Alpinestars Factory Tour - Dirt Rider Magazine

Alpinestars products, and specifically its boots, are found on the bottom of the top professional racers in motocross and off-road. Those riders aren't just paid to fly the A-Stars logo on the podium; each one sends in a performance report after every event to help develop future products' performance, comfort and durability.But Alpinestars didn't want to rely exclusively on real-world testing (and moody athletes) for all its information. The company wanted empirical data it could extract from different designs in a controlled environment. To remove variables such as grittier sand at one track, more aggressive riding on "good days" or colder weather on another day, Alpinestars constructed an underground high-tech test lab in the late 1990s in its facility in Asolo, Italy.The lab now functions year-round to simulate and improve wear characteristics, evaluate protection performance, and maximize comfort on prototype concepts, alternate materials, updated designs, next-generation models and sometimes...just prettier colors. Current models in production often get a tour for an advanced level of quality control. Here's a look at the "boot camp" a product needs to go through before it heads out in the black box with the A-Stars logo on it.