Alpinestars Alps 6.0 SS jersey review

Italian-founded Alpinestars – a name derived from the perennial alpine star flower — is renowned for its stylish kit, and more recently sponsorship of big-name riders such as US downhiller Aaron Gwin. But being stylish is one thing, how does its kit perform out on the trails? I took the Alps 6.0 SS jersey out in to the wild to find out.

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Alpinestars Alps 6.0 SS jersey details

Made from a polyester and elastane mix, Aplinestars claims the Alps 6.0 jersey is durable and wicks moisture well, and that the elastane helps the material to flex to improve comfort.

The fabric’s been treated with a quick drying and anti-bacterial coating, and there's a mesh central back and mesh underarm panels as well as a side pocket with zipper closure.

The front graphics are fade-resistant and applied to the material using sublimation – a printing technique that uses heat to bring ink and fabric together, embedding the ink into the material rather than printing a layer of ink on top of it.

Alpinestars Alps 6.0 SS jersey performance

The Alpinestars Alps 6.0 SS jersey felt smooth on the skin and luxurious to wear. The fit is certainly trail-orientated but wouldn’t look totally out of place on an enduro bike.

Unless sized up, there isn’t space under the jersey for a back plate or body armour, so might not be suited to downhill riding if you wear protection.

The fairly tight-fitting cut was complemented by the stretchy fabric, which helped it deform with my body as I moved around on the bike and never felt constricting or inhibiting.

The mesh back and underarms were excellent at providing top levels of cooling. Compared to a jersey without mesh panels I noticed a marked difference in the reduction of sweat build up on the material.

It is still possible to totally saturate the jersey in sweat but because of the mesh, which is a lighter, less dense fabric, it takes less time to dry and doesn’t get as heavy.

The rear-side pocket is a nice touch and adds value, but I didn’t want to store anything heavier than some small keys because weightier objects deformed the jersey’s fit. There is space in the pocket for bulkier items if that isn’t an issue for you.

I found the sleeves had a habit of jumping up when I rode rough terrain, a pet hate of mine. However, a long-sleeve version of the same jersey is available, so make sure you take this into account if it’s as much of a problem for you as it is for me.

Alpinestars Alps 6.0 SS jersey bottom line

A great jersey that provides a cool and comfortable fit for all-day epics. It’s a shame the sleeves jump up, which stopped it from scoring higher.