The Alpinestars T-GP Plus R v4 Airflow Jacket is a sport style jacket that is designed for warm weather riding. This jacket is the fourth generation or version in this line and it, like many other riding gear items from Alpinestars suffers from a terrible and confusing name. Overall construction for the T-GP Plus R v4 is a mix of 450D poly-fabric mesh, stretch shell insert, a inner mesh liner as well as perforated panels on the top of the back, chest area and lower sleeves. Overall this construction yields a CE Level A abrasion resistance rating which I personally find disappointing as both Klim and REV’IT! Have mesh jackets in the $300 range like the T-GP Plus R V4 but they instead both earn a AA rating. If you have read or watched my reviews before you know that I am all about safety and I am a bit disappointed that Alpinestars doesn’t make it more of a priority here, especially in such a sport almost race style jacket. Speaking of protection this jacket is Tech-Air® 5 and Tech-Air® 3 Ready, has pockets for both a divided chest protector as well as a back protector (though both have to be purchase separately) and comes with Nucleon Flex Plus CE Level 1 shoulder and elbow armor included.
From a comfort standpoint there is a lot of air flow, perforation and there are quite a few stretch panels. Also there are hook and loop adjusters at both the waist and wrists, as well as jeans loop hooks for attaching your jacket to your favorite riding pants. Looking at pockets you do get two exterior, zippered pockets, one internal open pocket with no closure as well as one inner waterproof pocket. Other features to note is that the back is cut longer for better coverage, there are multiple Alpinestars logos (on the back, lower back, front, shoulders, sleeves and on the inside, and the inside liner features some red that breaks up the usual, all black liners that most jacket interiors feature.
Overall I think this is a really good looking jacket and a worthy successor to the T-GP Plus R V3 airflow jacket, but as I mentioned before, unless you are a huge fan of Alpinestars this jacket doesn’t represent the best value for the money vs offerings from Klim and REV’IT, especially if your primary concern, like mine is protection. :: Damir 6/28/24