Rennie Scaysbrook | September 15, 2016
Italian sultans of riding style Alpinestars have just unveiled some new goodies for the 2017 riding season. New gloves, suits, boots, pants and jackets are all in the line-up, so we’ve picked a few of our favorites to showcase to you right here.
You can see the full line up of gear at http://www.alpinestars.com/road
Supertech Glove — $399.95
Check out the aramid panels on the tops of the fingers and the connection of the ring and little fingers.
The new for 2017 Supertech Glove is an evolution of the GP Pro glove and has been in development for the past three years in MotoGP.
This is a full Kangaroo leather, CE Certified Level 2 race glove with a host of improvements including aramid fiber patches (Alpinestars ARSHIELD material) on the palm and thumb areas and a heat resistant carbon X membrane that reduces the chance of sliding burns in an accident. The ring and little fingers are also bridged to stop separation in the event of a crash.
There’s also no external seams on the Supertech, allowing maximum feel to reach the rider’s fingers. This was something Andrea Dovizioso trialed over the past year in his testing for Alpinestars in MotoGP.
Here you can see the stretch paneling between the rider’s thumb and index finger.
Between the rider’s thumb and index finger is the four-way aramid ergo insert, which allows for greater range of movement and releases pressure build up under heavy braking. The fingers themselves have air vents between each knuckle. Each glove/finger is 3D heat molded, and the knuckle protection is now integrated with an accordion stretch panel that stops it getting caught on anything in an accident.
Check it out here: http://www.alpinestars.com/supertech-leather-glove#.V9rNppMrJTY
GP Plus Leather Suit — $1199.95
The asymmetric color design was previously only offered to Alpinestars racers.
This is the first time Alpinestars has offered an asymmetric suit to the public. The flurencent red and white color scheme was normally only available to Alpinestars athletes, now it’s come to the production line for us to try.
The suit is made from 100 percent 1.3mm thick bovine leather with 3D mesh around the neck, with about 50 percent perforation. This is a road and trackday suit, not a full race suit, so the perforation extends mainly to the legs, torso, sections in the arms and the hump at the rear of the neck.
The GP Plus is slightly pre-curved but also allows for all day comfort. Pure race suits are pretty uncomfortable unless you’re tucked in and going for it – this one you can wear all day without feeling like you’re a hunchback at the end of it.
The shape is pre-curved, but not to the point of Alpinestars full on race suits. You should be able to wear this all day and still stay comfortable.
Alpinestars has fitted its poly-fabric stretch panels on crotch, underarms, calf and back of the knees to allow the rider to move around in the suit more freely and there’s Alpinestars-developed accordion leather back panel and knee inserts to help with overall comfort. There’s removable, CE-approved protectors in the impact areas around the shoulders, elbows and knees, and the zippers are quality YKK units that will probably last longer than the suit itself!
The GP Plus also has a handy waterproof pouch on the left side chest for mobile phones, wallets, etc. The GP Plus is available in three colors.
Check it out here: http://www.alpinestars.com/gp-plus-leather-suit#.V9rWIpMrJTY
Jaws/Stella Jaws jacket — $499.95
The Jaws offers almost all the benefits of jackets like the Atem with a it of extra comfort thrown in, for less $$.
This is a sport riding jacket that’s a little less aggressive in fit to the Atem jacket we’ve been using over the past 12 months, seen here at our Yamaha FZ-10 test. Available in perforated or non-perforated formats, the Jaws/Stella Jaws (for ladies) has been a solid performer in the Alpinestars line-up thanks to its all-year versatility. Made from 1.2-1.4mm bovine leather, the pre-curved Jaws/Stella Jaws jacket features removable CE armor in the shoulder and elbows, chest and back protector compartments and padding and a now black reflective strip sitting on the rider’s lower back.
The Jaws has a microfiber lining on the cuffs and collar to stop the jacket rubbing and chaffing and you can attach any Alpinestars pants via the zipper connection on the back. There’s also a waterproof pouch incorporated into the jacket, just like the GP Plus suit.
Check it out here: http://www.alpinestars.com/jaws-leather-jacket-2017#.V9raJZMrJTY
Raider Drystar Pants and T-Jaws Air Jacket Combo — $269.95 (pants), $269.95 (jacket)
Aimed at the sport touring rider, this suit offers pretty exceptional value for money.
The Drystar pants and T-Jaws jacket combo is designed for sport touring at its finest. Focussing on the pants, they’re made using 600D polyester with a cotton finish on the back of the legs. The padding on the hips is PE comfort, but you can upgrade this to the real CE-approved armor if you like at purchase. There’s CE armor in the knees, stretch panels around crotch, yoke, waist and back of knees to allow more comfort and movement, and the waist and lower leg adjustments are Velcro.
The pants are pre-curved with abrasion and tear resistant panels, but most importantly is the pants are fitted with the Alpinestars Drystar membrane the company claims is both breathable and waterproof. If any of you buy these and go riding through serious rain, please let us know how they performed.
This one mightn’t work in the dead of winter due to the amount of air it flows, but should be a comfortable option for the rest of the year.
The T-Jaws Air Jacket is a similar story, although this one is made with 450D polyester and mesh paneling on the outer shell to help flow maximum air. Inside the T-Jaws is a wind breaker and waterproof liner, CE armor on the shoulders and elbows, and you can attach it to the pants via the zipper at the back.
Check out the Raider Drystar Pants here: http://www.alpinestars.com/raider-drystarr-pants#.V9rglZMrJTY
Check out the T-Jaws Air Jacket here: http://www.alpinestars.com/t-jaws-air-jacket-1#.V9rfzpMrJTY
