Spidi Hard Track 3 jacket review

The Spidi Hard Track 3 is the latest iteration of a jacket that has long sat at the heart of Spidi's adventure offering.

It's a jacket with a removable waterproof which means that, in our world, this is what would be termed a proper 'adventure' jacket, in the way that a jacket with a fixed membrane can never be. And that's because if you're venturing somewhere exotically warm, or if you're working your socks off away from the beaten track the last thing you want anywhere near your body is a waterproof membrane. You'll boil in the bag like a serving of Uncle Ben's basmati rice.

If you don't know a lot about Spidi then all we can say is that this is a brand that you can have complete faith in. They are the least well known of the Italian trio that includes Dainese and Alpinestars. Spidi is the smallest of the three. It's a family-run business so they simply don't have the funds to throw at Moto GP, which is what the other two do. But we think that Spidi is the top of the tree in terms of quality, integrity and style. Alpinestars and Dainese are first and foremost international businesses. They are always chasing volume. They always over-produce. Spidi, by contrast, is first and foremost a motorcycle clothing company. We don't love everything they produce, but we have the luxury of choosing only those pieces that we do.

And the Hard Track is one of them.

The Spidi Hard Track 3

The Hard Track, obviously, is all about layering. Layering in its purest form is not for everybody, but we would contend that for many people, particularly those who like to tour in warmer climes, it's the best, and certainly the most flexible, way to go.

The outer jacket is remarkable for two things. Its wearability. And its features.

It's comfortable, of course; and that's partly because it can be worn without its waterproof membrane. This means it moulds to the body like your favourite anorak. And in this it's aided by large, highly-breathable, stretch panels under the arms, down the sleeves, across the shoulders and in the neck. Obviously it doesn't contain quite the stretch of the Marrakesh, but given all the other features it comes with it's not a bad effort.

Sometimes comfort comes at the expense of protection, but the Hard Track is rated AA for abrasion resistance, and comes fitted as standard with Level 2 armour in the elbows and shoulders. It's large armour too. It's shaped, which is what we would always look for if there was a chance of venturing off road, but the armour is also quite soft, and on the bike you'll barely know you're wearing it. The jacket does not come with a back protector. We actually wouldn't fit a Spidi one; our choice would be a Velcro-equipped D3O protector.

As we have suggested, the absence of a membrane is what, in our book, denotes an adventure jacket, but it's the quality of the venting that singles out a good one. And the Hard Track is as well vented as pretty much any such jacket we have come across.

What look like large pockets on the chest are actually unzippable vents. And these vents are huge. On a hot day, or when you're working up a good sweat, these vents are going to allow a lot of air to reach the body. To complete the package, you get a similar arrangement in the back, but here the vent is even huger, if that's a word. (I've checked; it actually is)!

You also get long zipped vents that run all the way from the neck down to the elbows.

Not that that's the end of the features you get on the Hard Track, so let's run through them.

At the neck you get a clever neck adjuster system for a better fit. But if it's all about getting air in, the left part of the neck collar can be pinned back so that it stays open.

There are volume adjusters under the arms, at the natural waist, on the biceps and forearms. You get zips and Velcro flaps at the ends of the sleeves, and a gusset zip at the hem to allow the jacket to splay a little when you're sat on the bike. Obviously these adjusters serve to improve the way the jacket fits. And what we all know is that a jacket that fits well is a jacket that's comfortable to ride in.

On both the right and the left sides of the jacket, below the chest vents, are large pockets. The right one is a traditional, flap pocket. The left one is a top-loading, mesh pocket. Both pockets come with zips that allow them to become side-entry, hand-warmer pockets. At the back of the jacket you get a largish, map pocket, on the outside of which there's a mesh one.

At the hem there's a drawstring to gather the jacket in. There's a fair amount of reflective panelling for better nighttime visibility. And you get a zip to enable you to connect to a Spidi trouser. Bear in mind that we can create zip conversions to allow any brand of jacket to be connected to any brand of trouser.

The Hard Track's removable thermal and waterproof liners

The Hard Track comes with removable thermal and waterproof liners. And the truth is that they will do a job.

