Alpinestars nails the bargain waterproof jacket
Fully waterproof thanks to a Drystar lining and equipped with the same Bioarmor elbow and shoulder armor as the $1,2995 Alpinestars 365 Gore-Tex Leather Jacket, it might come to you as a surprise that these two jackets carry a very low price tag. The short Alpinestars Kinetic Jacket is priced at $300 and the 3/4 length Alpinestars Messenger Jacket is $200. Both also come with pockets for back and chest protectors, meaning you can add protection for your spinal cord and vital organs cheaply and easily. Making the deal even sweeter are the understated good looks and relative lack of obtrusive Astars logos.
and 
man, those look really good.
perfect for everyone that isn’t looking to perfect the XtrEEM pose.
I tried out the Kinetic but returned it. The shell is such a soft cotton it seemed like it wouldn’t hold up for daily commuting or in a crash.
It looked awesome though, and felt like a regular jacket, which it basically is.
Actually, I commute in the Messenger jacket and I’ve gotta say, it’s not living up to my expectations. I own a ton of Astars gear, and I’ve been happy with damn near all of it.
Except for this freaking jacket.
Now, the jacket itself ain’t that bad, but Alpinestars lied through their teeth on their site, and even gave parts unlimited fake ass specs.
There’s no back protector pocket, no chest protector pockets, no neoprene on the cuffs, and no waist connection zipper. The parts unlimited catalog says it’s got all of these important features, and until recently, the astars site did as well. I was pissed when I got this thing from UPS, opened the box, and realized I’d been had.
Anyway, once you get past all that false advertising, it’s kind of a decent jacket for 200 bucks. It’s waterproof, somewhat comfy (expect your neck to get chaffed like hell) and warm. You get what you pay for. One last gripe: the quality is about what you would expect for a cheapie jacket. That logo on the back of the collar? It’s gonna get destroyed by your backpack almost instantly. And the ‘hook and loop’ materiel they advertise is Not velcro. It loses it’s sticking power after 2 months or so of daily use.
Sorry to be the asshole who posts the pissed off rant, but this has been bugging me for quite a while. I talked to their customer service about it, showed them their web problems, and basically walked them through all of this 2 months ago. So far they’ve done nothing.
Rant over.
Don’t apologize Sean, that’s good feedback. The release I got said connection zip, pockets for back and chest protectors too. We should check on this.
The drystar gloves they make are awesome, I’ve been using my pair since last year and they are great in the rain and cold.
I think they’re talking about the quality on these specific jackets. Alpinestars is genuinely pretty well made stuff.
You’re absolutely right, most of their stuff is great gear. I’ve got a pair of apex gloves, and I love em. Warm and toasty all the time.
Hell, I’ve also got SP2′s, GP Pro’s, SPS’s, and Stella SPS for the lady. I’ve got an Octane suit and SMX Plus boots I wore damn near every day for a 11 months, and both are still in pretty great shape. Add to this already long list a Barcelona jacket, ST-5 pants, summer tech underwear, that nifty balaclava thing they make, and my girlfriends stella jacket, and it’s safe to say I know Astars gear.
All of that gear has held up great, and has totally been worth the entry fee. The messenger jacket is my only gripe with them. The sad thing is, I emailed all sorts of customer service guys, talked to my parts unlimited rep, and even called em’ up and walked them through the faults on their website.
Alpinestars have been trying to get us to stock their ‘Urban’ range for a while. They day they offer retailers a margin and terms where we can make enough money to eat we might take them up on it…
They showed us a few of these jackets and I was really impressed with the styling. The cut isn’t too good, it felt a bit boxy, but what do you expect for an inexpensive jacket? The outer shell wouldn’t do much in a crash at speed, but then it’s for urban use so I think it would be ok for sub 40 mph.
It’s the kind of product I can imagine the average Suzuki Galdius, Monster 696, SV 650 fairly new to motorcycling guy buying or as a jacket for town you don’t care about trashing ‘cos it’s cheap.
Too bad the messenger is getting such crap reviews. It’s definitely a handsome looking jacket, definitely tempting at that price.
That right there is why I bought it. It runs big, but other than that, the thing looks and fits great. It’s just all that other stuff…
This post reminds me of when I was a child growing up in Mississippi. My pappy used to say “When life give you lemons, make lemonade”. But he was a hopeless alcoholic who never made much sense so I never paid much attention to him. Have a great day!
Certainly, I do not consent at a point or two while the remainder seems reliable.
Apple now has Rhapsody as an app, which is a great start, but it is currently hampered by the inability to store locally on your iPod, and has a dismal 64kbps bit rate. If this changes, then it will somewhat negate this advantage for the Zune, but the 10 songs per month will still be a big plus in Zune Pass’ favor.