{"id":2829,"date":"2017-12-07T21:52:37","date_gmt":"2017-12-07T21:52:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/american-v.cso2w.com\/?p=2829"},"modified":"2019-02-06T22:33:33","modified_gmt":"2019-02-06T22:33:33","slug":"review-rsd-stoddard-shirt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/american-v.cso2w.com\/hub\/review-rsd-stoddard-shirt\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: RSD Stoddard Shirt"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A plaid shirt that doubles as a cool jacket<\/strong> isn\u2019t a natural\u00a0fit for a winter issue of a motorcycle magazine, you\u2019ll be\u00a0thinking, and in many ways you\u2019d be right, but that\u2019s before\u00a0you think about it as a layer, which is how I\u2019m wearing it\u00a0right now.<\/p>\n

Not that I haven\u2019t had the opportunity to try it as a jacket\u00a0too \u2013 thanks to a bit of winter sun on the Mediterranean\u00a0coast a monthor so ago … well, you\u2019ve got to make the most\u00a0of your opportunities.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>It\u2019s far from being the only\u00a0Kevlar-lined shirt \u2013 with\u00a0pockets for armour \u2013 out\u00a0there, and it is part of what\u00a0I\u2019m banging on about in\u00a0this issue\u2019s editor\u2019s letter (AmV89):\u00a0recognising the impact that\u00a0Kevlar is starting to have in\u00a0riding gear.<\/p>\n

We have long celebrated\u00a0not having to dress up like\u00a0power rangers when we ride\u00a0and this, and other things\u00a0like Roland Sands Design\u2019s\u00a0Stoddard shirt, are the\u00a0natural progression of that.<\/p>\n

Outwardly it is a shirt\u00a0in a cotton flannel brown\u00a0check, and it would take a\u00a0keen eyed observer to spot\u00a0the lack of buttons \u2013 or more\u00a0likely RSD-branded snap\u00a0fasteners to match those\u00a0that keep the top pocket closed \u2013 but to the wearer it is\u00a0freedom.<\/p>\n

Freedom to jump on a motorbike at any point without\u00a0thinking about a leather jacket, wearing the shirt that you\u00a0were wearing round the house or workshop … okay, so\u00a0maybe not the workshop unless it has been converted to a\u00a0\u2018Man Cave\u2019, and the only oil there being for your hair.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It wears like a regular western shirt with a couple of\u00a0notable exceptions: it closes with a zipper, there is a\u00a0hand-warmer pocket on each side and it\u2019s lined.\u00a0Twice. Once with Kevlar and a second time\u00a0with a quilted satin lining.<\/p>\n

Add armour and you can add a fourth\u00a0item to that list, but you\u2019d then tick the\u00a0\u2018maybe\u2019 box in a questionnaire about\u00a0comfort and functionality … and RSD\u00a0recommend you need to go up a size.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Yes, of course armour will offer an\u00a0additional level of protection in the event\u00a0that you or someone else does something\u00a0silly on the road \u2013 and we have been\u00a0told for years that we need to dress for the\u00a0crash, not the ride \u2013 but that it offers abrasion\u00a0resistance up there with leather is a vast\u00a0improvement over cotton alone, and certainly\u00a0over cotton flannel.<\/p>\n

And I do mean it wears like a shirt: winter\u00a0has properly struck this week and I\u2019ve been\u00a0doing just that, over a t-shirt.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re not\u00a0going to tuck it in should the fashion change\u00a0again \u2013 the bulk of the lined hand-warmer pockets\u00a0don\u2019t lend themselves to that \u2013 hence the\u00a0t-shirt, but usefully a technical t-shirt with some sort of odour absorption trickery worn underneath will keep this fresh. As will riding in it, in open country.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It is machine washable on a cold wash and needs to be\u00a0line dried in the shade\u00a0\u2013 as do most aramids \u2013\u00a0but I\u2019m treating it more\u00a0as an intermediate\/outer layer and won\u2019t\u00a0be over-washing it.<\/p>\n

As an intermediate\u00a0layer, it\u2019s not too\u00a0bulky to be worn\u00a0under a regular\u00a0bike jacket, and if\u00a0you wear it under\u00a0a normal jacket,\u00a0you will still have\u00a0all the protection of\u00a0the Stoddard below.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It won\u2019t save your\u00a0fashionable outerwear,\u00a0but it could save\u00a0your skin.<\/p>\n

Having saved on\u00a0fasteners on the front,\u00a0they have been generously sprinkled everywhere else. The hand-warmer pockets get\u00a0one each \u2013 not a flap because then it would start to look\u00a0too much like a jacket \u2013 and the adjustable cuffs get three:\u00a0two to give a wind-cheating tight grip round your wrists or\u00a0a more casual shirt fit, and a third half way up the vent to\u00a0keep it tight. Oh, and there are two more on the collar, to\u00a0keep that snapped down, but they are smaller and purely\u00a0functional with hidden studs.<\/p>\n

Liberated from the tyranny of fixed buttons up the front\u00a0and that fiddly one at the top if you\u2019ve got the wrong collar\u00a0size, the zipper runs higher than most top\u00a0buttons, finishing\u00a0with a high and tight seal\u00a0round the neck. And being cotton flannel, a\u00a0comfortable one.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The tightness of the cuffs and neck might have you\u00a0thinking that this is windproof, but you\u2019d be wrong.<\/p>\n

They’re there to stop everything flapping round at speed, and\u00a0the body of the shirt lets some breeze though making it\u00a0an excellent summer riding shirt: unzipped to keep the\u00a0temperature down when off the bike, zipper at half-mast riding in\u00a0the city, with the front flapping to aid cooling, but zipped\u00a0up when on the open road without overheating.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s enough to make you want summer to come back\u00a0again … what am I saying? Book me a flight I\u2019m heading\u00a0south!<\/p>\n

RSD Stoddard Shirt
\nAvailable in: Brown
\nSize: S \u2013 XXL
\nRRP: \u00a3229.00<\/h6>\n
urbanrider.co.uk<\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A plaid shirt that doubles as a cool jacket isn\u2019t a natural\u00a0fit for a winter issue of a motorcycle magazine, you\u2019ll be\u00a0thinking, and in many … <\/p>\n

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