Belstaff Brooklands jacket in olive

Name: Belstaff Brooklands jacket in olive
Brand: Belstaff
SKU: BEL2828
Price: 467.500000 GBP
Availability: InStock

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(BEL2828)

Now £467.50 Was £550.00

Belstaff Brooklands jacket in olive Product Information

The new-for-2024 Belstaff Brooklands jacket heralds a long overdue update of what many people would consider to be the coolest jacket in the entire Belstaff waxed cotton collection.

It has been in the range since the Melanottis acquired the brand back in 2004. It has barely changed since then, and has consistently been the most popular jacket in the range. In fact, it is untrue to suggest that there have been no changes to the Brooklands in the last 20 years. Shortly after they took over the brand they added a waterproof membrane to jacket's spec.. A few years later they upgraded the armour to Level 1 D3O. But that was it.

And this despite the fact that for well over ten years we have been beseeching Belstaff to give the Brooklands a lowered tail. Now, classically, a lowered tail was always a feature of a short-cut biking jacket. Look at photographs of the ton-up boys in the fifties and sixties. And you will see that their leather jackets all have backs lower than their fronts.

The Melanottis always had style in mind when they developed their new collections, and at times the way a jacket looked was more important to them than the way it performed. And so it proved to be with the Brooklands. This was always a very cool jacket. In styling terms, it closely resembled a jacket that Steve McQueen wore when messing about with his pals on their desert sleds. But it has never worked well on the bike. A lot of people put up with it, but the problem was that when you leant forward, even at the gentlest of angles, the jacket would rise up, leaving the lower part of the wearer's back exposed.

That wasn't great in the rain, as the wet stuff would run down the jacket into the pants. But it was even more of an issue from a protection standpoint. It left the skin exposed to the elements; and this was never likely to end well if you came off the bike. It was why we became somewhat reluctant to recommend the Brooklands, especially here in the shop. And this was never easy because we have always liked the jacket.

Well, at long last, for 2024, Belstaff has given the jacket a longer tail. It's just one of a number of changes that have been introduced for this season.

Now what has long been a problem for some people, was that the Brooklands was only rated A under EN17092. We always felt that the jacket should have been higher rated, but when the EN17092 test regime was first introduced many manufacturers tested only to the lowest standard. And they did this because, if you failed to meet the higher standard, you had to pay to retest the garment. Belstaff was not willing to take this risk. They tested all the garments only to the minimum standard that allowed them to sell their jackets as certified protective wear.

In the intervening years many manufacturers re-tested their garments. Belstaff never did, but when they introduce this new Brooklands, they had no choice. The garment passed at the AA level, which is what we would have expected. So the way we see it, this new Brooklands is a better, more practical motorcycle jacket. It is now, notionally, a more protective one too.

In most other respects, the Brooklands is largely unchanged. The outer chassis is still an eight-ounce waxed cotton. In fact, British Millerain calls the material Ultracore. It has a slightly firmer handle than traditional wax cotton. It is a slightly more water-resistant material, but will develop a very pleasing patina over time. You still get a membrane obviously, and the jacket still comes a D3O armour in the elbows and shoulders. There's a pocket for a back protector.

The jacket has extra reinforcement at the shoulders and elbows. You get corduroy in the collar and the cuffs for added comfort. On the outside, you get two upper flap pockets, and two lower, zipped, slash pockets. There's another zipped pocket inside the jacket. At the neck you get Belstaff's traditional belt and buckle adjuster. At the hem, there's a similar adjuster, and this one comes with a waxed cotton flap to protect the bike's paint.

But in another first for the Brooklands, Belstaff has given the jacket vents to help cool the rider in warm weather. There are incoming vents on the biceps, and exhaust vents on the back.

In just about every way, therefore, the new Brooklands is a step on from its predecessor. But not only have they improved the jacket, they have reduced the price by almost £50. We always liked the Brooklands for its looks. Well now we like it as a motorcycle jacket too!

There is one last detail. The old Brooklands had a zip-out thermal jacket. The new one doesn't. Instead, the jacket comes with studs to take Belstaff's Climate Vest. But personally we do not recommend it. As a vest it provides no thermals protection for the arms. Our recommendation would be something in Merino or, potentially, a down jacket in the extreme cold. There are better ways to stay warm than the Climate Vest, in our opinion.