Falstaff Jacket

Thank you for making me this jewel of a jacket. Quality, detail ,function and comfort. Old school waxed cotton for the modern day. Four weeks from order to delivery. Thanks again from the Blue Ridge.

My "Falstaff" is over 25 years old, or nearly so, give or take a year or two. Thing is, it pre-dates my bride by 10 years, so it may be pushing 30 years old!

It's waxed cotton for sure. Body armor, check. But instead of Falstaff on the pocket, it says Darien...

So... any wisdom? Needs a zipper repair and new reflective bits. Heading back to Duluth soon! It's my go-to scooter jacket whilst piloting my Aprilia Scarabeo back and forth to work day in, day out, going on 5 years.

Pros:
-Jacket is very comfortable from the first moment you put it on.
-Fairly breathable/better in hot weather than expected
-Plenty of storage
-Neck area doesn't chafe
-Lining is fairly comfortable
-Neat effect of jacket turning pollen yellow color in certain areas during the Spring!
Cons:
-Jacket feels a bit baggy. If you're riding without a lot of layers, there will be a lack of that "integrated" feel. However, if you ride with plenty of layers it does feel really nice.
- the back armor needs to sit inside a sleeve. the velcro on the outside solution is cheesy as hell. It feels awkward getting slapped from time to time by the back armor.
- I felt compelled to replace the should pads. The stock pads feel too bulky/cumbersome. A quick swap and about 35$ fixes that.

All in all, I'm pleased with the jacket, but the sizing is really aimed at heavier riders or riders that will be doing a lot of layering. I do enjoy wearing this, it does look cool and functions well enough, but will not be reaching for it from late Spring through Summer just because of the bagginess/integration issue described above.

BLUF: This is absolutely my favorite jacket! I've had my Falstaff about 6 years (I think). In that time, I've worn in commuting in Washington DC traffic/weather, travelled around Alaska (to include Prudhoe Bay), ridden the ALCAN and parts of the TAT. Conditions have ranged from leading edge of a hurricane, to hot and sunny to freezing rain and snow mix. Through it all, the jacket has kept me warm and reasonably dry. I add reasonably because its not completely water proof and I've soaked it through a couple times due to extremely heavy rain or prolonged (8+ hours) riding in wet conditions. However, for commuting its fine and water resistance greatly improves with re-waxing. Though use, its acquired a cool, vintage looking patina that lets it look right on all my bikes. If it every wears out, I'll buy another just like it.

I started buying Aerostitch gear because they custom make stuff to fit. After 3 or 4 riding jackets that never really fit or were totally crap in the rain my Falstaff is the bomb! I have worn it in torrential northwest down pours and stayed dry. I'm talking about over 5 hours of steady rain. The last ride was drenching like someone throwing buckets of water on me as I passed cars and semis. A little damp around the edges but dry on the inside. Its been re-waxed and definitely has a patina. If it wears out I'll get the exact same thing. Same goes for my AD-1 pants, perfect fit and completely dry even the seat but that is another review...

Seems like the older I get, the more I appreciate old school. Old Guys Rule and all that. And so this was an itch that had been there awhile. I’ve got a closet full of proper shit. Dainese race leathers and Vanson street leathers and BMW kit. Aerostich Roadcrafter and First Gear winter suit. Fleece this and Cordura that. Gortex everywhere. Mostly, now and for a lot of years, it’s been the Darien. Pants and jacket. That setup works a treat.

But the more I looked inward, and back, the more the thought stuck. Alas. Go online and look up ‘Belstaff’ and you’ll die a little inside. They’ve gone full-Monty fashion, just like L L Bean, catering to the Starbucks crowd. Crusty old Bikers they ain’t, anymore.

The Darien jacket is a proper, modern ‘technical’ garment. Cordura and Gortex and padding at the shoulder and elbows. Works fabulous for layering. And unlike its cousin, the Roadcrafter, the Darien approaches being truly waterproof. So the dilemma was this: how could the Falstaff improve upon that? The concept was an attractive one: A renewable, organic variation of that much-liked Darien theme. No longer having to worry about damaging that delicate Gortex membrane when stuffing the jacket in a pannier or bungee’ing it to the back of your seat. Waxed cotton once ruled. Does it still have a place? The reviews, here and elsewhere, are mostly positive. But sprinkled in amongst the happiness are a few critiques. Mostly, I kept circling around one question: would the Falstaff be sufficiently waterproof? I mean, how the hell do you beat Gortex? After three Roadcrafters and that long-in-the-tooth Darien set, I’m kind of spoiled.

