or on urbanscootin.com will turn up some ugly photos. Sorry for the gory details...

I also like the Postale and look forward to your review. Perhaps in a show of solidarity and a change in style, you could get one of the Gogo jackets. I'm going to get my wife one since she doesn't really care for any of the armored jackets. I really like them and look forward to the day they make mens jackets: http://scooter-girls.com/index.html

Best
Miguel