Quote:
Originally Posted by michaelthepsycho
just don't go for Alpinestars because you're only paying for the name. A nice suit can be had for under $400 and leathers are one-use only so there's point dumping a bunch of money there. You crash, you replace it.
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I would just like to state here that this is true if you plan on and accept as a fact of life that after crashing once you'll be throwing your leathers away.
However I still recommend spending the $$$ for a Dainese suit. Until you've crashed in one (and also crashed in a cheap leather suit) it's hard to appreciate the difference.
That being said I've always been disappointed with Alpinestars and agree 100% not to spend the money on that brand because you pay for the name but not the quality! I've had an Alpinestars glove rip at the seam in a 100mph+ lowside at the track (bad day, cold tires, learned that one the hard way), causing a 2 inch hole where the skin on my palm used to be ... also had an Alpinestars leather pants/jacket combo, crashed at 20-25 mph (at most) when I was first learning to ride, and it was complete trash, ripped, discolored, etc. For the money it was definitely sub-par. Even my Alpinestars boots came apart after moderate use (the soles started to come loose).
For boots - Sidi
For leathers/gloves - Dainese
For helmets - Arai 1st, Shoei 2nd
Just my opinion of course, all personally tested