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Alpinestars Vs Dainese.


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Regarding these two brands -

 

1. Which offers better protection for the money? ( about a 1000 $ give or take )

 

2. Which holds up to use in hot and humid conditions without degrading? ( India )

 

3. Which of these fit better? I have heard Dainese is a premium fit and finish.

 

4. Which offers better armor and abrasion resistance? ( Both suits as well as gloves )

 

5. Have you seen people crash wearing them, and did they suffer friction burns when they crashed/injuries despite the leathers?

 

6. Did a particular brand cause them to sweat more than the others? Conversely, did they feel cold at night/winter?

 

7. Which brand enjoys a better reputation.Have you heard any horror stories regarding quality?

 

Thanks

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I started off in an entry level Alpinestars suit, which I was really happy with until I tried on an entry level Dainese cowhide suit, which I was really happy with until I tried on a Dainese dskin leather suit. I think you see the trend here. I'm up to 4 suits and avoid motorcycle stores like the plague. I picked the expensive route by picking the cheap suit because I did not know any better at the time. The cheaper suits seemed like a better deal because I had no idea what I was buying. You get what you pay for depending on the features you are looking for. As the price climbs you get suits that provide more protection and that are lighter weight and more comfortable to wear. Cheaper suits are going to be made out of thicker lower grade leather and will take more energy to move around in on the bike.

 

If your looking for great no nonsense advice on the features that matter the most to you I would suggest taking a look at Sportbike Track Gear. http://www.sportbiketrackgear.com/ Brian Van and his crew provide a LOT of information about their products in their videos even if you don't buy from them it's a great place to pick up information. They are also riders as well and do lots of track days. I saw Brian Van out at Barber in October. If you want a lot of data about crashing find a leather repair place and ask them. They see suits regularly crashed in and can give some objective advice free of brand preference.

 

As for gloves. My favorite gloves these days are Knox Armor Handroids. They provide really good protection and on top of that they look super cool. I have two sets and probably will be picking up a 3rd for the sheer fun of having color options.

 

I prefer Dainese stuff personally but mostly because they are an Italian company and I ride an Italian bike and I'm also part Italian myself. A bit biased to say the least. Another Italian company that the Superbike School seems to like is AGV sport. They seem to have good quality at more reasonable pricing than Dainese does.

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They say you learn something every day. I just did. They are as Italian as they can be. :)

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpinestars

 

To answer one of your questions about humidity. I wore my Dainese Stripes in the pouring rain with no ill effects. Just let it dry completely and it was fine afterwards.

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Some of the older AGV Sport leathers that the school has seem kinda bulky and the one time I wore them they weren't the most comfortable, though that was probably due to the amount of use they had received, HOWEVER some of the coaches have a new version of leathers from them, I think I saw Hotfoot wearing a set last time I was at SoW, and they look like a much better fit and finish suit,

 

I think at the high end of their respective lines, AStar and Dainese are going to be pretty much identical in terms of protection and quality, the only real difference between them I can see is that perhaps AStar offers apparel in the entry level segment while Dainese only offers apparel in the mid level and up segments

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I currently own a 2013 model AGVSport suit, Imola and like it very much. I have owned about 8 or 9 different suits over the years and they have been manufactured by atleast 5 different manufacturers. I would not buy a entry level suit again, but I do know riders that have them and like them.

 

But as far as your question on Alpinestar or Dianese, I havent owned either in more than 20 years, so the only feedback I can give you about them is what I have seen/heard from others.

 

Most everyone agrees buy the best suit you can afford and in the long run it will likely save you some money. But I have seen plenty of suits people have purchased for under $1000 that have held up well to multiple crashes, fit well (although some suit manufacturers suits fit some body types better than others) ventilate well, the trade off there is if they have lots of keprotec stretch panels and perforations they will be cold in the cool mornings and early/late season riding when it.

 

Personally I think limiting yourself to two brands isn't the best way to approach buying a suit.

