Review: Furygan Akira leather jacket

Reviewed by: Mikko Nieminen // RRP: £389.99 // Sizes: S-3XL // Colours: Black, black/fluo, black/white, white

If you like sporty leather jackets, the Akira from Furygan is well worth a closer look. It’s a road riding jacket that takes inspiration from the track, with the distinctive Furygan look and large logos bearing the manufacturer’s name on the chest, back and arms.

The cut is modern, sporty and stylish. The arms are slightly bent at the elbow to make the fit more pleasant on the bike, and there are stretch panels on the back of shoulders and elbows for comfort. As with all leather jackets, it’s bit stiff, especially on the first few rides, but that’s just leather jackets for you. Textiles might be more comfortable, but there’s just something about leather jackets that makes it easy to forget practicality.

But the beauty of the Akira is that it really is a practical jacket. There are four pockets (two inside and two outside), with enough room for a phone, wallet and a few other bits. The jacket also has a removable thermal padded lining with aluminium inserts on the chest (think space blanket, not kitchen sink kind of aluminium), for protection against cold. I have used the jacket in warm and cold weather and I haven’t found it much different from textile jackets with lining. The only area that lets the cold in is the big collar, but that’s easily fixed with a buff.

For warmer rides, there are vents with water repellent zips on the chest and the back. These are handy as the jacket can get hot in sunshine. For skinny beans there are waist adjusters, but I found the fit quite snug as it was.

The real selling point for this jacket (in addition to the looks, I suppose) is the level of protection that it offers by combining the natural toughness of leather with added safety features. The main external material is “Ago” leather (plain matt) and full grained leather, 1.4mm thick, same as Furygan’s race suits.

Areas exposed to abrasion in a crash situation are reinforced with triple stitching to avoid tearing, and there are external protection shells on the shoulders and elbows. In addition, Furygan’s Skin Protect lining is designed to reinforce the products in terms of tearing and abrasion resistance.

And to top it all up, there are CE approved D3O protectors for elbows, shoulders and back, which offer full protection without restricting comfort and freedom of movement. The jacket comes with a CE level 1 “Central Back” type back protector as standard, but the back protector pocket is compatible with the “Full Back” type CE level 2 D3O back protector, available as an added option.

This is a great looking jacket with some impressive safety features. It’s not cheap, but it’s top quality.

For full details and the rest of Furygan’s range, see: www.nevis.uk.com