Is Alpinestars stuff worth the money?

[BM1]

I'm looking at getting an FZ6R sometime in the hopefully near future, so I've also begun looking at riding gear. I really like the way Alpinestars stuff looks, but is their stuff worth the price?

I'd gladly spend the money if it's worth it, but I want to make sure I'm not just paying for a name.

Thoughts?

 

[dart1963]

Anything in specific, or just all your gear? You do pay for a name, but they make quality stuff. If you can find last years stuff (newenough is great for that), then you can get it at a reasonable price. Just keep en eye out for it, if it goes up on newenough, it disappears fast.

 

[BM1]

I'm looking at a textile jacket, textile gloves, boots, and some other miscellaneous protective items. Here are links to the items I'm looking at specifically.

Jacket

Gloves

Boots

Chest Pads for Jacket

Back Protector for Jacket

Knee protectors for under jeans

Protective shorts for under jeans

 

[Spunky99]

They stand behind their gear 100%. The fit and function is first rate.
but it is EXPENSIVE......

I have a jacket, boots and gloves....best gear I own.

 

[dart1963]

Those are actually not bad prices, about average for quality gear. If you're dead set on Alpinestars for the style/look then get that, you won't be disappointed.

If you are just looking for decent styling and want lower prices, then keep an eye out for sales on top name gear (including what you've found). Sometimes these online stores will have huge sales.

 

[BM1]

Yeah the prices didn't look too bad compared to others I've seen. The only part that sucks is there aren't any shops in town that I'm aware of that carry the gear I'm interested in, so I would have to rely on their size chart for fitment and just order online.

 

[JonKerr]

You can't really go wrong with A* and I'm glad to see you're gearing up properly.

I'd like to make a few small suggestions.

Look for a glove that's full gauntlet. I know a lot of people don't like them. But they really will help to keep the sleeve of your jacket, and in turn the armor in the jacket in the right place should you go down on your forearm. Something like the SP-2. I had these at one time. They're an excellent glove, especially for the price. A* SP-2

For the back protector, you may want to look into one of their Bionic Protectors. That one you're looking at is not much more than a thin foam pad. I'm actually planning on getting this insert for my leather jacket from Forcefield. I tried on one of their full harness protectors at Cycle Sector the other day and had one of the guys just straight punched me in the middle of my back wearing it. You can feel the way it disperses the energy around your whole back, not just at the impact site. It's even more expensive than the A* stuff, but very well made.

For shorts, you may want to look into the Bionic Freeride Shorts. I have these and always wear them if I'm wearing jeans. Very comfortable and the hard armor is going to give that little bit more protection.

Either way, you'll be more protected than just jeans and a t shirt and I'm glad to see that. Especially the knee and hip protection. So many people ignore that.

 

[Spunky99]

I have the SP1 gloves and they are the nicest fitting gloves. Just wonderful to wear. They cost $$ tho...I agree that the gauntlet is the way to go in case of an accident for protection.

I also have the S MX-5 boots and they are great.

 

[BM1]

You can't really go wrong with A* and I'm glad to see you're gearing up properly.

I'd like to make a few small suggestions.

Look for a glove that's full gauntlet. I know a lot of people don't like them. But they really will help to keep the sleeve of your jacket, and in turn the armor in the jacket in the right place should you go down on your forearm. Something like the SP-2. I had these at one time. They're an excellent glove, especially for the price. A* SP-2

For the back protector, you may want to look into one of their Bionic Protectors. That one you're looking at is not much more than a thin foam pad. I'm actually planning on getting this insert for my leather jacket from Forcefield. I tried on one of their full harness protectors at Cycle Sector the other day and had one of the guys just straight punched me in the middle of my back wearing it. You can feel the way it disperses the energy around your whole back, not just at the impact site. It's even more expensive than the A* stuff, but very well made.

For shorts, you may want to look into the Bionic Freeride Shorts. I have these and always wear them if I'm wearing jeans. Very comfortable and the hard armor is going to give that little bit more protection.

Either way, you'll be more protected than just jeans and a t shirt and I'm glad to see that. Especially the knee and hip protection. So many people ignore that.

Thanks for the help. Those gloves you suggested do look like a better option. I will definitely go with those over what I had originally picked out.

I was debating the Freeride shorts originally, but they looked too bulky to go under a pair of regular loose fit jeans. How do they fit under your normal jeans?

That Bionic back protector also looks nice. Will that fit under the Alpinestars jacket? Would I use that with or without the RC back protector insert on the jacket?

 

[ME_with_a_B]

I have the S MX 5 boots, and they are amazing!!! (and totally worth the cost)

They fit like a glove from the moment I put them on. And they kept my ankle safe when I mildly crashed that one time a month ago.

If/when I need to buy replacement boots, I'm definitely getting another pair of A*'s.

As someone else mentioned, try to buy through NewEnough.com -- they seem to have the best prices on A* gear.

 

[JonKerr]

Thanks for the help. Those gloves you suggested do look like a better option. I will definitely go with those over what I had originally picked out.

I was debating the Freeride shorts originally, but they looked too bulky to go under a pair of regular loose fit jeans. How do they fit under your normal jeans?

That Bionic back protector also looks nice. Will that fit under the Alpinestars jacket? Would I use that with or without the RC back protector insert on the jacket?

They fit just fine under loose fit jeans. I'm wearing them in this picture as well as my knee/shin guards.

For the back protector, yes, if you get one that's a harness that's separate from the jacket, you'll take out anything you have in the jacket. There's some debate on back protectors between "soft" and "hard" armor. The softer armor like the Forcefield tends to disperse the impact around more area, but it doesn't slide as well should you end up on your back. Where that's the strength of the hard armor. Under a textile jacket I would suggest a hard armor protector since textile doesn't slide well. Leather protects better in a slide so personally, I think the soft armor will work better.

 

[BM1]

Good to know. Thanks

 

[_serge]

mostly all my gear is AS: 2 jackets (leather and textile), riding pants, 2 pairs of gloves and S-MX5 boots. Going to get a racing suit in the near future, also AS. No complains about quality, definitely worth the money. Though AS is not that expensive comparing to other brands (if you really want expensive gear: go for dainese), and you always can get "close out" type of deals on cycle gear for instance. All my stuff I got online never had problems with sizes.