Fly Racing Butane 4 Jacket

We measured and tried on a number of sizes in this jacket and found them to fit as expected. I’d encourage you to order the size you normally wear in men’s clothing for sizes Small through XL, and since there is limited standardization on fit above XL, I’d recommend those who wear larger sizes to measure their chest and belly and choose based on the chart I’ve put together below. If you find yourself between sizes, I’d encourage you to order the smaller.

Those with large bellies will love this style. The proportions are generous through the lower torso… for each size, the belly is about 2” smaller than the chest, but on each side of the jacket are expansion zippers that go way up, almost to the armpit and when open will another 4” or so to the max belly! But also, there are side waist adjustment straps to snug down the mid-torso area for those with slimmer lines. VERY versatile!

Here is a chart we put together with approximate max chest and belly sizes for every “alpha” size. You can use this chart to choose a size based upon your chest and belly measurements.

Note: This chart mirrors Fly’s official size chart for sizes XL and above, but shows larger sizes than Fly’s chart for smaller sizes. Their chart for the smaller sizes is not accurate.

Need help measuring? Get it here.

This new Butane 4 jacket by Fly Racing is a super versatile, “dot it all” jacket for street riders. Its a traditional street cut (not a form fitted race cut), so it will be comfortable to wear on a daily basis. The overall sizing is generous, (an “American cut”) so it will fit comfortably for every-day use.

The biggest features to talk about for this jacket is climate controls. The shell itself is a traditional solid textile material, which works well for wind break and abrasion protection should you fall. The shell is backed by a non-removable breathable/waterproof barrier to repel water if you get caught in a storm. The external pocket zips on the jacket and zippered vents are all the waterproof type. One cautionary note: any jacket with several opening, even though they are billed as “waterproof” are going to leak at some point, so if you need a hard core waterproof jacket for riding in frequent rain, you’ll probably want to look at other models, but for the casual user that gets into rain occasionally, the waterproofing should suit your purposes just fine. With the textile shell and the waterproof barrier, and with the removable thermal liner in place, you’ll find this jacket to very effective in cold weather as well. You can layer with your own garments under the jacket to provide even more insulation. And the thermal liner is “full sleeve” so you get extra insulation in the sleeves as well as the torso.

The big feature here however is venting. The jacket has this “air induction” setup behind the main zipper in front. When you want a lot of air into the jacket just zip it open and fold back the main flaps, an you’ll expose a large mesh flap to the air flow on the front of the jacket. those two flaps in front are held back by pairs of magnets built into the shell of the jacket. The magnets keep the flaps from simply closing over the mesh flap. When open, you ought to experience a LOT of air flow. I’ve seen this design on some Joe Rocket jackets… their “big air” feature. One advantage to Fly’s design is that the jacket doesn’t fit bigger with the mesh panel exposed because you are folding back the solid textile material only. With Joe Rocket’s design you open the main zipper and the flap behind adds a couple inches to the fit.

And if you want even more air than the front “Air Induction” feature delivers, you can use the zips in the shoulder area. And in the back is one large horizontal zip vent to exhaust the air you are letting in the front. This will help to prevent the jacket from inflating at highway speeds. The zip vents in front are made with waterproof zippers so that the air has a direct path through the jacket to your skin. Some waterproof jackets with zip vents don’t allow air to pass through the waterproof barrier which reduces the effectiveness of the vents (but admittedly also will be more reliably waterproof).

I’d encourage you to visit our photo gallery to see all the features of this jacket. There is plenty of adjustability for fit with the side waist Velcro tabs and also the snaps on the sleeves to take up extra material. For those of you with some bulk, I think you’ll find this jacket to be very accommodating. The sleeves, when not adjusted smaller are quite generous, and as I mentioned above in the sizing advice, there are two very effective “expansion zippers” on each side of the torso to accommodate those with some belly. Those who don’t need the extra room won’t even notice they are there.

For a jacket that is price VERY reasonably, I think there is a LOT of functionality here, and I also think the overall build quality compares very favorably with other similarly priced products. I think you’ll really like this one! :: Paul, 09-05-17

Add an upgraded back protector?: This jacket comes with a simple foam back pad and Fly doesn’t offer a CE rated upgrade, but I find that our most popular upgrade back protector by D3O fits the mesh pocket in this style very well. The men’s size Back pad in either Level 1 or 2 fits both men’s and women’s (the women’s size back pad is too small for the women’s jacket pocket, so get the men’s there too). You could get level 2, but for a general duty jacket like this, I think the Level 1 upgrade will be most comfortable and practical.