When it comes to motorcycle gear, riders are confronted with a major dilemma under the summer sun: “Should I suffer in the heat, or can I go without the protective gear today?”
We can throw out acronyms like “A.T.G.A.T.T.” which reminds us that “All The Gear All The Time” is the only way to ride, and we can re-hash stories about different pieces of equipment have saved other riders or ourselves. But when the mid-summer heat seems to be pouring down from the sun, will you really put on all of your gear?
Enter: Alpinestars Bionic 2 Protection Jacket and their Bionic SX Knee Guard as ways to keep your padding on without suffering from the blistering heat. It’s a protection system that’s gaining popularity in motorcycle world for at least a couple of key reasons:
1) STAY COOL! - Riding without proper motorcycle gear or body armor is a recipe for disaster, but wearing your padded motorcycle jacket when it’s 105 degrees Fahrenheit outside requires serious will power. The Alpinestars Bionic gear allows you to ditch your heavy jacket with the built-in padding and stay cool by essentially just wearing the pads!
The mesh material that holds the Bionic 2 Jacket together certainly won’t do as much to save your skin in a crash as normal jacket does; however, if the heat is unbearable, such that you just can’t talk yourself into wearing a fully-padded jacket, at least the Bionic 2 will help keep your skeleton in tact in the event of a crash. Sacrificing a little skin for pulverized bones might seem like a fair trade-off.
2) BETTER PADDING – Generally speaking, the CE certified padding used in the Bionic 2 Jacket is better than what comes built into most padded jackets these days. So by all means, keep your padded jacket…but remove the padding that’s built-in, and just wear the Bionic 2 as a layer beneath what is now “shell” of a jacket. With a hard plastic exterior adhered to the foam/nylon padding, it offers superior protection to the foam-only pads.
Most riders will find that a padding system like that of the Bionic series, when properly fitted, will hold its place better in the event of a crash than built-in-padding jackets. If you haven’t yet, just trying the jacket on will make this quite clear. Whereas, for example, elbow pads in a padded jacket tend to shift and twist out of place as a rider is sliding, a well-fitted system like the Alpinestars Bionic holds its position, offering optimal protection.
Sure, it takes about 45 seconds longer to gear up before a ride, and of course, you might look like a cross between “The Gimp” from Pulp Fiction and The Terminator himself as you are donning only this armor. But a padding system like Alpinestars Bionic Series gear is a great compromise in hot-riding situations, and better padding anyway for when it’s not!