Aerostich Darienlight
Aerostich DarienLight
CW EVALUATIONS
A serious lightweight jacket
IF THERE EVER IS A RIDING GEAR HALL of Fame, Andy Goldfine should be inducted in his first year of eligibility. Goldfine was banging the drum for textile riding gear when most of us thought that meant either a stinky waxed-cotton enduro suit or maybe a rancher's denim jacket.
First sold in 1983, his one-piece Aerostich Roadcrafter suit introduced waterproof Gore-Tex to the riding public. It’s still with us today, still made in the USA, improved and updated, and heading Goldfine’s 242-page RiderWearHouse catalog, required reading for any serious rider.
Subject of this evaluation is the DarienLight, a spin-off of the jacket used for the Darien two-piece suit. It gets its name via use of a lighter 200-denier Gore-Tex shell (the standard Darien uses 500 denier); otherwise, it has the same features as the heavier jacket-removable elbow and shoulder pads, reflective panels, underarm and upperback vent zips, and nine pockets inside and out. Intended for urban rides where speeds are lower, the Light trades some abrasion resistance for more comfort in higher temperatures. It's also $30 less expensive than the Darien.
DETAILS
Aerostich RiderWearHouse 8 South 18th Ave. West Duluth, MN 55806-21 48 800/222-1994 www.aerostich.com Price.. .$397
Ups
Essentially waterproof
Options include backpads, sleeve map pockets
Alteration, cleaning, re-water-repellent services available
Downs
400 smackers a lot for a glorified rain jacket, no matter how good
Low flash factor (except in Hi-Viz yellow)
Even the Light takes some breaking-in
Cut is more generous than the Roadcrafter oneand two-piece outfits, ideal for layering, which allows multi-season use of the DarienLight. We sampled the jacket with Aerostich’s matching Wind Blocker fleece liner, a setup well suited to SoCal’s temperate winter weather. Riders in less hospitable climes can opt for one of Goldfine’s excellent Kanetsu electric vests/liners.
The DarienLight is neither cheap$397 separately, $527-$547 with linersnor trendily styled. What it is, simply, is a well-designed, high-quality piece of riding gear that gets the job done. Out on the road, that counts for a lot. □
