Nine hundred dollars for a motorcycle jacket and six hundred for a matching pair of pants is a lot of money, especially for gear that you hope to get wet, dusty, muddy, and at some point possibly (and this is not hoped-for) ground into asphalt or gravel. But, what do you get for this price?

First, the Poseidon combo is the closest thing you’ll find o real four-season motorcycle clothing. True four-season adventure gear is one of those unattainable dreams—like finding Marty McFly’s self-adjusting boots from “Back to the Future” on the shelf at a shoe store.

It’s daunting to make a jacket and pants that can adequately ventilate your body at 97-degree temperatures in stop-and-go traffic, and then keep you warm and dry when you’re riding all day in a cold, torrential rain. This hasn’t stopped REV’IT from trying.

Using Gore-Tex’s newest high-end “3L” (three layer) waterproof/breathable membrane, fused to the inside of the 600D outer shell of the garments, with an inner bonded t extile liner next to your skin, water is effectively stopped before it can get to the inner liner, with no separate liner to trap water. In addition, the mix of two- and three-layer Gore-Tex, with the placement of Gore-Tex stretch fabric where necessary, adds up to a jacket and pants that are comfortable and not stiff.

Gore-Tex backs up their membrane technology with a lifetime warranty against leakage. The waterproofing pa t isn’t usually the issue—even $20 rain suits are 100% waterproof—it’s the ventilation (or lack of it) that can turn a waterproof jacket into your personal sauna. Gore-Tex is breathable, in addition to being impermeable to water, and REV’IT has made this gear even more breathable by adding seven vents to the jacket, with four vents alone just on the arms, and an exhaust vent on the back.

The large chest and pants vents are not mere vents, but VCS “Variable Climate System Aquadefense” vents. These watertight vents are the highlight of the system, using zippered flaps with powerful magnetic (REV’IT warns you to not wear this jacket if you use a cardiac pacemaker as the magnets might affect it) “FidLock” snaps. You can literally unzip the flaps while iding, fold them up, and just by positioning the magnet near the metal docking point, they’re held wide open—even your fumble fingered correspondent could accomplish this.

And the chest vents work. Riding in my trademark clumsy flop- sweat riding style on a demanding length of single-track trail on a warm day, I noticed I was starting to heat up, so I opened up the chest, arm, and leg vents, and continued riding. Even at low speeds I could feel cool air entering the chest vents. The four arm vents don’t stay wide-open when unzipped, so I can’t vouch for how much ventilation they actually allow, but the chest and leg vents work—no question.

I was basking in this new technology at a rest stop off the trail when a woman in my riding group said, “Those vents look like maternity nursing flap .” “Do not!” I protested. “Actually, they do,” said another woman. “This conversation is making me very uncomfortable.” I said. “They’re VCS vents, and they’re magnificent. Now, can we change the subject?”

Another feature of this jacket and pants system is excellent protection. The jacket and pants are supplied with CE-2 rated Seesoft elbow, shoulder, and knee guards. This unique material is soft and pliable, but during an impact the foam instantly stiffens, giving more protection.

Unfortunately, all you get for spine protection is a non-CE rated foam pad with the option to purchase an optional REV’IT Seesoft CE-2 spine protector ($49.99). For a jacket at this price point, an adequate spine protector should be included.

“Superfabric” coating (five times more abrasion-resistant than Kevlar) on the elbows, shoulders, and knees provides additional protection from road contact. The two front pockets of the jacket are fully waterproof, as is the rear. Although there are internal chest pockets in both the jacket and the thermal liner, I missed having an easily accessed vertical zip pocket on the front placket—I also missed a two-way main zipper.

Ample reflective material on the chest, back, shoulders, and lower legs keep you visible at night, and the waist straps and the straps on the arms of the jacket are infinitely adjustable versus the usual one or two positions dictated by conventional snaps. The Poseidon jacket also accepts the $50 REV’IT Challenger cooling vest(reviewed by Sr. Editor Paul Smith in the January/February issue).

The pants use the same ventilation technology as the jacket, with VCS vents on the legs. One great feature is the adjustable vertical positioning of the knee guards, and the common problem of knee protection floating around and shifting is cleverly and simply addressed by easily operated external straps that secure the guards.

Zippered leg closures let you easily adjust the pants over whatever style of boot you are wearing. Curiously, while pants are available in tall sizes, the jacket is not. MSRP: Serious price, serious gear. Jacket: $899.99/Pants: $629.99. RevIt.com 

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