Pick the features you "must have" and those you "like to have" then find the suits with those then compare prices or whatever other styling, name brand, criteria you have. Then perhaps do some price shopping, online and your local suppliers; choices and competition are good things.

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I am trying to research one or two brands at a time....and these two are the more popular.I too agree that it is expensive to buy cheap suits.In fact i am leaning towards custom as the way to go ( Spartan ) but there are some lesser known brands like Baranacle Bill's and everything which also make custom suits....hmmm.

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the two brands fit a bit differently. . so depends on your size/weight combo to determine whether a particular brand fits or not.. .

 

A* and Dainese are both consistent. you will get a certain level of performance/fit/protection based on price within their line. I would use 1000 as a starting point for them as anything below that is essentially their "entry level" suits and I always advocate staying away from anyone's entry level unless its really good.

 

Dainese and A* are "Italian" in name only. The brand is italian but essentially none of their suits are made there. They are all made in eastern europe (Ukraine) or lower end ones in China etc. Unless you are a pro racer, you won't find Dainese or A* made in italy anymore.

 

Key to look for many suits is the stitching. That generally falls apart faster in the cheaper made suits (or splits). The titanium shoulders etc that look cool aren't the most important items in the suit - its whether it'll hold together in an "off".

 

Many "custom" suits that aren't made directly at a particular facility are made in Pakistan. Pakistan has a LOT of suit manufacturers that manufacture out of there. THe list is very long and some are well made and some not so much. You can essentially dictate exactly what you want with many of these manufacturers.

Good luck

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Personally for me, I really loved the fit and comfort of the Z custom suit I once had. I never crash tested it yet Is aw others who had and they held up great with only scuffingto the surface. Of course every crash is a bit different so it is not very scientific testing but I think there suits are top notch.

Others that have faired well in crashes, a few of them through a half dozen or more crashes

Velocity sportgear

Route21

Perrini MI3

AGVSport

I have seen all these sustain multiple crashes without significant damage to suit or rider. How well the suit fits has more to do with this than the suit itself....to some extent

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  • 2 months later...

When riding a sports bike actively, I think having something custom fitted will pay for itself many times unless you are lucky and are born with a "standard" body for a particular brand or model. If you ride a more upright bike on the road, you can usually get away with a less than stellar fit by going one size over. Although a loose fitting suit will offer less protection, comfort and the ability to put on more layers underneath often is more important for a touring rider than ultimate protection. On a track, however, I believe a suit that takes away comfort also steal your attention better used on other things. Plus you are more likely to test the protection ability of your suit, so this also must be taken into the equation.

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  • 5 years later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Since this got bumped, I'll add in some new thoughts for anyone looking into it.  The biggest issue, as with all moto gear, is always fit.  Personally, Alpinestars just doesn't fit me.  It's either too tight in the legs or too loose in the shoulders.  Dainese's cuts just fit me perfectly.

I have had a Dainese Laguna Seca suit for 10 years.  It has been in two lowsides in the rain and a solid tumble with multiple revolutions.  It was only after the third crash that I finally needed to have repairs done because the leather on the shoulder wore through (the stitching in the surrounding area was still fine).  

Probably the biggest reason to go either Alpinestars or Dainese over other fantastic brands (RS-Taichi, Held, customs) are the Tech-Air and D-Air.

Tech-Air

You can get a lot more coverage with the Alpinestars TechAir setup than the entry level D-Air suit at around $2000.  Even the Dainese Mugello at $4000 doesn't have the same airbag coverage.  Also, Alpinestars TechAir can be used twice before a repack, whereas the Dainese can only have one deployment.  The separation of the vest and suit also means that you can just send in the vest for repacking and still use the suit with conventional armor.  However, you have to buy the Tech-Air vest for $1150 and then buy a suit to fit it in. Also, the Tech-Air has a solid, non-flexible back piece doubling as a back protector and electronics housing that makes it feel bulky and pretty awkward if you're used to having the top half of your leathers hanging when you're in the pits.  

