Ventilation: Get Some. 

Riding in the heat of summer can be a huge drag if you’re not wearing gear that provides proper airflow. 

The natural survival instinct is to ditch the jacket altogether, and achieve instant comfort by wicking sweat away with a twist of the throttle. 

But here’s the rub: while nothing beats riding in a t-shirt on a hot day, if things go sideways you'll be leaving some skin on the road. Let's avoid that.

Picking out the right summer riding jacket is a balancing act of minimizing material and maximizing airflow, all without sacrificing protection. And, of course, when it comes to the style quotient, the goal is to not also sacrifice your own self respect.

We've curated a list of class-leading vented summer jackets from some of the best brands in the business—all AA rated, all Union Garage approved, and all ready to ship quick so you can get on with your ride.

*Note: We've stopped even looking at any jacket that's A-Rated only, and if you like riding a motorcycle faster than 25mph, we recommend you do, too.

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The Desert Rider jacket from North of Berlin is a shorter-cut summer option that’s optimized for warmer temperatures with its strategic use of mesh panelling. 

While most un-rated, or even single-A rated summer jacket options make us nervous, the Desert Rider comes with a respectable AA rating, smart use of Cordura overlays at key abrasion areas, and like all North of Berlin jackets, it includes a full five-piece, Level 2 Sas-Tec armor complement.

The jacket gets a full lofted mesh liner, the help wick and evacuate moisture, and its technical prowess is belied by its understated looks.

As of this summer 2025 writing, the Desert Rider is certainly a clear shop favorites, with its ample airflow and easy-to-wear, good-looking disposition.

If you’re looking to stay as cool as possible, bar none, our coolest-running jacket is probably the KLIM Induction 2.0. Leave for a long adventure on an early summer morning, and this jacket almost lets in *too much* air, so you’ll want to plan to layer accordingly and adjust as you go. It's more technical than a lot of our selection, but it earns a place atop our picks here on pure objective observation—this thing flows air like a sieve.

This space-age screen door of a jacket is constructed with liberal helpings of KLIM’s “Karbonite” mesh paneling, which is a high-tenacity open weave material that the company claims has a far higher melting point than standard Nylon. The Induction comes with a AA CE abrasion rating, giving us confidence in recommending it as a safe and super functional summer option.

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The Klim Induction Pro takes everything we love about the standard Induction jacket, and PROfessionalizes it, with Level 2 armor throughout and supple leather overlays at the shoulders and elbows, effectively upping both its impact and abrasion resistance by a decent margin.

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A staple for several seasons is the laid-back looking Merlin Chigwell Lite, which is modeled after a classic short-waisted waxed cotton jacket, complete with quilted shoulder detailing, but with mesh paneling in non-essential abrasion zones. It also gets a respectable AA rating.

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On the more technical ADV side of the single-layer summer jacket spectrum, the KLIM Baja S4 offers an unparalleled combination of ventilation and protection. The 4-way shell is made up of Schoeller 4-way stretch fabric, the same class-leading Karbonite mesh used in the Induction jacket, and it’s studded with abrasion resistant Super Fabric at the shoulders and elbows.

This is the Brass Knuckles of summer motorcycle jackets, and even though it has "TECHNICAL RIDING GEAR" tattooed across the back, it is a badass enough jacket to pull off riding as a city commuter any day of the week. This one is AA rated but probably scores higher than most AA jackets we sell.

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The softer, gentler, easier to wear summer option from KLIM: The Marrakesh Jacket is the most unique of the bunch thanks to its 1000D Cordura 4-way stretch construction. It's almost more sweatshirt than jacket, but it still pulls a AA rating of its own.

The Marrakesh delivers outsized ventilation and safety features – each one (as with all KLIM jackets) comes with a full 5-piece D3O armor complement, included. All that comfort and protection, and it's a dark horse in the summer jacket category. Layer underneath and/or overtop to easily extend this utility piece's seasonal range.

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The Bogota Pro Drystar jacket from Alpinestars is one of those rare, middle-of-the-lineup utility players that we've found just happens to punch way above its weight class. 

Sure it comes with a full-sleeve thermal liner, and a complete rain liner, which can be fitted inside, or outside the shell. But ditch those two liners completely, open up all the windows, and the Bogota makes a fantasitc summer jacket, either for trail use or for ripping around the city.

Its many vents consist of: two giant sleeve vents, two big mesh chest panels, and a full-back mesh panel that can be exposed with a couple of zippers

Throw in beefy A* Bio armor (back protector sold separately), and the fact that the Bogota doubles as an all-season commuter and/or ADV option, and it's a sleeper hit in this summer jacket series.


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The REVIT Tornado 4 brings some nice updates for the 4th iteration of what's become a staple jacket around here. Instead of a dual thermal + waterproof liner, REVIT this year wisely separated the two, and now includes both a full-sleeve thermal liner, and a full-sleeve waterproof liner—the latter of which can ben worn inside OR outside the shell, or even on its own as a destination rain layer. 

The Tornado is more of a summertime Adventure jacket, which by definition doubles well as an urban option. It’ll take you further into the fall than any others in this shootout because its liner also adds the benefit of lofted insulation.

/// Bottom Line

Cheap off-brand mesh jackets can feel close to that "t-shirt-in-August" gold standard, but depending on material spec, and how well they’re constructed, they could melt (yup) into your skin, or just fall apart in a crash.

We've chosen to skip the plentifully available "A" rated summer mesh jackets, or anything unrated. All the above are rated AA, meaning the material withstands *at least* a 45mph abrasion simulation; versus only 25mph for "A" rated garments.

Still, even with AA ratings, the maximum we see for mesh summer jackets, there is of course some compromise in ultimate safety versus a AAA-rated (75MPH) full leather jacket. 

That said, riding in comfort is a whole lot safer than passing out from dehydration while sweating through said full leather jacket. 

Choose wisely, ride safe, and stay hydrated!