I’ll stop here for a moment and observe that there are no truly waterproof rigs in the motorcycle world. Your jacket or suit might be, but ride all day in heavy rain and it’s just about impossible not to have some water wicking in around your neck, especially as you open and close that jacket numerous times. That sort of intrusion is predictable and slow, however. What you don’t want to happen is to have your jacket itself lose its integrity. That’s the path to instant misery.

There was a second question: How well does waxed cotton breathe? Gortex is justifiably famous for holding out the rain even as it lets your natural perspiration escape. Unless you go cheap with a nylon rain shell, there’s no longer any need to ride inside a sauna. But waxed cotton? Well, it’s a more complicated question than first appears. We tend to think whether a garment breathes or not as binary: either it does or it doesn’t. But, in reality, that quality exists on a continuum. Compared to that old, non-porous, nylon rain slicker you bought with your first bike, Gortex moves lots of air. But compared to, say, the polypropylene/film used in something like a Frogg Toggs suit “which moves even more air”, Gortex doesn’t score nearly so well. Which is to say, there’s not a simple answer. My guess is that waxed cotton breathes _somewhat_. Better than a nylon rain shell, but not as well as Gortex. My second guess is that it breathes _enough_. Sitting on a bike you’re not generating a lot of heat or moisture. Why not just a new Darien? Well, truth be known, that option is on the short list. But the thing is this: after a decade and something north of 100,000 miles I ought to love the Darien. But I don’t. You know how you grow really fond of some favorite garment? A piece of clothing that just sort of ingratiates itself, that has an evocative sense of ‘rightness’ when you pull it on? The Darien jacket never had that. The Darien works, for sure. Above all else, mine has been reliably waterproof. But there’s a cold aloofness about that jacket. Like a girlfriend with whom the sex is great but who otherwise never much laughs.

The package arrives…Don’t you just love that black-as-darkest-night look when you first pull it out of the wrapping? The dyes deep and rich, before being touched by the sun and rain and a million bugs and a hundred thousand miles worth of air flowing past? Yeah, I almost went with brown. But, assuming this works, it’ll get used on the white Harley too. Black, it is. The Falstaff definitely has more heft than the Darien. But not by a lot. Not enough to matter.

More importantly, my first worry about the jacket is instantly dismissed. Some wax cotton finishes are supposedly ‘sticky’ or ‘tacky.’ You hear bad jokes about not rubbing up against your mom’s really nice sofa, lest it be soiled. The concern, for me, is the fairly expensive cameras and lenses that inevitably accompany my adventures. I don’t need anything rubbing off my jacket onto those. Nor onto the seat of that expensive new BMW I just bought. The truth, at least with this Falstaff, is that the texture is none of that. It’s warm and lovely and tactile, and nothing comes off on your hands. It’s welcoming. It’s friendly. It makes you feel good when you touch it. It’s perfect. Sliding it on even new, virginal.

It feels way better than my Darien ever did. The thing about the Darien is that it always felt ‘unfinished’ to me. It has no lining and the velcroed-in shoulder pads are just kind of hanging there. Mine never detached when they weren’t supposed to but I never shrugged into that jacket without the feeling that they _might_. And that awful collar. It took me years to accept that that wasn’t going to change. If Andy Goldfine ever asked me I’d have told him in a heartbeat to fix those things. Nylon lining like in the Roadcrafter. Soft, velour collar. Done. The Falstaff has that stuff. Except “even better” the lining is the soft, brushed cotton of your favorite flannel shirt. The Falstaff is one of those rare jackets that prompts a little smile, just putting it on. It’s really, super comfortable. It feels like an old friend from the get-go.

That actually prompted another question. Since the cotton liner is permanently sewn in, would it compromise venting? The answer, after several 90-degree days, is an unequivocal no. Frankly, I was shocked at how well the Falstaff vents air. Maybe it’s because the jacket has more body than the Darien, holding its shape better. I dunno. Whatever the reason, the Falstaff flows air at least as well as, if not better than, the Darien.