D-Air

D-Air is a different beast as it is fully integrated with the individual suit, and comes in a variety of configurations with different levels of protection.  The first generation Misano has the least coverage and is primarily focused on protecting the collarbone.  The second gen. Misano 2D will have more coverage around the collarbone area.  The Mugello has even more coverage extending over the upper chest, but still does not provide the same level of coverage as the Tech-Air.  However, the D-Air does include a GPS sensor in aiding determining when deployment occurs.  Whether or not Alpinestars doesn't have one due to patent reasons or if they just don't think it is important is only known to them.  The upside of D-Air is the suit definitely feels more natural than an Alpinestars suit with the Tech-Air vest.  The downside is you can only deploy it once and then the entire suit has to go back to Dainese.  

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Does anyone have any info / input on Rev'it?  As mentioned in here, fit is vital and I recently tried them on and found they fitted well.  I've also had issues with Alpinestars being far too saggy in the torso once they fit shoulders/arms. 

With regards to Dainese, I have heard good things about them but I assume it is better to go with the best gear one can afford as it's cheaper in the long run? 

 

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On 3/11/2019 at 6:12 AM, Vic said:

Does anyone have any info / input on Rev'it?  As mentioned in here, fit is vital and I recently tried them on and found they fitted well.  I've also had issues with Alpinestars being far too saggy in the torso once they fit shoulders/arms. 

With regards to Dainese, I have heard good things about them but I assume it is better to go with the best gear one can afford as it's cheaper in the long run? 

 

Rev'it is quality gear on the higher end of the spectrum.  However, as far as I know, they do not offer an airbag option.  For professional racers, they have been using the Dainese D-Air system but it is not available commercially for every day riders.   

What do you mean by "best gear one can afford?"  It seems like you have some aversion to Dainese or think that they're on the cheap end of things.  If anything, they tend to be a bit expensive and overpriced due to their marketing and brand identity in my opinion.  

If you are looking for the best gear you can afford, I think you should definitely look at an airbag suit or jacket/pants combo.  The increased protection against a collarbone break is worth the savings in medical bills.

 

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Anybody wearing the Alpinestars Missile suit and airbag have any feedback on that system? I see they FINALLY announced a woman's version of the Tech-Air compatible suit. I'm giving that a serious look, seems like broken collarbones are a pretty common racing injury and I would prefer to keep mine intact. I had been looking at the Hit Air vests but didn't want to have to mess around with putting it over the leathers right before a race, or with the tether - seems like it would be too easy to forget to unclip yourself!

BTW, does anyone know if Alpinestars has a showroom in SO CA that might have the women's suits in stock to try on? I'm not really sure of my size as I have been wearing custom suits, plus I wonder if the vest and back protector affect the size and fit of the suit.

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1 hour ago, Hotfoot said:

Anybody wearing the Alpinestars Missile suit and airbag have any feedback on that system? I see they FINALLY announced a woman's version of the Tech-Air compatible suit. I'm giving that a serious look, seems like broken collarbones are a pretty common racing injury and I would prefer to keep mine intact. I had been looking at the Hit Air vests but didn't want to have to mess around with putting it over the leathers right before a race, or with the tether - seems like it would be too easy to forget to unclip yourself!

BTW, does anyone know if Alpinestars has a showroom in SO CA that might have the women's suits in stock to try on? I'm not really sure of my size as I have been wearing custom suits, plus I wonder if the vest and back protector affect the size and fit of the suit.

I haven't tried the Missile suit, but the TechAir airbag vest has more coverage than any of the Dainese Misano (mostly collarbone), Misano 2D (extends over upper chest), and Mugello (includes side airbag).  Supposedly, the same size works, but I think you'll probably want to go up one size in the suit as the vest is fairly bulky.  All of the electronics are packaged in a hard shell back protector for the vest that is maybe almost double the thickness of my regular L2 back protector.  The biggest issue with the TechAir is that it's a bit cumbersome if you like to walk around off-track with the top half of your leathers hanging loose because the rigid back protector keeps the shape of the upper half.

