Belstaff Climate vest in black

The Belstaff Climate Vest will undoubtedly sell well because of the Belstaff label on the chest. Sleeveless, thermal jackets like this seem to be very popular these days. They are not hugely expensive, and of course this particular one will come with the classic, British brand's added kudos.

 

Yet we are still disappointed that Belstaff has seen fit to drop its long-sleeve down jacket, in favour of this gilet. Now, many years ago, a Belstaff motorcycle jacket's thermal solutions for their jackets always came in the form of a vest. And there was a reason for that; and that was because their waxed-cotton jackets came, as standard, with something like 60g. thermal insulation in the sleeves. And so that made a sleeveless, inner jacket totally logical.

 

But there's no thermal in the sleeves of the Belstaff's waxed-cotton jackets these days, so if you wear this thermal vest there's a scenario where you will keep your core warm, but your arms will become freezing, and eventually drop off.

 

Now the long-sleeved, down jacket that Belstaff did last year was a beauty. Its filling was 90/10, natural duck down to duck feather. It was lovely to wear, and incredibly warm. And with proper, grown-up, big-boy sleeves it was the perfect thermal layer, not just on the bike, but off it too. It was popular although, in truth, it was, at £200, probably under-priced. The Klim version of the jacket was £70 more.

 

This year's vest is also £200, but instead of a duck-down filling, it has a Primaloft one. Now Primaloft is a high-end, hollow-form fibre. It is one of the best synthetic insulating materials, but it's not duck or goose down. And so the new Climate Vest feels like a bit of a downgrade; especially as it doesn't have sleeves!

 

In terms of the vest itself, the outer shell is a lightweight Ripstop, so pretty resistant to tearing. There's no central zip; rather it fastens with studs. There are two external pockets; again studs rather than zips. You also get a high-stand collar, as you might expect.

 

In recent years, a number of the top motorcycle clothing brands have moved to a position where their thermal layers don't fasten to the outer jacket. And in our view this avoids a lot of hassle. You simply wear your inner layer when it's cold; and not when it's hot. No poppers, no buttons, no elasticated straps, no zips to fight with, and so on. But Belstaff has created the Climate Vest specifically to clip into a number of their wax jackets. The jackets in question are the Trialmaster, the Crosby, the Brooklands and the Waymaster.

 

Anyway, it may be clear that we are not totally thrilled with this new vest. We would have preferred Belstaff to have stuck with their down jacket even if that meant putting the price up. Yet we know that it will be hugely popular, whatever we say!

 

And, of course, if you want a proper, down jacket with  sleeves that run down to your wrists, there's always the Klim Maverick or the Rukka Down-X. They are both super toasty. They will keep your arms warm, and they will work just as well in a Belstaff jacket!