The first time we put our hands on the Macna jacket was one year ago at the 2012 Indianapolis Expo, where Macna and Twisted Throttle introduced the line to North America. With the armor segment of the adventure riding world heating up, we were eager to see what this new Dutch mark would offer.

Like most new pieces of armor, the first fitting can feel stiff, but the Geo breaks in quite well after only a few hundred miles of rain and direct sun. Many of the Geo’s convertible features, not to mention the function of its plethora of zippers, focus on creating extra ventilation and insulation through the suit. The most effective of these pieces is a long vertical section surrounding the main chest zipper, which can be removed to expose a mesh underside. The large mesh area provides direct cooling to your core, even at low speeds, and I found this quite useful when on dirt.

Living in the Macna is a fairly easy affair. Like many well designed suits, the jacket has “luggage” space as well as armor and insulation. Pockets are everywhere and somewhat of a challenge. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just that one has to figure out where they’re going to habitually put things. And, the two upper chest pockets, which run towards your armpit, take some getting used to. For extra visibility, there’s an optional and removable high-viz panel, which I left on most of the time. It straps around the front and back center of the jacket—getting high praises from observers for being easy to spot.

Macna claims the Geo is 100% waterproof, and much of this is accomplished by a very thin membrane which zips between the jacket shell and removable insulated liner. In test rides in mild downpours, at moderate speed, we’d have to say that claim is true, but noticed the shell material can soak up water after the garment is worn in. The upside of not having a super heavy exterior material is the jacket quickly becomes very comfortable and versatile. Although it could be said that every garment has shortfalls, as a system, the Macna Geo has become my “go to” jacket for most types of riding.  MSRP: $409.00 TwistedThrottle.com