The jacket is filled with 100g/sqm of some kind of hollow- form fibre. It can be clipped into the outer jacket or worn independently. It will easily pass muster as a destination jacket. Now when sold independently this jacket costs about £70, so whilst it will serve to take the chill out of a cooler day, you should not expect too much of it. A jacket like this makes a lot of sense in Italy, but won't be quite so appropriate here in the UK, and so you might be better off bringing your own merino or down jacket to the party. Do so, and you'll probably stay warmer.

You also, of course, get a removable, waterproof liner that, according to Spidi, can be worn on the inside or the outside of the main jacket. And yes that's doable.

Whether you wear it on the inside or the outside will depend on the circumstances, how heavy the rain is, and how long you reckon you'll be subjected to it. In lighter rain, or when you're only going to be subjected to it for, say, an hour or two you would leave the waterproof liner clipped to the inside of the jacket.

But if you're facing a real deluge, or if you're going to be riding in the rain for many hours you would wear it on the outside of the Hard Track. And in so doing you will prevent what we know as 'wetting out', where the jacket has soaked up so much water that you risk losing body temperature.

If this were my jacket, I would be tempted to use a Zephyr, a Maverick and a Scott, but financially that would be excessive and perhaps foolhardy. It may be what I would do, but that doesn't mean that it's sensible!

The matching 4 Season pant

We have decided to match the Hard Track jacket with the 4 Season pant. There is in existence a Hard Track pant, and it's almost identical to the 4 Season pant, but the Hard Track does not come in a short leg, and for us here in the UK that's quite important.

If you want all the technical spec. on the 4 Season pant you should click here, but what we are going to do now is run through the pant in a slightly cursory fashion.

The pant mirrors the jacket in many ways. So the same AA rating. The same Level 2 armour in the hips and knees. The same, huge vents. A removable, waterproof liner that can be worn inside or outside the main pant. Stretch in the crotch and behind the knees. Lots of pockets. An adjustable mechanism at the waist. Zips at the bottom of the leg that allows them to go over, certainly, a cross-over, adventure boot. Reflective stuff. A connecting zip, and so on.

We actually suspect that a lot of our customers will decide to match the Hard Track jacket with a pair of jeans. That is, after all, what we usually recommend as the accompanying lower half for the Marrakesh. And if you went down this route, you'd carry a pair of Scott waterproofs for when it became necessary.

But if you're one of those people who feels reassured by wearing a suit where the top and bottom match, and where you can zip the two halves together, the 4 Season is probably the way to go.

In summary

We are fans of layering, whatever form it takes. It won't work for long distance commuters, nor for those who fret too much about the weather.

But our view is that it doesn't rain every day even here in the UK. It rains, on average, only one day in four here in the summer, and given that most weekend riders will avoid the rain if they possibly can, a lot of motorcyclists will very rarely find themselves riding in the wet. And if this is the case, having a permanently waterproof jacket as your only option doesn't make a lot of sense.

And of course if you like to head south now and again in search of warmer climes, waterproof outfits become even less attractive.

As a company we are not short of options if layering is the way to go. Klim, Rukka, Halvarssons, Held, Fuel and Richa all have something to offer. But the Spidi Hard Track has a lot going for it.

As ever, Spidi has got the looks right. The jacket is super comfortable, fits well, has amazing venting, and with its level 2 armour and AA rating is every bit as protective as any such jacket.

And it's pretty well priced too. It's in no way cheap, but you will pay a lot more for what might be considered similar offerings from the likes of Rukka and Held. Of course, in the margin, given that both those suits are equipped with Stretch Gore-Tex liners, it might be suggested that even though you'll pay more for them, you'll also get more. But that does not alter the fact that the Hard Track and its matching 4 Season pant offer pretty decent value for money.

The jacket costs £549.99. The pants cost £339.99.

That's less than the equivalent Rukka, the Held and the Halvarssons suits, but more than the Fuel and Richa ones. And that sounds about right to us.

If it sounds interesting, come and see us. In terms of sheer comfort, this combo. is a match for anything.

You can buy Spidi Hard Track 3 jacket with free next day UK delivery online, or visit our store in Guildford to try one on.