Gear Review | Merlin Alton II D30 Jacket

The Bear bought his first leather jacket just after he bought his first bike, a bit over 50 years ago. It was the standard Brando jacket that everyone wore at the time with the diagonal zipper across the front and the tartan liner. It lasted 25 years, the Merlin Alton might, too.

I bought it from Stoliar Brothers in George Street, Haymarket, possibly Sydney’s most definitive disposal store, where I bought almost all of my clothing because they were cheap and I was an impoverished university student.

You might think that this means the jacket was cheap too, and you’d be right where the price was concerned. But these Brando jackets – unbranded and colloquially named after the jacket that The Man wore in The Wild Ones – were remarkably tough. And what they lacked in protectors they made up for in the quality and thickness of the leather and the strong stitching. I wore mine on and off for more than 25 years and stepped off the bike a few times without doing noticeable damage to it.

Several jackets followed that one, not so much because I was unhappy with them and wanted to change them but because I became a motorcycle scribbler and was required to test stuff, including jackets. Both quality and appearance varied, as did the amount of protection they offered, but generally I was satisfied with them. That included the most recent one, presumably cut off me by the ambos before I could get it together enough to stop them after my most recent off.

No matter what the textile crowd will tell you, a motorcyclist is nothing without a leather jacket. I know this is an old-fashioned opinion, but it stands for me. It was time, then, to find a new one. I happened to like the looks of the Merlin Alton jacket and did what I will always do these days: I checked it out on the MotoCAP website. If you’re not familiar with MotoCAP, take a look, and be seriously impressed by the work these people do. Unfortunately, despite the fact that I know Merlin to be a good brand the jacket scored 3. Now that indicates a good garment, but, the scale runs to 5…

“A motorcyclist is nothing without a leather jacket. I know this is an old-fashioned opinion, but it stands for me”

I wasn’t going to give up quite so easily, so I checked the website of the Australian Merlin importer, Link International. Good thing I did. It turns out that the current version of the jacket has superseded the Alton, and is now called the Alton II D30.

Among a number of other improvements, this jacket is fitted with D30 protectors in the shoulders and elbows. D30 is a relative recent thing in protection, a patented polymer that is rate sensitive. It is pliable under normal movement but stiffens when subjected to sudden force, dispersing energy away from the body. Unlike traditional rigid armour, D3O inserts are thin, lightweight and flexible. I really like this stuff.

“Alton II… sees improvements from years of consumer testing and feedback…” says Merlin. “Riders can now benefit from a revised… lining which allows for adjustable elbow armour positions, a fold back collar for summer riding, more ventilation in the front and rear of the jacket, as well as newly adjusted fit blocks to include such changes as more back length and an increased front neck drop to prevent rubbing on the neck.”

Merlin Alton II D30 Official Video

The changes look to me as if they’ve taken the jacket closer to a 5. The material is a good 1.2–1.3mm Aniline leather, generally considered the highest-quality leather finish. It presents as a stylishly matt kind of nubuck. The jacket has YKK zippers, several pockets including secure ones on the inside, two-point collar closure with summer fold back, cuff and hem size adjustment, actively expanding rear shoulder panels as well as short and long jacket-to-jean zippers and an elasticated jacket-to-jean strap. Sizes range from S to 4XL. The price is a very reasonable $599.95.

A phone call and an inquiry to distributor Link International, and a jacket appeared on my doorstep. I have now been wearing it for a few weeks, and it has very much become my go-to bike jacket. Since it is summer in Sydney, I have zipped out the thermal liner and opened the chest and side vents as well as the one at the rear. There are perforations under the arms, too. It makes riding in even Sydney temperatures bearable.

The combination of the lightly sueded leather, the classic cut and the clean shaping along with the D30 protectors (the back of the jacket is ready for a D30 insert, which I will add) make for a jacket that I’m happy to wear off the bike as well as riding. This is a seriously quality piece of kit, priced (as I mentioned above) very reasonably. Now to make sure that I stay on the bike so I don’t have to ask Link for another one, and get 25 years out of it too.

And what happened to my Brando jacket? I finally gave it away when the zipper, unbranded like the jacket itself, failed. As far as I know it is still being worn – just with a replacement zip.

Merlin Alto II D30 features

• 1.2–1.3 mm aniline leather construction
• D3O LP1 shoulder and elbow protectors with back protector pocket
• CE EN17092 Level AA certification
• Removable 100 g thermal liner
• Front and rear ventilation panels
• Fixed breathable mesh lining
• Fold-back collar with two-point closure
• Cuff and hem adjustment points
• Short and long YKK jacket-to-jean connection zips
• Actively expanding rear shoulder panels
• Multiple internal and external pockets
• Elasticated jacket-to-jean strap

The Merlin Alto II D30 has a recommended retail price of $699.95 and more information can be found here.