Alpinestars Bionic Jacket V2: Good Protection, But It Didn't Work For Me

I've always been a fan of Alpinestars kit, and I've had good experiences with other Alpinestars gear, so when I bought the Bionic Jacket V2 I expected it to be a pretty safe bet. Unfortunately, it wasn't. Not because of the protection, and not because of the breathability. The problem was the fit, and with protective armour, fit is everything.

After spending hours riding in it, I eventually got to the point where I simply didn't enjoy wearing it anymore. I ended up selling it and going back to separate chest and elbow protection. That's not necessarily a criticism that applies to everyone, protective gear like this is incredibly dependent on your individual shape, but for my build, the Bionic Jacket V2 just didn't work. I've used it mostly when spending more time off-road, where MX-style armour like this tends to breathe far better than a conventional jacket with armour underneath.

The fit was the deal-breaker

I'm relatively muscular, and even in an XL I couldn't get the jacket to sit properly. It wasn't catastrophically uncomfortable when I first put it on, and that's actually part of the problem. In the shop or during a short ride, it seemed perfectly acceptable. But spend several hours actually riding in it and the shortcomings became much more obvious. The armour would move around, the jacket would ride up, and rather than the protection moving naturally with my body, I was increasingly aware of the jacket itself. That's exactly what I don't want from protective armour.

When you're riding off-road, you're constantly moving, standing on the pegs, leaning forward, shifting your shoulders and your weight from side to side. The armour needs to move with you rather than becoming something you have to constantly adjust. For me, the Bionic Jacket V2 never quite got there.

That's particularly frustrating because the concept is right

I really wanted to like this jacket. The idea of having your chest, back, shoulders, elbows and other impact protection integrated into one lightweight garment makes a lot of sense for trail riding, there's less individual kit to put on and everything is theoretically held in the right place. Alpinestars lists this level of Bionic armour as CE-certified, Level 1 across the chest, back, shoulder and elbow protectors, built specifically around off-road riding with highly ventilated protection and stretch sections designed to allow real movement. On paper, that's exactly what I wanted. In practice, the fit undermined the whole thing.

The actual protection is good

There's no real criticism I can make of the armour itself. When it's sitting where it should, it feels robust. You get proper coverage across the chest and back, as well as shoulder and elbow protection, and there's something reassuring about having all of that integrated into one piece of kit. It doesn't feel flimsy, and it doesn't feel like an afterthought. If you're buying a product like this, you're buying it primarily for impact protection, and the Bionic Jacket V2 delivers there. My issue was simply keeping that protection where it needed to be during a long ride, and that's a very different problem.

Breathability is excellent

This is probably the thing I miss most about it. When you're riding off-road in warmer weather, traditional motorcycle jackets can become absolutely unbearable. The Bionic Jacket is basically designed around airflow, there's very little material between you and the outside world, and the armour itself is heavily ventilated. When you're moving, you get loads of airflow, and it's genuinely comfortable against the skin too, no feeling of being wrapped in a thick, sweaty protective jacket. For summer trail riding, that's a massive advantage, and if the fit had worked for me, I could have seen myself using this kind of protection for exactly that reason.

The material doesn't feel particularly abrasive or unpleasant worn directly against a base layer or skin either, it's actually quite comfortable in that respect, clearly designed with direct contact and movement in mind. Again, it just didn't translate into a good overall experience for me because the jacket itself wouldn't stay where I wanted it.

The zips annoyed me

This is another issue I had. It wasn't particularly long before the zips started becoming difficult to operate, they began to seize, which isn't exactly surprising with this sort of off-road kit. If you're riding trails, the armour is going to get covered in dust, mud, sweat and general grime, that's part of the job. But I've always thought zips on motorcycle protective equipment are an area where manufacturers could do better. The zips on this jacket feel relatively lightweight and delicate to me, and once they started getting dirty, I became concerned about how long they'd last. Perhaps I'm being overly cautious, but I'd much rather see a more substantial zip on equipment that's going to be repeatedly exposed to mud, sweat and movement. That's not really an Alpinestars-specific criticism, it's a general bugbear I have with this type of kit. If a product is designed to be used in mud and dirt, the fastening system should be designed accordingly.

It looks good

This is subjective, obviously, but I like the way it looks. It's much less bulky than wearing a conventional jacket with armour underneath, and it has that proper motocross/enduro appearance. There's something quite appealing about putting it on and feeling like you're actually geared up for riding trails rather than wearing a road jacket that happens to have some armour in it. The Bionic Jacket also manages to look relatively streamlined considering how much protection it contains. Aesthetically, I've got no complaints.

The problem with integrated armour

I think my experience has actually changed what I want from my protective gear. I went into this thinking that having everything integrated into one jacket would be better, one piece, everything attached, everything theoretically staying together. But I've found that I actually prefer separate chest and elbow armour. It gives me more flexibility with fit, I can get the chest protector sitting exactly where I want it and position the elbow protection independently, without compromising the fit of one component because of the way another part of the jacket sits.

For someone with a different build, the Bionic Jacket V2 might fit brilliantly. That's the frustrating thing about products like this, there isn't necessarily a universal "good fit". A jacket can be technically excellent and still be completely wrong for an individual rider.

Would I recommend it?

This is where I'd give a qualified answer. If it fits you properly, yes. There's a lot to like, the protection is good, the ventilation is excellent, it's comfortable against the skin, it looks good, and having all your protection integrated into one garment is convenient. But I would absolutely recommend trying one on properly before buying, not just standing in front of a mirror for five minutes. Wear it, move around, get into a riding position, raise your arms, lean forward. Ideally, spend some time actually riding in it before deciding whether it's right for you, because if the armour moves around or the jacket rides up, none of the other benefits really matter.

The scores