RST Shoreditch Waterproof Textile Jacket review

Date reviewed: September 2019 | Tested by: Steve Lamb | Price: £199.99 | www.rstmoto.co.uk

I've been wearing this jacket for several months and ridden in excess of 1,500 miles, including a full 400+ mile, 13-hour day, on a variety of bikes including my own Ducati Scrambler, KTM's 790 Adventure, Suzuki's Katana and KTM's 1290 Super Duke GT.

Fit

I take a UK 42 jacket and the Shoreditch fitted as expected, though for me, being a shade under 5'6", it does feel a little long – more of a 3/4 length coat than a jacket – but as with all clothing, fit is very subjective, so you’re recommended to try before you buy. In keeping with its stylish urban image, the Shoreditch doesn’t look too bulky on, even when the inner thermal liner is fitted.

Construction

The Shoreditch is part of RST's Metropolitan Range, which is sold as "keeping you looking casual and stylish". Outer construction is RST's ‘CRC’ textile (a specially woven Nylon/Poly mix that allows some stretch to aid comfort) with ‘MaxTex’ reinforcements. This is combined with a fixed lining with 'Sinaqua' (a three-layer durable waterproof and breathable membrane). While intended as a lightweight summer jacket for urban commuters and scooterists, the jacket is waterproof for when you get caught out and comes with a quilted liner for when the temperature drops.

Protection and certification

As with all of RST's 2019 range the jacket is CE certified (in this case to class A, AAA being the highest) and is provided with soft D3O armour in elbows and shoulders. While the armour is fixed, thereby providing no adjustment, it is fitted in just the right places to provide a comfortable fit without being awkward, bulky or rubbing. The jacket is not provided with a back protector as standard, but there is a pocket hidden in the lining with zip access from the bottom for one to be fitted.

From April 21 2018, all new motorcycle clothing is deemed to be Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). To meet this legislation, it must be tested to a recognised standard. For more information on the law, click here.

Pockets

RST has really spoiled us with pockets on the Shoreditch, to the point where they define part of the style of the jacket.

Starting at the top, there are two chest pockets with waterproof top zips and storm flaps with poppers. These are a good size and able to fit a large smart phone. Below these are two lower front pockets, again with waterproof zips, but this time inserted in the referees of the storm flaps so that the zip is protected when folded over. These are big enough to fit, for example, a TomTom sat-nav when off the bike. Behind these lower pockets are two vertically zipped pockets with fleece linings for warming hands etc.

Finally, within the jacket, there's a vertical pocket in the inner zip placket, again with a waterproof zip – great for valuables that require easy access but absolutely must stay dry.

There are no internal pockets in the jacket, but the removeable thermal liner has two further pockets, one zipped and one with a Velcro tab closure.

Fastening

The main fastener of the jacket is a MAX-branded heavy duty zip to the front, complete with RST branded toggle. This is protected by a double storm flap to really keep the weather out. The flap is equipped with large poppers that are easy to do up with gloved hands. The neck is secured with two large poppers.

Adjustment

While the jacket is not littered with adjusters, it does provide straps at the waist to allow some slight cinching of the jacket to add some shape and reduce any flapping at speed. There are straps at the wrists to allow for tightening of the cuffs, but these only give around 10mm of adjustment and still leave the cuffs quite loose.

There are also zipped darts in the lower back to give a little extra room around the backside  when seated.

Ventilation

There are no vents, but as the outer material is not entirely windproof it does allow a small level of airflow through the jacket. Of course, this would be negated by the thermal liner, but if you need the liner, chances are you won't need any further ventilation.

The bottom of the fixed mesh inner liner is vented, meaning that there is some airflow through the jacket and the cuffs – being quite loose – allow some air in. Despite there being no direct forced ventilation, even on long days in the low to mid-twenties, I found the jacket to be comfortable without being sweaty. When recently tested in 30°C+ temperatures though it was clear that the lack of direct ventilation soon becomes an issue and an hour’s riding was about the most I could complete. To be fair, any jacket will struggle at temperatures over 30 as even forced air is going to be warm, so maybe riding at midday on the hottest day of the year is just best avoided.

Warmth

Despite the RST website stating that the jacket is provided with a full thermal lining, the removeable liner is more like a gilet in that it is body only. On warmer days this not an issue and if anything it helps with comfort as the arms don’t get bulky. But on cooler days (even up to around 16°C) it did result in cold arms and forced me to wear a thin mid layer underneath. To be fair, RST does market this as a lightweight summer jacket, so I can't be too critical.

Liner

The jacket has a fixed inner liner made from 'comfort mesh' – a perforated 100% polyester lining that provides stretch in all directions and is very comfortable against the skin, if a little grippy; I prefer a more silky texture to the inner liner.

There’s also the quilted removeable winter liner/gilet, held in place by a single zip that extends across the yoke of the jacket and tags at the waist hold it in place.

Waterproofing

With the thermal liner removed due to some atypical summer UK temperatures in the high twenties, a sudden turn in the weather gave me the ideal opportunity to test the rain abilities of the jacket. A 90 minute, 80 mile trip up and down the A1M through standing water, lorry spray and a summer downpour provided the ideal test and by the time I returned to the office I could tell that there had been some ingress, but far less that I was honestly expecting. The weak point had been the cuffs, which due to a combination of short gloves and the lack of adjustment round the cuff, allowed water to blow straight in. The collar was another point of entry, which was mainly due to my failing to ensure that it was fully fastened.

The body, shoulders and arms of the jacket remained dry, though, due to wetting out, were damp from perspiration and body heat – once the outer material is soaked through, the inner liner can’t breathe to let your body moisture escape. All pockets remained bone dry inside.

With careful closure of the neck and some more gauntlet style gloves, these issues could easily be solved.  

Conclusion

A smart and stylish jacket that you could mistake for not being bike gear, the Shoreditch is very comfortable on the bike, while still feeling secure and protective.

While the synthetic nature of the construction means the fit is very flexible and comfortable, I do wonder how protected I would be in a slide where the heat generation may have some detrimental effect on the mostly nylon and polyester outer. Level A approval means a minimal slide time, but this kind of gear isn’t designed for long-distance and high-speed riding.

Overall, for day-to-day commuting and even from some longer journeys, this is hard to beat.