That’s a rather good-looking jacket, right? Or perhaps, given the proliferation of white headlamps these days, we’ve just missed the colour yellow. In any case, the Streetwind Eco riding jacket from Royal Enfield Apparel is right on the money when it comes to appearance despite sharing its palette with Mumbai taxis. It differs from the regular Streetwind jacket by being made from 75 plastic bottles
and 100 per cent recycled materials, hence the Eco tag.
This is a great jacket for city riding since it has acres of single-layer mesh for wind to pass through. Looks like they really nailed the name, then. The jacket fits quite well, if you ignore our guy’s paunch that he’s unsuccessfully pulling in, and the mesh on the front is thin and transparent enough to read what’s on his T-shirt. Impact protection is offered by RE’s own new Ergo Pro-Tech CE level 2 armour for the elbows and shoulders (which is awesome) and a foam pad for the
back (not so much). Thankfully, you can get a CE level 2 back protector and shove it into the back. Abrasion resistance comes via Cordura panels at the shoulder and the elbow, which are par for the course.
It’s easy to forget you’re wearing it. On the bike, there’s a lot of air going through the mesh, and this is probably the most ventilated jacket we’ve ever tested. However, the adjustment straps on the arms are a little too long; we’d have liked shorter ones to properly tuck them away instead of fluttering around. The cuffs
are quite wide; they swallow the rears of full-gauntlet gloves quite easily,
which may make it cumbersome for some riders. There’s also a Velcro patch on the left arm to stick on your identity, affiliation or even a one-liner. Pockets on either side, both internal and external, round off convenience.
At Rs. 5950, the Streetwind Eco makes a good case for first timers to get used to a riding jacket and as the go-to urban jacket for everyone else. Ventilation, appearance and pricing — no wonder this jacket is cool in more. ways than one.
