Royal Enfield Street Wind Eco Jacket review
The Street Wind has been Royal Enfield's entry-spec warm-weather jacket for quite some time now. It boasts of large mesh panels taking up most of the jacket's construction and that not only makes it extremely airy for those warm months but also keeps the construction significantly light, making it convenient for everyday city use. But being a base spec jacket, its protection was pretty basic too. But now there is a new iteration of the jacket that offers better safety and also makes a green statement in the bargain. Read on to know more.
The fit
The Street Wind Eco is light and breezy and seems to run half a size larger than advertised. While I wear a size XL in most jackets (including some of RE's own) the Street Wind Eco fits me a bit loose around the waist and arms. It comes with fasteners in both these areas, but while the ones are the waist offer ample adjustability for plump and slim people alike, the fasters around the arms could do with better adjustment. The wrists open wide making it ideal for an over-the-glove fit and not very comfortable for tucking inside gauntlet gloves. The jacket has a longish height as before and belt loops to attach to your pants ensure a good fit.
The protection and construction
While the waist panel continues to use 600D Cordura, the common abrasion areas have been upgraded to 610D Condura. The Knox Level 1 protectors from the preceding iterations of the Street Wind jacket have been replaced with RE's own Ergo Pro-Tech units which claim to have Level 2 protection. These are available in the elbows and shoulder, while the back gets a foam pad that can be replaced with a similarly shaped Level 2 protector.
The big news however is for the large mesh panels on the jacket, which are now constructed using recycled plastic bottles! Trashed pet bottles are shredded into flakes, and then melted into tiny pellets, which are then converted to yarn for weaving into fabric. Mesh fabric is one such product and while it doesn't have the same strength and abrasion resistance as Cordura, it works for a low-speed city jacket like the Street Wind. Each jacket consumes about 75 recycled bottles, claims Royal Enfield and the use of such sustainable materials is what gives this jacket its new 'Eco' tag.
The look and pricing
The Eco badge has nothing to do with the pricing, then. In fact, at Rs 5,950, the jacket costs about Rs 1,000 more than the launch price of the Street Wind V2 (which is now available at
Verdict
As a light, easy and breezy jacket, the Street Wind Eco is excellent for daily commutes and even with is slightly higher asking price, it remains economical. Its eco-friendly construction is the icing on the cake.
Price: Rs 5,950
Where to buy: store.royalenfield.com
Starts Rs 1,49,900
349cc
5-Speed
20.20
27.00
-NA-
Starts Rs 2,40,000
313cc
6-Speed
34.00
27.30
-NA-
