Leo Vince and Spidi

 

I can't wait to meet you in person! Those are the two factories we'll be touring during my week in Italy. I'm thrilled that one of the factories is gear related. I can't wait to see how and where gear is made, who makes it and more.

Looks like I'll be at Leo on the 11th and Spidi on the 14th. Look for my tweets/posts on those days to see what I get to see. I'll My posts will appear on both my blog and the CWIA blog as well. Here are all the ways you can follow me, so there's no excuse!

Blogs - www.cycleworlditalianadventure.com, www.gearchic.com

Twitter  - #cwitalianadventure @gearchic

Facebook  - Cycle World Italian Adventure, GearChic

Alpinestars Stella GP Plus Leather Jacket

Alpinestars Stella GP Plus Jacket MSRP $399.95 Sizes: Euro 38-50 (I'm wearing a Euro 42 = US 4)

I haven't tried on every leather jacket on the market. But I've tried on more than my fair share.

The last time I tried on a sport leather jacket by Alpinestars was 2-3 years ago.  I wasn't very impressed by anything they had to offer women until now.

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to meet with our local Alpinestars representative and the North American Sales Manager to see some pieces from their new 2011/2012 collection.  They only brought a few pieces from the Stella line, but fortunately this was one of them.

The first thing I noticed when I put that jacket on is how light and comfortable it felt. It doesn't have that usual "this is the most uncomfortable piece of clothing I've ever worn" feeling that you get when you try on a sporty leather jacket. The leather typically feels stiff, restrictive. You can't move your arms very much (except forward) and you don't want to spend much time in the jacket with it fully zipped.  A common shopping tip that I give is that your leathers are going to feel more comfortable on the bike vs. off.

It's definitely the opposite with the GP Plus. It could be the stretch panels that start at the inner wrist and extend all the way up to the armpits. Or maybe the feel of the lay flat collar. I don't know. All I know is that it felt incredibly comfortable and I would have no problem wearing this piece all day long.

If I'm lucky, I'll be able to provide a full review of this piece in the next couple of months. Fingers crossed!