IXON Balder Lady Jacket Review: Female Adventure

Stylish adventure-style jacket designed for female riders.
Cut and adjustable fitment makes it ideal for the female shape.
Waterproof membrane combined with removable thermal liner should make it all-season.

Distributor: Forbes & Davies | Price: $499 | Tester: Kerry | Check It: www.forbesanddavies.co.nz

The time had come for Kerry to update her riding jacket, and with a couple of items from French manufacturer IXON catching her eye, off to Forbes and Davies we went to check them out.

As I’m lucky enough to ride all manner of different bikes, I needed to find a jacket that’s quite versatile, so after trying a few different models and styles on, I finally decided on the IXON BALDER LADY jacket. Apparently designed for adventure touring, the official blurb describes it as a women’s motorcycle jacket known for its combination of comfort, style, and safety, so I was keen to take this one home to test.

Advertisements

What I was after was a jacket that would suit most NZ weather conditions and with a good removable thermal lining, as we tend to be testing bikes all year around. As most women will tell you, we get excited when we can find female riding gear that is actually shaped to fit the curves of the female figure, rather than the boxed shape of men’s riding gear. This jacket ticks the box in terms of fitting well for us girls, with adjustable strap tightening on the hips and press-stud adjustments on the biceps and forearms. The softshell fabric on the inside of the arms is another reason for the lovely comfort feels it gives, and it also features a waterproof and breathable fixed membrane (10000 Schmerber/5000 MVTR) for when we get caught out testing in the rain. There’s also adjustable zipped ventilation on both the front and rear for whenever the sun decides to come out.

It might sound a little strange, but the one thing I absolutely love about the IXON Balder Lady Jacket is the padded neoprene chin pad. I always struggle with jackets rubbing when I do them all the way up. Not so with the IXON jacket, as the pad makes it super comfy to zip right up with no rubbing. It just adds to the overall comfort of the jacket.

I’m all for a bit of colour in my gear when riding on the road as I like being seen on the road rather than disappearing into the shadows of the road. So I picked this colour set as it gives a nice amount of difference to make me standout while riding without being too bold. Oh, and I reckon it looks good in photos, too!

Overall, the IXON Balder Lady jacket rates really well with me, as it fits just right for a female figure while also ticking those very important boxes of safety. To be honest though, it sold me quite quickly simply from the pure comfort. It’s a great all-around jacket that I’m looking forward to wearing throughout most of the year.

www.twocreative.co.nz

Manufacturer’s blurb:

The Balder Lady jacket, with its modern touring design, is the perfect combination of comfort, style and safety. Can be combined with the matching trousers to form a complete suit. It comes with a wide range of features that are truly impressive for the price.

Features: