My Love-Hate (But Mostly Hate) Relationship with the REV'IT! Tracer Air 2 Overshirt

The second I wore this shirt on a ride, I knew I had to say something. Why? Because this thing fails in so many ways that it’s basically useless to me. And it wasn’t cheap, either. But like any rider trying to find a solution, I wore it on multiple rides to give it a fair shot. And now I wish I could return it—Seinfeld-style—with “spite” as my reason.

I don’t know what’s going on between me and REV'IT!, but this is the second piece of their gear that completely missed the mark (see my jeans review for the first letdown). Maybe they’re not designing for performance bagger riders specifically—but that doesn’t mean the gear shouldn’t still work for us.

I picked up the Tracer Air 2 hoping it’d be the answer to my summer riding dilemma. I wanted something with abrasion resistance and armor, but also serious ventilation. Wearing a long sleeve anything on a bike in the summer is a commitment. I’m willing to make it—not just to protect myself from road rash but also from sunburn. Riding in a t-shirt isn’t always the answer. Between the need for sunscreen (which ends up on your grips, your gear, and in your damn eyes), and your shirt riding up unless you wear a vest, I needed a better option.

So yeah, I dropped real cash on this thing. REV'IT! billed it as “a ventilated overshirt for hot summer rides in the concrete jungle” and claimed it had a “full mesh outer shell for optimal airflow.” Cool story. But out on the road? I call BS.

I wore this shirt on short rides, long rides, and even a full Iron Butt that spanned five states. And once the air temp hits 70°, you start sweating. Over 80°, forget it—your t-shirt underneath is soaked. It doesn't breathe like it should, period. And no, I didn’t get a lemon. It just doesn’t perform like they say it does.

Then I thought—“OK, maybe it’ll be decent for cooler weather rides.” Nope. Below 70°, the airflow ramps up and starts freezing you out. It's like this thing exists to betray you at every temperature. Ironic and useless.

Is it all bad? No. It has low-profile ghost armor. The fit is decent. The double cuff snaps are fine. Zipper and snap front? Cool. But none of that matters if the core function fails. And it does.

More gripes: no front hand pockets (which I ranted about in my flannel post), a left-side euro zipper pull (why?), and a look that’s trying hard but ends up a little dorky. Not wildly dorky, but enough to make you self-conscious.

So yeah, me and REV'IT! are breaking up. I can’t keep wasting time and money on gear that sounds great in marketing copy but crashes hard in the real world. Maybe their stuff works for some riders. But I don’t want to pay Ritz-Carlton prices for Red Roof Inn performance.

Actually—scratch that. Even budget gear should work. Maybe it doesn’t last, sure. But REV'IT!? It doesn’t even work.

– Bagger Shawn
Founder, Steel Rippers