Speed and Strength Back In Black Jacket (Sold Out)

We measured each jacket size and tried the size Medium in this jacket on Huey and we put an XL jacket on Dewey. These are the sizes they normally wear and both fit very well.

Speed and Strength textile and mesh jackets are an “easy fit” and are generously sized. My primary advice would be to wear the size you normally wear in men’s clothing. If you are between sizes I’d advise you to go down.

If you want to double check your sizing by measuring your chest, you can use the chart below to choose a size. The Max Chest sizes listed by Speed and Strength are a bit bigger than many manufacturer’s conversion charts, and that confirms our suggestion that people who are between sizes should choose the smaller.

If you have a bit of a belly, you might want to put a tape around it and make sure the size you are choosing will work for the belly as well. The max belly sizes for any jacket size will be about 4” smaller than the max chest listed. For example, the size XL will handle up to a max 48” chest and a max 44” belly.

Need help measuring? Get it here.

The Black in Black jacket is another variant of a style that Speed and Strength introduced last year with the Hammer Down jacket. But the “back and black” version is made with very minimal badging and in all black (of course).

This series of jackets offers something different that I haven’t seen in a long time. The shell material is thick and sort of stretchy rather than the traditional textile materials which are thin and non-stretchy. It’s not quite the same texture as neoprene, but has similar heft and density.

Years ago, Fieldsheer made a jacket out of a similar material and also there has been a “boutique” manufacturer which makes something that feels like this called Motoport (although the materials Motoport uses are much more exotic than this… and expensive to boot). The material provides warmth which I can feel just in trying on the jacket, and I can’t blow air through the shell material either, so I would recommend this jacket for warm to cold weather use, but not for hot weather.

The all black version here, I’m sure is aimed at cruiser riders who, as a general rule, like black and dislike branding, badges, etc, and other than the “SS” letters on a couple buttons, this model is completely clean of badging.

The jackets offer the standard armor package for the shoulders, elbows and back. Standard hand warmer pockets in front are provided along with three other handy little pockets in front, which can be useful and also add some style (the chest zip pocket, the small patch pocket down low and a sleeve-end key pocket). There is also one inside zip-close wallet pocket. You can attach the tail of the jacket to your jeans or belt with one or all of the four straps for that purpose (to keep the tail of the jacket in place at higher speeds or in case of a crash).

Here is a bit about the shell material from our supplier rep: “The Back in Black jacket is made with AR500 Super Stretch fabric. It is similar to the Speed Strong jacket. It has a 2X proprietary PU coating to help give it more abrasion resistance so it has similar abrasion resistance as 600 Poly and better tensile strength”.

Overall, I like this jacket for its simple styling and the use of the new fabric which is soft and pliable, but has a sharp look to it. This jacket will be an easy one to use and might just become your favorite. :: Paul, 02-15-16