ver feel the need to get away from the job, bills, mortgage, spouse, insurance, lawn, politics, etc? I do, often and when the pressure builds up I take a ride. My last ride lasted a week. I needed to get out of suburbia and hit the open road and a tour around America’s southwest was the perfect anti-depressant.
     When I left the weather was clear, cold and crisp; pilot’s weather, some say. For me, it’s my favorite kind of riding, once the tires heat up. And, I was perfectly outfitted for the weather, wearing my favorite jacket; the Icon Accelerant. Icon came up with the Accelerant when they asked themselves what would happen if near-weightless metal alloys, carefully woven textile fibers, and thick thermoplastic rubbers were all combined to create light, effective body armor, and then built into an aggressively cut street riding jacket? What if the concept was pushed further still, and the chassis were built combining advanced Stretch Ballistic Nylon with the proven durability of Icon leather? These are the questions that drove Icon’s designers to create the Accelerant Jacket.
     The results are inspiring and make riding more of a pleasure then it otherwise already is. Just check out these features: 1.2-1.4mm premium cowhide; external back & shoulder protection with alloy inserts; strategically placed stretch ballistic nylon for comfort; CE approved shoulder and elbow armor; removable insulated windproof liner and zippered shoulder vents.
     It was all good, but on day three a heat wave pulsed through my ride like a thermo-nuclear blast. The temperature on the big thermometer outside of Flagstaff read a balmy 105 degrees. It was boiling; even after removing the liner from my Accelerant jacket I was still sweating buckshot. Fortunately, I had the answer in my backpack. I put the Accelerant away and pulled out the Accelerant Perf. Think of the Accelerant jacket and insert the word “perforation” in front of the word “leather.” This is exactly how Icon came up with the idea for the Accelerant Perf jacket. You see, thousands of little holes are painstakingly stamped into the leather chassis by hand. This, while being an incredibly time consuming process, gives the Accelerant Perf jacket unbelievable ventilation–perfect for summer riding and unexpected heat waves. It’s as if colonies of thousands of little holes are working in unison to blow cooling air on your body. It is quite remarkable when you think about it. The bullet points are the same, except the leather is perforated cowhide.

-1.2-1.4mm premium perforated cowhide
-External back & shoulder protection with alloy inserts
-Strategically placed stretch ballistic nylon for comfort
-CE approved shoulder and elbow armor
-Removable insulated resistant liner
-Zippered shoulder vents

     It’s a good looking jacket too, just in case those ladies in the Jeep are giving you the eye as you ride by. The other thing that’s great for me on the 400-500 mile days I like to ride is that the Accelerant Perf is really comfortable, it feels like an old friend the first time you put it on. Plus, the safety factor gives me some peace of mind thanks to the impressive CE armor. I haven’t crashed in this jacket, but if I do crash I’m glad I’ll be wearing it when I hit the ground.
     Some of my friends ask me how I can afford more then one riding jacket at a time. The answer is simple; the Icon Accelerant Perf is a bargain at $390. I got mine at my local dealer where I bought my bike. He’s a Parts Unlimited dealer so he carries all of Icon’s great products. But enough talk, I’ve got to get back to the road. I’ve only got two days left before it’s time to head home; back to the job and everyday life…