REV’IT! Cayenne Pro Jacket Review
Comments (0) I’ve got something to admit: I’m in love with REV’IT! (www.revit.edu) products. The best way for me to explain it is with the Japanese word, “otaku”. In Japan, “otaku” means someone who is infatuated with something else, whether it be video games, anime, comics, or the like. It’s kind of like calling someone a “geek” or “nerd” and while not the most flattering, it does convey the sense that when it comes to a specific hobby; otaku really know what they’re doing. And to use the word as an adjective, REV’IT! is super-otaku when it comes to designing their gear. I feel like they obsess over details that most other companies wouldn’t care to deal with. And for a reviewer like me, this is the best thing ever. I’ve picked up their much-hyped Cayenne Pro jacket, a top-of-the-line year-rounder that weighs in at a hefty $580. Let’s see how it fares.
Outer
Although most people report REV’IT! clothing as having a slim cut, with my less than ideal body type, it fit just fine. As a reference, I have the Medium jacket and my dimensions are: 5 feet 7 inches tall, 33 inch waist, 39 inch chest. My body type is more square than V-shape and I had no problems. The jacket sleeves felt like just the right length, enough to cover both a standard upright and sport-bike position. The rear of the jacket ended right around the middle of my rear, so not too long as to be a nuisance when sitting down, and again, just right for a forward-leaning position.
The outer shell of the Cayenne Pro is made out of several different materials: DuPont Cordura 500D, Cordura 1000D, and SuperFabric. Cordura is basically strong nylon fabric that holds up well to abrasion, scuffing, and tearing. The higher the number, the higher the denier (density), and thus the better quality the fabric. Most good quality jackets will feature between 500D to 1500D Cordura; the Cayenne Pro features 500D and 1000D in various locations around the chassis. In addition, there are SuperFabric panels around the elbows. SuperFabric is high-tech material made out of tiny ceramic sections designed to provide even greater abrasion-resistance. As well, SuperFabric resists punctures, so one could theoretically take a knife or sharp edge to it and still be okay. I’ll leave it to someone else to test this.
Note: The tags do mention the fabric being treated with Teflon as a protector. I’m not able to tell if this covers only certain portions of the jacket or if it’s intended to mean that most of the shell is covered with the stuff.
Aside from the above materials, there is raised padding around the shoulders and upper back. In addition, there are stretch panels near the elbows to allow for ease of movement. I found the stretch panels to be work well without appearing very bulky, a common problem in lesser jackets. The sleeves feature two sets of snaps on each side, one around the upper arm and another for the forearm. Each set of snaps has two settings to tighten up the sleeves for a better fit. One should ideally snap the sleeves snug so that the armor does not shift around. Rounding out the adjustments, there are waist-level velcro adjusters on both sides, and two cords at the bottom of the jacket (just on the inside) to allow one to close up the base of the jacket. For one, I wished that there was more velcro on the waist adjusters. Closing them up to my personal fit, I felt like I was running out of usable space. Someone who has a V-shaped torso might find themselves with very little velcro left for attachment.
As a side note, the jacket snaps are branded Fiocchi and are of very high quality. The snaps feel very secure and are quite loud when opening and closing.
Reflectivity is good on this jacket, despite me opting for the black version. There is a waist reflector on the back, one on each sleeve, and two on the upper chest. As opposed to reflective piping, which can be very narrow, these reflective strips are substantial, running anywhere from 0.75-1.5 inches in width. Most of my riding occurs at night and I felt like these did a good job of keeping me visible without looking ridiculous. Finally, these reflectors are matte gray in regular daylight, so it doesn’t stylistically intrude on the wearer in daytime use. A nice touch.
Pockets – you will find that most of the jacket’s pockets are on the exterior, with only a couple small interior pockets available (due to the complexity of the liner system explained later). There is a large pocket on the rear of the jacket, similar to a fanny pack. This has a cover flap, is secured by two snaps, and is not designed to be waterproof. In the front, there are six pockets that feature different configurations. The two upper pockets are covered with a snap enclosure. Opening this flap reveals a zippered compartment that is waterproof. The two lower pockets feature a water-resistant zipper, however the pockets themselves are not waterproof. Also, there are two vertical zippers near the upper pockets that open up to reveal left and right-side mesh-lined pockets.
The Cayenne Pro does a good job adapting from a cold-weather setup to one that supports warmer temperatures. There are two VCS ventilation zippers on the sleeves that open up to reveal a mesh interior. Due to the rather stiff zipper covers, the opening isn’t very large, but should allow some airflow to the forearm. Remember the vertical zipper pockets I mentioned above? Well, it turns out that they can double as air intakes for the torso. Kind of a nifty trick. And speaking of tricks, one of the most ingenious of things done with this jacket is with the reflective chest panels. These feature a flap that detaches via velcro and snaps into place by folding over the reflectors, revealing yet another mesh intake. However, this does cover part of the reflectors, so your front visibility will decrease. The rear of the jacket features two exhaust vents around the upper back. In all, I still prefer a mesh jacket for summer riding, although these ventilation options do extend the comfort range of the Cayenne Pro dramatically.