This is getting a bit long, so I’ll cut to the chase: Two trips, a week apart. Nine days total on the road, spanning a tidy portion of Appalachia. Not a drop of rain to be had. So I’ve yet to be able to explore how waterproof the Falstaff is. Who knows, maybe Aerostich includes some sort of good-weather Karma with this jacket? What I can say is that I love how it wears. How it feels. How it makes _me_ feel. There’s an emotional warmth to this jacket that I just love. It’s soft. It’s supple. It drapes off the shoulders in a way the Darien never did.

Truly great motorcycle gear does more than keep you warm and safe and dry. It evokes memories of adventures long past, while provoking a tease of what still lies ahead. On the road, it’s your best friend. Time will tell. But I’m already thinking the Falstaff falls squarely in that truly great category.

It rocks.

I got my falstaff three years ago because it looked awesome (I have a problem with buying brown gear, seriously.) I figured it'd be the shoulder season jacket and I'd use it occasionally.

Nope. It's the only jacket. Touring? Falstaff and riding pants w/ suspenders. Cold out? Falstaff and layers. Hot out? Falstaff with vents open. Raining? Falstaff and rain pants... you get the idea.

The venting turns out to be better in serious heat than mesh, since you create an area of slower moving damp air around your body. If you ride an upright bike and open the cuffs you get a freaking awesome draft of cooling air up the sleeves and into the pits which is great if you're say 30 miles out of Page AZ and the sun is going down on a 95 degree 500-some mile days and seriously SCREW that sun. Shut everything down and it's a fortress with room for layers two days later when you're getting blown off the road at 31 degrees over the top of cedar breaks.

After 3 years of 10 mos 5 days riding some stuff needs love. I need to retreat the upper arms, a zipper on the cuff broke today, and there's some wear of the liner inside the cuffs.

My only real complaints with it are detail oriented. The cuff closures are finicky and if you don't do them right they bunch and let air in which is annoying. The thing is also heavy. DAMN heavy. It weighs more than my 2 year old daughter. It's also kind of lame it doesn't have a back protector standard.

Quick impression: This jacket is more comfortable in the first 5 miles than my original weight Darien after 10K miles and multiple washings. My hi-viz Darien may be bullet proof, but it sure is stiff. Strongly consider the Darien Light or the Falstaff unless you are planning on circumnavigating the world by bike.

I have owned the Falstaff jacket for about five years. I have waxed it once two seasons ago. Last week, I was touring the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with two of my buddies. We spent six hours in 49 degree temperature with heavy rains and I was the only one that stayed dry. I also stayed warm. What a great jacket. It looks better with age and is good at virtually any temperature. I will re wax this winter.
Thanks for a great product!!

I purchased both the Falstaff jacket and pants last fall. These reviews were very useful in helping me make my decision so wanted to let everyone know my thoughts after several months of wear and having just finished a several thousand mile trip in all kinds of weather.

Firstly, I am very satisfied with my decision. I am biased to natural products so this was a fit. After riding in extreme winds and rain recently, I can say that neither the pants or jacket allowed any water in after a full day of riding in hard rain. Also, it held the wind away except in the 40-50 mph wind gusts (not fun). I did have to layer though but would with any kind of non-parka jacket. I also went through high-80s temps and although I was tempted to take it off, the jacket allowed sufficient air flow to allow me to leave it on. If I lived in Arizona and rode in the heat all the time (I live in the Pacific Northwest), I'm not sure I would choose this jacket.

I do not like to have a closet full of options and therefore like the 3-season flexibility of the Falstaff (or even 4 season although the snow and ice are not for me).

The only bones I have with the Falstaff are 1) that it is bulkier than layered approach although both have their advantages and 2) the collar velcro tab is not quite long enough to close easily. I have a 16 1/2" neck and for the wind, I had to close and it felt constricting.

Finally, I had the reflective stuff removed at time of purchase as the bike takes care of this and I didn't like the look. The staff were very helpful when customizing (shorten the sleeves) and in the purchase q+a process.

As the title says, I made the right decision for me. Hope all this helps.