Held Luca Gore-Tex Textile Jacket - Black / White

I had recently purchased the Held E-vest Airbag Vest for my One-Piece Leathers so there was never any question that I was going to purchase anything other than Held Textile's when it was time to replace my well worn but old Jacket and Trousers. The attraction was the excellent Clip-In technology that allows the attachment of undergarments inside a lot of the Held Range which keeps the items integrated but easily removable if required. As the majority of my riding would be classed as commuting/day-trips and the odd few days touring I was after a Sporty Jacket rather than the Adventure type. It had to be versatile in its usage as I ride throughout the four seasons. Based on this the Luca jacket ticked all the box's with the extra benefit that the black/red/white colour scheme matched my bike!

I received the Jacket/Trouser(Telli) Combo at the back-end of the Lockdown during the excellent warm weather so immediately removed the Gore-Tex Liner Jacket which can be used standalone if required. My only opportunity for testing at the time was the commute, so given the weather conditions of 24deg plus all the ventilation zips were fully opened. Unlike my old jacket the Luca has a full length zips on each arm to increase air flow plus two front zips, the main heavy duty zip was left open but the secondary mesh zip secured to allow air flow over the chest. This arrangement worked well and did a good job in providing enough air flow to keep me cool. Within a few days the weather had turned to heavy downpours and on this occasion I choose to wear the Goretex Jacket over the Luca as a temporary arrangement. The combination worked flawlessly and I remained dry after a 25min journey. You have a choice of wearing the Goretex Jacket over or inside the Luca Jacket, I see the inside option as more a winter consideration due to the prolonged harsher weather conditions. For information, I found that the Goretex jacket/trousers when carried on the bike takes up about 5 litres storage space.

The cost of the Jacket is towards the top end of the market but the quality is obvious with some nice design touches such as little storage pockets if the blue clips aren't used to retain a clip-in garment. I feel the cold and I have found that even in temperatures of between 12-18deg I need a Windblocker undergarment underneath when just wearing a T-Shirt. I mention this for two reason a) the jacket seems to have good air circulation even when the vents are closed, but controllable with the velcro sleeve straps. However, come winter you will be looking for thicker base layer which Held do cater for. b) I'm somewhere in between medium to large normally and in this case I ordered a Large Jacket. With the Airbag and Windblocker I just get away with the sizing should the airbag inflate but it's something you need to think about before ordering, especially due to its versatility and multiple clip-in options which covers the four seasons.

To sum up, this is a stylish, versatile, quality jacket which will cope easily with the UK climate conditions and is highly recommended.