The Alpinestars AMT-8 Stretch Drystar jacket is hard to categorise. For a start, we don't know exactly what the outer fabric of the jacket is; and Alpinestars doesn't really tell us. There's a kind of crepe-like feel to the material. And one can discern a very slight, Ripstop-type patterning to its design, but it's the high-stretch component that makes it so comfortable. It really is quite difficult to do justice to the way it wears.
Alpinestars refers to the jacket's pre-curved sleeves, which is what manufacturers normally talk about in relation to one-piece leathers and heavy jackets, but one can evidence it here, and certainly on the bike everything seems to fall nicely into place. Alpinestars also talks about the jacket's 'contoured bottom edge'; what we would call a 'lowered tail'; and yes the jacket has quite a pronounced one. And that's what you always want on a motorcycle jacket. We reckon a lot of people will wear the AMT-8 over a pair of jeans, so we like the fact that it will more than cover the belt line. In fact, with most people it will actually touch the saddle. The jacket purposely sits quite short at the front.
A breathable outer shell is the 'sine qua non' of any layering system, because it's the absence of a membrane that makes a jacket wearable and bearable in really hot weather. And so as there's no fixed membrane with the AMT-8 it is going to flow the air pretty well when the inner jacket is removed. It won't flow the air quite like a Klim Marrakesh, an Induction or a Rukka Vihti, but it will still be nice and cool to ride in on a warm day.
But what you get that you don't get on the other jackets I have mentioned is zippable vents. And on the AMT-8 you get these up the flanks and down the forearms. There's also a large exhaust vent on the back concealed beneath a deep storm flap. What is particularly neat about the vents on the flanks is that they are designed to stay open, and act like air scoops when you're on the bike. It's a clever piece of design, and we think it will ensure that you get lots of air into the jacket.
Now with something like the Marrakesh, we recommend wearing the Zephyr on the inside to protect you from the wind chill, and then a Scott waterproof on the outside for laminate levels of waterproofing when it rains.
The AMT-8 comes with a waterproof/windproof liner that can be worn inside the jacket, or on the inside. And although every manufacturer tells you that their removable liners will do this, in reality most of them don't. But the one that the AMT-8 comes with does. And that's because it contains loads of stretch. Wearing it over the main jacket just isn't an issue. And when it's not in use it packs neatly into the jacket's rear pocket.
Wear the liner on the inside of the jacket, and you will have a set up that is pretty much a match for a drop-liner jacket. In fact, a jacket with a removable membrane will not 'wet out' to the extent that a drop-liner one will. With it in place you'll also have as high a level of protection from the pernicious effects of the wind as you would get from any waterproof jacket. But put the waterproof on over the shell jacket, and you've got a solution that will technically out-perform a laminated jacket from a waterproofing standpoint.
And, of course, this is why we love layering. As with jackets like the Marrakesh, you could ride anywhere in any climactic condition in the AMT-8; and always be properly insulated from the elements.
Just one little thing. Alpinestars apparently is not prepared to share with the world the waterproofing and breathability scores of its membranes. Make of that what you will!
What we haven't talked about is the cold. For us the best solution is always a separately-worn insulating piece of some description. That could be a fleece. That could be something like the Rukka Lahti, which delivers great warmth in an easy-to-wear, lightweight jacket that is also relatively inexpensive. For us the ultimate solution would be something like the goose-down-filled Klim Maverick, of course. It is incredibly warm, works well off the bike when you're wandering about, and compresses nicely to create a mid-layer without too much by way of bulk.
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