Pilot Trans.Urban Jacket Review | Standout ADV Touring Apparel

Pilot Trans.Urban Jacket Test price

Pilot Trans.Urban Jacket Test

Pilot Trans.Urban Jacket Review | Standout ADV Touring Apparel
Pilot Trans.Urban Jacket

Although perhaps best known for its Evo one-piece tracksuits and custom work, Pilot also makes some excellent textile apparel for everyday riding. The Pilot Trans.Urban jacket is high quality, with a focus on personalizing the fit for comfort on long rides, as well as smart details that enhance functionality.

Suitable for touring and adventure riding, the Trans.Urban is primarily a three-season jacket with an Air version designed for the heat of the summer. That’s not to say I didn’t wear the Trans.Urban successfully on hot days.

While not mesh or highly vented (the chest covers don’t fold down, for instance), there is a good amount of usable airflow. Long waterproof zippers on the arms can be opened (though not while riding), along with shorter ones on the shoulders.

There is a single vent along the top of the Trans Urban jacket to exhaust the air, though that’s it. The rest flows out the bottom of the Pilot Trans.Urban with reasonable urgency. Also, the neck closure can be buttoned open to let more air in to your neck and face, and the main zipper zips up from the bottom.

With the long-sleeve Thermolite liner out, I can comfortably ride in temperatures from the 60s through the 90s, adjusting the venting as needed, though I have to take the jacket off to do so. Lacking the liner, the Trans.Urban has a nice light feel, even with a waterproof Reissa liner under the ballistic nylon shell. Still in a drought in California, we didn’t have a chance to test it in the rain, unfortunately.

I was most impressed with the various fitting functions. There are two adjustable snapping straps on each arm to fit to taste, Velcro wrist closures, two very influential high-waist Velcro straps, and a Velcro neck closure for the comfortable neoprene collar. Set these up properly, and the jacket should feel custom made for you.

Installing or removing the liner is something easily done roadside in a minute or so. There is one snapping strap at each wrist and two inside the shell, all aided by a red-on-black color scheme. A zipper holds the liner in place, and it all happens before you know it—perfect.

We didn’t get a chance to drop down into the 40s, but the Pilot Trans.Urban jacket feels like that will be no problem with a proper base layer. A nice warmth-friendly touch is elastic thumb loops on the wrist of the jacket, which keeps the sleeves in place and cold air from flowing in.

Pockets are important on a touring jacket, and the Pilot Trans.Urban does not disappoint. I am always nervous about pockets that rely on only Velcro for closure, so I was happy to see that both main pockets have two sturdy buttons, in addition to sticky Velcro.

A zipper behind a flap closes each of the two chest pockets. They aren’t particularly large, but the left pocket has a clip for holding a key ring— that’s huge for me as it is very reassuring. For tolls, there’s a handy small zippered pocket on the lower left forearm.

Inside, you get a large zippered pocket that can hold any size smartphone. There are three pockets of varying sizes in the standard shell, and duplicated in the Thermolite liner. Those pockets have easily seen and operated red pull- tabs, but are only secured by Velcro.

As for protection, you get the expected CE- approved micro-cellular armor in the elbows and shoulders, and a generic back pad that can be replaced with an optional Pilot Core CE level 2 pad. The standard protection is transparent in use. To fortify the jacket and increase abrasion resistance, the elbows and shoulders get Pilotex 1680D ballistic nylon reinforcement.

Adventure and touring jackets are plentiful, and it is difficult to stand out. The Pilot Trans.Urban jacket does so with an easily customizable fit, excellent pockets, and solid three-season comfort.

The Pilot Trans Urban jacket retails for $225; for additional information, visit Pilot.

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