Riding a Can-Am Spyder means being exposed to the weather, as a motorcycle rider is, but the odds of a Spyder rider lowsiding onto the road are pretty slim. That means his or her gear doesn't need to be configured to protect against get-offs the way a motorcyclist's gear does (at least in the all-the-gear all-the-time mode). Curious about the experience of wearing Can-Am's gear, I requested the middle-of-the-price-range Caliber jacket and pants from Can-Am to review.
The jacket is available in three colors (Red, Black or Magnesium), carries an MSRP of $259.99 and comes with a zip-in liner classified by BRP as “light insulation.” The fabric is nylon, backed by a layer of “RPM” or “Respirative Performance Matrix,” which functions like Gore-Tex to allow perspiration out but blocks incoming water. By now, this is hardly leading-edge technology, and BRP evidently recognizes that, because the jacket features a lot of pockets, vents, adjustments and design elements that make clear somebody actually sat on a Spyder to fine-tune it.
For example, the pitch for the jacket notes that it is “Slightly shorter at front for ergonomics when seated on the vehicle,” and so it is. Pouches are sewn into the lining at the back, shoulders and elbows for separately sold “protectors,” and reflective sections are intended to make the wearer more visible at night. A grommet on the inside “Napoleon” pocket allows MP3 users to run their earphone line there, and the right outside zippered pocket has a sewn-in lanyard with a keyclip, which comes from BRP with a small visor cloth attached.
The riding-gear range offered by BRP includes much more-expensive jackets (the Kavalier lists for $699), as well as leather and lightweight models. Nevertheless, to be really useful, any riding jacket for everyday use (as in commuting) should be easy to put on, adjust and remove, while providing comfort in a wide range of temperatures and weather.
I received the jacket last February, which allowed me to test it aboard my 2010 Can-Am Spyder RT-S in cold and wet conditions typical of Northern California in that month, as well as in the unusual heat we experienced a few months later. I also used it as a walk-around jacket after riding someplace when appropriate.
The Caliber pants ($239.99) use the same materials and offer excellent adjustability in the waist via an elastic band with side snaps rather than a belt, and they’re cut for riding, not profiling at the Rock Store—though they proved to be pretty comfortable for walking around, too. They’re also cut long to ensure good leg coverage while riding and feature two design elements that immediate endeared them to me. First is that they are long in the waist and use two hooks rather than snaps or buttons to secure the waistband. Second, the zippered pockets are located so that the pockets are not at the side of the pants but more on top of the thighs when riding. This allows items like phones or wallets to be placed well out of the easy-fall-out zone, should the rider forget to zip the pockets closed. Full-length side zippers allow easy entry and exit over riding boots, too, and angled thigh-placed zippered vents provide some heat relief when the sun beats down. Because the pants I was sent are black, that relief was welcome.
So far, the Caliber gear has impressed me as thoughtfully conceived, well-made and useful. When I connected the pants to the jacket by means of the back-mounted zippers, they protected me against torrential rains, with such minimal leakage that after two hours’ riding at Interstate speeds, I could only detect slight dampness in the shoulder area and none in the trousers, not even in the crotch. In the hot sun, after an hour’s ride with the RT’s temperature gauge showing nearly triple digits, I was less pleased to be wearing the jacket and pants, as would be expected when riding behind bodywork and a windshield that blocked almost all airflow that would normally allow the vents on the jacket and pants to work better.
Considering that the BRP riding gear is obviously designed to appeal to those who buy Can-Am Spyders and not necessarily to motorcyclists, the Caliber jacket and pants impressed me as reasonably priced, carefully and thoughtfully conceived and well-made. I didn't particularly like the "hand" of the fabric chosen, though it broke-in quickly, and I preferred the feel of the jacket in chilly weather with the liner to its feel with the liner out in warmer weather; but like so much regarding riding gear, that is a purely subjective matter.
What counted was that it kept me dry and warm when it was cold and wet, the jacket’s fabric didn’t flap on the arms (thanks to the snaps that adjust the circumference of the sleeves), the jacket was easy to don and remove, and the pockets were intuitive to find and use. Wearing gloves made the main zipper pull harder to use, as always, so taking another page from Andy Goldfine’s Aerostich playbook and rubberizing it like the other pulls would be a welcomed improvement. Also, said zipper is a one-way design so that, unlike the Aerostich Roadcrafter and Darien, you can’t zip it up from the bottom to “tune” it as you can with those jackets.
In the end, all riding gear is also fashion, of course, and in that, the BRP designers succeeded brilliantly. How do I know? First, because my wife really likes wearing her Caliber jacket and pants, and second, because she told me as soon as I put on the red Caliber jacket that it made me look good. At my age (64) and condition (disabled), that’s some kind of compliment—not for me, but for BRP’s riding-gear designers.