Alpinestars AMP-7 rucksack review | Neevesy gives five stars across the board after 10k miles

4

The AMP-7 (Alpinestars Motion Pack) sits in the middle of the Italian firm’s comprehensive range of motorcycle rucksacks and it’s one of the most useful, well thought-out I’ve owned. Over the past year I’ve used it on three big European riding holidays, countless road tests, in all weathers and it’s travelled the world on press launches.

How practical is the Alpinestars AMP-7 rucksack?

It’s secure and comfortable to wear on and off the bike, thanks to its padded, vented and shaped shoulder straps, which have reflective strips around the front. There’s also a buckled waist strap and a chest strap that moves up and down on a rail, so you can get it in the perfect position. The chest strap has a neat magnetic fastener that can you flick open with one hand wearing gloves. All straps are adjustable.

Its 22-litre capacity is spread between a large main compartment, big enough for everything I need on a trip and a padded laptop section. The front of the rucksack unzips all the way, letting you pack the main compartment like a suitcase, rather than having just an opening at the top. It’s the AMP-7’s best feature and hugely useful when you have lots of things to ‘Tetris’ inside. There’s a zippable, mesh-fronted internal compartment to keep knick-knacks safely in one place and a zipped front pocket for more smaller items. Four extra straps are used to secure the front compartment, which I can also use to hook waterproofs or your motorbike jacket on when you’re off the bike. It even has three carrying handles.

The bag itself isn’t waterproof, but it comes with an elasticated lumo yellow waterproof cover that goes over the top and secured by four toggles. It keeps everything dry, even in a heavy storm. The cover is neatly stored away in a zipped pocket at the bottom of the bag when it eventually stops raining.

Even handier is a removable, zippable padded fabric inner bag that looks something like a big pencil case. I keep all my cables, cameras and more knick-knacks in there and it has a mesh front pocket, which I use for earplugs and it can be secured in any position inside the main compartment on a Velcro rail.

Is it a good looking rucksack?

I prefer the AMP-7’s clean, sleek looks over a bulkier canvas-type rucksack with their plethora of straps, buckles and drawstrings.

What’s the quality like on the Alpinestars AMP-7?

It’s still in great condition, despite the heavy use. The slim, lightweight, padded, wipe-clean polyamide/Polyester outer shell is durable, as are all the various zips, buckles and straps. The only thing broken after over year’s heavy use is a tiny, inconsequential plastic loop fitted to one of zip tabs.

Is it good value for money?

Given how much I’ve enjoyed using this rucksack, the condition it’s still in after all these miles and its practicality, I’d say it’s great value, even at the full RRP. Better still, you can find them for less than a hundred quid, if you shop around.

So what’s the final verdict?

Over my 22-year MCN Road Testing career I’ve tested waterproof rucksacks, practical ones with lots of handy compartments and many have been comfy and easy to wear, but none have managed combine all those good bits and more, like the Alpinestars AMP-7. It does everything you want from a rucksack, but it’s fully-opening front flap, handy internal bag and neat waterproof cover are its highlights.