Tested: Richa Daytona leather jacket review

Date reviewed: January 2018 | Tested by: Simon Hancocks | Price: £269.99 | www.nevis.uk.com

With the current boom in Café Racer culture sweeping the world of bikes, motorcycle clothing manufacturers are having to constantly adapt their product lines to keep their products looking cool, while still providing the protection required. The Richa Daytona jacket is a great example of this.

Construction

The Daytona is made from Buffalo leather with a tasteful tartan cotton lining and removable thermal liner. It has a YKK zip on the front of the jacket and the collar is secured by a heavy duty, and slightly tricky to use, popper. The cuffs have YKK zips and a popper flap which is supposed to offer further adjustment – I notice no difference either way. A nice touch of the jacket is that the back is made up on one large piece of leather all the way up to the shoulder blades. Not only does this make the jacket more secure, than a back section made of lots of smaller pieces stitched together – but it is also more expensive to manufacture, I think it looks better as well.

Protection

All the internal protection in the Daytona is D3O and includes and full length back protector, elbow and shoulder pads. As with all D3O protection, you can barely tell it is there and it doesn’t inhibit your movement on or off the bike. The leather seems to be quite thick and durable and although it is only the armour that is CE approved I suspect the leather will also offer a high degree of protection if you were to have a spill.

Fit and comfort

I have the UK40 sized jacket and it is spot on. The Daytona does a really neat trick in that the cut is loose enough to allow me to ride a range of bikes, from Bobbers to Sportsbikes, without restricting my movement or making me look like I’m wearing a jacket that is two sizes too big! The cuffs are very snuggly fitted when zipped up, to the point that removing the jacket is impossible unless you unzip them. I find that that the collar is very closely fitted, it becomes slightly uncomfortable if the top popper is done up. It goes without saying that this is my personal preference only and may be different for you. If you can, try before you buy.

The hem of the jacket also has a popper flap on each side for adjustment; as with the cuffs I can see no discernable difference whether done up or not.

The top edge of the collar is lined with a soft neoprene section that is less irritating that just leather. It can catch your stubble and annoy you, if like me you still think you can carry off a five o'clock shadow!

Pockets and lining

There are two main pockets on the front of the of the jacket and two chest pockets that are all secured with YKK zips. The main pockets on the front are big enough to take my phone in one and wallet in the other. The two chest pockets are quite small and I generally just big enough to use to store receipts and train tickets. There is a concealed pocket in the left hand lapel that is again secured with a YKK zip. This pocket is just big enough to squeeze my iPhone 7+ into. I haven’t ridden in torrential rain but when caught in a shower I found the jacket and the pockets to keep me and my possessions dry.

The thermal liner of the Daytona is a gilet style and is extremely warm. The first day I had the jacket I used it to ride the 77-miles home on the A14 and M6 and was shocked at how warm I was. It was mid November and probably about 5°, yet I arrived home feeling as though I could have just done the journey in any of my other textile riding gear. I also used the Daytona when I went to the press riding launch of Triumph's Bobber Black, most of which was on the Ronda road which snakes up nearly 3000-feet above sea level. At the top of the mountain the temperature was hovering just above zero and the Richa did a great job of keeping my upper body warm and snug.

The thermal liner, which is zipped securely in place, also includes an internal chest pocket and mobile phone pocket in the right lapel.

Conclusion

I have been really impressed by this jacket; if I’m completely honest I didn’t think it would perform as well as it has – I thought it would be more form over function which simply is not the case. This is a coat you can wear on dry days in winter, all through the summer (without the thermal liner) and even on a night out. The fact that I have three jackets in one for under £300 is a massive thumbs up to Richa.