Alpinestars Bionic Tech V2 Off-Road Protection Jacket Review: Introduction

Introduction The Construction The Protection The Comfort What’s next?Product Details

Introduction

Riding off-road is a completely different kettle of fish from zooming around on the tarmac. And though one can use road riding gear to go off-road, it’s far from ideal.

Off-roading is a lot more physical than it seems. Even at slow speeds. So not only do you end up sweating more, your body needs to be cooled better and faster as well. And that’s something even a full-mesh road riding gear might struggle with.

What you need then is something like the Alpinestars Bionic Tech V2 jacket. It’s light, it’s airy, and it’s technical. And you can even wear it without a jersey on top when riding offroad because it does look kind of futuristic.

The Construction

The backbone of the Bionic V2 is a thin, stretchable, and breathable fabric. It’s a soft material which Alpinestars says is also pretty durable. And tacked on to the jacket are various layers of protection.

Double-stitched onto the jacket are the shoulder and elbow armours, and the back protector. Plus, the latter also comes with a height-adjustable kidney belt. The armour itself is of the soft and porous kind, which helps make the jacket both light and breathable. Alpinestars likes to call this ‘grid protection technology’.

The Protection

Now, the protection for the shoulder and arms we mentioned is CE Level one. And the arm area itself has been reinforced with keprotech-like material for improved abrasion resistance.

Plus, there’s a CE Level 2 back protector integrated into the jacket as well. Upfront, you get a detachable roost guard, just in case you find yourself following a rowdy bunch of riding friends with an itchy right wrist over gravel-strewn trails. And here’s the thing, the chest protection too is CE Level 2.

Additionally, the Bionic Tech V2 comes with a lot of thin foam pads all over the jacket that have been sewed at strategic locations for better impact absorption. And the Tech V2, like most other Alpinestars offroad protection jackets, is compatible with its neck brace system.

The Comfort

The Bionic comes with a front zipper closure. And along with a removable chest guard, it makes donning the jacket a convenient affair.

The jacket also comes with a number of adjustability options. The chest guard, for instance, can be adjusted via the shoulder or waist straps for a more secure fit. The kidney belt can be adjusted for height and it has a fair range to accommodate a beer belly as well. And, of course, the stretch material hugs the contours of your arms and chest and back even if you aren’t of the sculpted variety.

Plus, the jacket is lined with an even softer material around the neck and wrist areas to reduce friction-related rashes.

What’s next?

In the coming months, we will see how all this comes together on the dirt trails. And it will be interesting to see how the jacket lives up to its promise of being airy, comfortable and durable.