ALPINESTARS STAGE PERFORATED LEATHER MOTORCYCLE JACKET

[Follow-up]

By Mirage

After riding with the Alpinestars Stage perforated leather jacket for a few weeks now I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do a follow-up of my original review. I’ve “broken in” the jacket since I’ve been using it on every ride I’ve taken. The fit is still great but now it’s a bit more relaxed. This is certainly beneficial as I’ve been wearing a sweatshirt under the jacket since the days of 90 degree heat are long gone and are now replaced with 40 degree days. Although, truth be told, it’s been very warm lately, which is another reason why I’ve been wearing the jacket non-stop. Who says global warming isn’t having an effect?

I’ve removed the OEM back protector and substituted my own Teknic seven piece. Like I mentioned previously, the only weak spot in this jacket is the lack of a good back protector. Other than that the armor inserts have not slid out of place and no stitching or seams have come undone. A true testament to the quality and workmanship that Alpinestars put into this jacket when they created it.

I’ve used this jacket with and without the inner vest. Obviously if you’re going to use the included vest the airflow is minimized but the trade-off is keeping your body heat within. Conversely, without the vest you get plenty of cool air on your chest but sacrifice warmth. The moral of this story is to check your local weather and plan appropriately.

Even though I’ve recently purchased a tank bag I find myself enjoying the use of all the pockets that the Stage provides. Sometimes I won’t take my tank bag on short rides so having pockets for keys, a wallet, cell phone, etc. is fantastic. Be aware though that if you don’t use the vest you will lose two (out of the five) pockets so keep your accessories to a minimum.

Now from a purely superficial perspective I will say that I’ve received a lot of compliments on the jacket. Remarkably from cruiser riders. I think, since this jacket doesn’t fit the “speed racer” niche, that almost anyone can (and hopefully will) wear this jacket. Here I thought it was my magnetic personality attracting people but apparently it was the jacket. But I digress…