Speed and Strength Hammer Down Jacket

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.

This new Hammer Down jacket 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.

But overall the jacket is comfortable and has pretty good style. The asymmetrical pattern is different. Personally, I like the looks of the all black jacket… it has a sharp tailored look to it, but that’s just me.

The jackets offer the standard armor package for the shoulders, elbows and back. And there are also the usual adjusters for fit in the waist and on the arms which will help you get a good fit. Standard pocket placements are provided and the jacket has snap-close straps to attach it your jeans (to keep the tail of the jacket in place at higher speeds or in case of a crash).

I’ve asked our factory rep to provide some information on the jacket material’s properties with regard to abrasion resistance and if I get some details, I’ll update this review. :: Paul, 08-03-15

Update on Shell Material: Here is the detail I got from a product specialist at Speed and Strength: “The Hammer Down 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”.