Richa Toulon Jacket Black

Super chuffed with jacket, perfect for on the bike and out and about. Quality bike wear. Thanks

This is a review of the original Richa Toulon jacket, not the Toulon 2. Not sure what the differences are, but this version is an excellent spring/autumn motorbike jacket. It’s a proper, protective jacket with shoulder and elbow armour (it doesn’t come with a back protector, although there’s room to fit one if you want to), but it’s also one that won’t look silly if you wear it down the pub (even with the armour in). The quality of the leather and the workmanship are both very good and the vintaging effect is quite realistic, unlike some other efforts I’ve seen. It also has 3 inside pockets, if you include the mobile phone pocket. There’s no venting or perforations for hot weather riding (probably not a problem in the UK) and in colder weather you won’t get many layers underneath it unless you go up several sizes. Which brings us to sizing. I took advice from the reviews I’d read and sized up. I usually wear a 42” but ordered a 44”. It’s a snug fit, but comfortably snug; I can wear a thin sweatshirt underneath it, but I wouldn’t try a woolly sweater or multiple layers. When I measured it across the chest it was 22” armpit to armpit, so in this case the 44” is the size of the jacket, not the person wearing it. The bellows at the shoulders really work, so even though it’s a snug fit, reaching for the bars isn’t restricted. It’s designed for riding around on a classic, roadster, or cruiser style bike so it’s probably not a good choice if you ride a sports bike or something with clip-on bars - those shoulder bellows have limits. Overall, if you fancy a good looking, well made retro motorbike jacket you can’t go far wrong with one of these, providing you get the right size. Not many places have them in stock now but they’re a bit of a bargain compared to the newer Toulon 2.