To round out the exterior of the jacket, there are two small REV’IT! badges at the top of each sleeve. Muted and not flashy, which I prefer. As well, there is a REV’IT! logo on the back of the jacket. The collar has a couple of nice features. First is the 7-position adjustable collar, which allows a custom fit depending on if you’re wearing (or not wearing) a turtleneck or similar item underneath the jacket. Useful, but I had a lot of difficulty getting the Prym snap to close properly. Second, there is a hook-and-loop on the other side to hold back the collar flap. This opens up the front to allow some cool air around the neck; again, great attention to detail here from REV’IT!. Near the collar on the left is a port for a hydration pack.
Note: Most zippers feature pulls that make using them much easier when wearing gloves. In addition to this, there are small pockets for zippers to hide under when zipped up, reducing the amount of material dangling around the jacket. Oddly, the lower front pockets do not have zippers with pulls, or the zipper pocket.
Inner
The interior of the Cayenne Pro is just as interesting as the exterior. This requires a brief explanation. Most REV’IT! jackets feature a 3-liner system. First is the Cordura/SuperFabric outer that contains the armor and pockets. Second is a waterproof, breathable liner called the Hydratex Membrane. Third is an insulating liner called Exkin Air. These run independent of each other, so it is possible to wear the jacket using the following combinations:
- Outer-only
- Outer with waterproof liner
- Outer with insulating liner
- Outer with waterproof liner and insulating liner
I don’t really find wearing option #3 useful as I would always do #4 instead. However, if you wanted to do that, the Cayenne Pro gives you that option. Also, despite this flexibility, one is only able to put the insulating liner inside the waterproof liner, not the other way around.
With that out of the way, I must say, the 3-liner system is excellent. Each liner is connected to the other using a combination of zippers and snaps. It’s rather interesting to see how this all works with each other, and how it’s possible to change up the liner arrangements, but I’ll let the pictures explain this. I found the attachments to be quite secure, continuing the jacket’s use of YKK zippers, but changing up the snaps to something called King Star. The insulating liner connects using half-length zippers, whereas the Hydratex liner uses zippers that connect from the top to the bottom of the jacket. Aside from connecting the liner to the opening of the jacket, there are two snaps on the end of each sleeve to connect with the Cordura outer, and a snap around the collar. One feature that I do like is that the waterproof liner closes by using a full-length zipper with an additional flap closed by snaps for greater resistance to rain. Note that the Exkin/insulating liner doesn’t have any closure options. The Exkin does have two convenient pockets, one of which was a perfect fit for my cell phone. It also features an opening in the rear for a short zipper connector to run through for any compatible REV’IT! pants. The Hydratex liner features the short zipper connector (run through the Exkin liner), and the Cordura outer features both short and long zipper connectors to work with a wider selection of pants.
A note about fit and usage: With all liners installed, the jacket will fell snug and appear a little bulky, but I find it more than acceptable given the extreme warmth of the insulation. REV’IT! jackets are designed to fit true to size on the outer, so adding liners will inevitably shrink the interior dimensions. Please keep this in mind if you are in-between sizes or plan on wearing thick layers underneath the jacket. The jacket is so warm, however, that you may not need to wear a lot of layers to do cold-weather riding. I’ve been wearing this jacket throughout the winter here (around 40 degrees F) and have been very cozy just wearing a thermal and long-sleeve t-shirt underneath.
Protection
The Cayenne Pro’s armor provides both high and low points. The raised padding on the shoulders and upper back add subtle protection. Inside, you will find SaS-Tec CE-rated protectors in the shoulders and elbows. This armor is unique in that it is naturally soft and pliable, as opposed to other protectors that tend to be very firm (only flexing because of incisions made in the shape). The SaS-Tec armor will bend when any sort of pressure is applied, but slowly revert back to its original form. This allows the Cayenne Pro to feel very comfortable when moving the arms around as the intruding presence of the armor is minimized. Another unique property of the armor is that when struck at a high speed, it instantly firms up to provide very solid protection. This can be tested by taking a hammer to the protector or simply whacking it against something very quickly. Very impressive. As someone who has encountered a lot of different types of CE-level protection, my opinion is that SaS-Tec’s is the most exciting, and I wish that other makers would incorporate it into their products. I’d almost venture to say that this is the best armor that one can obtain in a jacket today. The forearm protectors are longer than regular protectors, and the shoulder protectors are anatomically different between left and right sides, which is thoughtful. Both feel quite thick and larger than equivalent protectors in other jackets.
Sadly, from this we go to the back protection, consisting of a simple foam pad. In fact, it’s so simple that it’s worse than the back pad in a cheaper REV’IT! product, the women’s Allure jacket, featuring a more comfortable Temperfoam pad. A SaS-Tec back protector is available as an option, but it would have made sense to simply include it as standard on the Cayenne Pro. This is somewhat disappointing, and probably the only drawback on an otherwise excellent jacket.
Summary
The REV’IT! Cayenne Pro jacket is well-executed and full of versatile features that should accommodate a variety of riding situations. It is extremely comfortable to wear and the quality of the construction/components should stand as a goal for other manufacturers. Despite my misgiving about the back protection, the negative points are very minor (missing zipper pulls, seriously?). Even considering the high price tag, this jacket is highly recommended for any rider looking for an all-weather jacket. (4.5 out of 5 stars)
Themocracy