Big Rock Moto tests the Alpinestars Halo Jacket
Big Rock Moto tests the Alpinestars Halo Jacket
Got this as my first jacket and have been using it in the heat, in rain and in freezing weather. It really is the one jacket for all situations.
The only thing that bothers me is that the shop where I got it only had it in black. The other colorways look a lot better!
I have this same jacket. I bought it because RyanF9 liked it.
I'm not terribly impressed with it, to be honest. I'm still using mine, and I used it all last year, but I think the design tries too hard to the point of its own detriment. When it wears out I won't be looking for another one.
The removable sleeves are neat, but the design of the interior liner sleeves really should have had a rethink before it went to market. They're uncomfortable, they don't attach to the outer shell nearly well enough, they get twisted up inside the jacket, and they're too long. And thumb holes? Really? The rain liner is also atrocious, and if you leave it attached to the inner liner sleeves it's essentially impossible to get your arms and hands all the way in and out of the sleeves, especially if both you and it are mildly damp. Which is likely to be the case if it's raining. But this also makes it difficult enough to use as an interior liner for cold weather that I don't want to bother with it. It only works if you wear it on the outside. I prefer to do so for rain anyway, but it's a pain in the ass if you're just using it as a wind break in the cold.
I'm also getting very little use out of the "anorak" style offset zipper, meanwhile in exchange it annoys the shit out of me every time I put the jacket on because it is capital-I impossible to zip up from bottom to top all the way in one motion with one hand. You have to stop halfway and switch hands, unless you have three elbows per arm.
The collar is terrible. The sleeves are terrible. The pockets are terrible, and by necessity hard to reach except for the front kangaroo pouch. The interior pocket is literally unusable, because it cannot be zipped or velcroed or otherwise sealed shut in any way so anything you put in it will fall out and disappear. It's not as well ventilated as a mesh jacket and does not insulate or keep wind out enough to be competent cold weather jacket. For $500 it doesn't even come with the perfunctory not-quite-armor foam insert for the back. I vehemently suggest anyone considering this jacket to buy a less expensive solid shell winter jacket plus a less expensive mesh jacket. You'll be happier with two jackets. Trust me.
The Halo would be an acceptable level of annoying if it were $200. For $500 it's just an insult.
The pants that go with it are also so badly designed a to be useless. I actually bullied RevZilla into taking them back even though it was "out of policy," they were so bad. I don't usually do that sort of thing but I needed to sure they understood that the product in question was unusable, unsalable, and so unconscionably atrocious and they shouldn't be wasting any of their peg space on the fucking things. (The rain/cold liner affixes with three button snaps "around" the waist but by "around" they actually mean "about two inches away from each other all in a bunch in the back." The liner is unusable if you actually install it in the pants as designed. The front winds up about 4" below your balls and has a massive open V gusset in it anyway that lets water and wind in and can't be closed. The rear winds up in a lump, and the ankles get twisted in a knot every time you put it on and then come out with your feet every time you take it off because they don't attach in any way. And! It has no fly, cuff, or closure so you can't even wear it on the outside. Not that you could anyway, because you could not stuff both yourself or the outer pants into it, the legs are so skinny. The legs on both the liner and the pants are comically skinny, to the point that no normally proportioned human could actually get into a pair that does not have legs about 10" too long for their height.)
4I haven't had many other jackets to compare, so I'm sure that there's better stuff out there. But for my first jacket I'm happy with it. Using the liners on the inside was certainly just an afterthought to tick a box for marketing - it's theoretically possible, but not practically. I've only been using them on the outside.
The pants fit OK for me, but I've got skinny legs. I've been told by my riding instructor to wear running tights underneath and that works well. But just like with the jacket, I've only used the liner on the outside. In the store, I tried them with the liner on - never again.
I got a decent rebate and the back armor was included for free, so it was in my budget. Would I have had to pay full price, I guess I might have looked elsewhere.
What other jackets in that price range would you recommend?
1If I had to do it again I would buy a Rev'It Sand, which is what my original plan was. I tried one on at the RevZilla showroom and the difference in quality, fit, and thoughtfulness of design is night and day.
In fact, I bought a pair of the Sand pants to use with my Halo jacket. They, too, are miles better.
But just like with the jacket, I’ve only used the liner on the outside.
I'm curious to hear how...? Unless they changed the design in the last 6 months or so since I bought and returned mine, there is no way to keep the liner pants on if you try to put them on the outside. They have no fly, no elastic waist, no mounting loops. The big V cut in the front means they just fall off. You'd have to safety pin them to yourself, or something.
You can, however, wear the liner jacket on the inside if you wear it separately, i.e. put it on and zip it up first, and then put the main jacket on. It's a hassle, but it works in a pinch.
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