In SoCal, Beach Moto is a TechAir distributor and might be your best bet of having the woman's version in stock.  Alternatively, you can always order from Cycle Gear and just return in store for free.

I also have the Hit-Air and it is a good option.  I still think either of the TechAir or D-Air is a better option though since they are independent of the bike.  The Hit-Air takes about 60 pounds of force to set off, so you just get tugged backwards if you get off the bike without unclipping.  It is an extra hassle though to have to put it on, clip, and unclip each time.  If you're hopping between bikes, setting up the tether each time is also an additional step.

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On 3/11/2019 at 2:12 PM, Vic said:

Does anyone have any info / input on Rev'it?  As mentioned in here, fit is vital and I recently tried them on and found they fitted well.  I've also had issues with Alpinestars being far too saggy in the torso once they fit shoulders/arms. 

With regards to Dainese, I have heard good things about them but I assume it is better to go with the best gear one can afford as it's cheaper in the long run? 

 

I think it is essential to try the garment on, as you have found. When I needed new waterproof winter gear, I went with Rev'it via mail order because there was a huge sale on last year's models. Since I wanted to be able to wear several layers of of clothing underneath the GoreTex cordura(?) suit, I made sure I ordered the pants and jacket large enough. Or so I thought.

I am 5'11'' / 180 cm, 200 lb net, 32 in inseam. I ordered and XYL jacket /60/62) and XL pants (54/56). The jacket is pretty narrow around the arms and only just big enough around the shoulders (expected more room), while the waist is humongous (as expected). As long as I don't pack on too much clothes underneath, though, it works well at keeping me warm. The pants are seriously tight around the thighs, however, and I can only wear one thin layer of clothes inside. And even then there really isn't enough air inside to fight the cold properly. 

Other than that, the quality seems very good, with strong fabric and well sized zippers. Wents works well when it is warm (provided the insulated inner layer is removed first) or when riding off-road and fighting off the sweat. Plenty of pockets also that keep the innards dry.

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On ‎3‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 4:49 PM, Apollo said:

Rev'it is quality gear on the higher end of the spectrum.  However, as far as I know, they do not offer an airbag option.  For professional racers, they have been using the Dainese D-Air system but it is not available commercially for every day riders.   

What do you mean by "best gear one can afford?"  It seems like you have some aversion to Dainese or think that they're on the cheap end of things.  If anything, they tend to be a bit expensive and overpriced due to their marketing and brand identity in my opinion.  

If you are looking for the best gear you can afford, I think you should definitely look at an airbag suit or jacket/pants combo.  The increased protection against a collarbone break is worth the savings in medical bills.

 

Thanks for the feedback.  To be honest I had never really considered an airbag system as I would only planning a handful of trackdays initially and road riding - although plenty of scope for hitting something immovable there.

I didn't intend to sound negative against Dainese and certainly have no aversion to them - apologies if it came across that way.  What I meant was rather than go for an entry-level set-up, and then upgrade is it better to jump in and get quality, top-drawer gear from the get-go (feel I answered my own question there!)  I agree with you on brand identity and I am sure you are  paying extra for the name which is why I was inquiring about Rev'it.  

Always keen to avoid a collarbone break regardless.  Going to check out some airbag kit...

Cheers!

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20 hours ago, faffi said:

I think it is essential to try the garment on, as you have found. When I needed new waterproof winter gear, I went with Rev'it via mail order because there was a huge sale on last year's models. Since I wanted to be able to wear several layers of of clothing underneath the GoreTex cordura(?) suit, I made sure I ordered the pants and jacket large enough. Or so I thought.

I am 5'11'' / 180 cm, 200 lb net, 32 in inseam. I ordered and XYL jacket /60/62) and XL pants (54/56). The jacket is pretty narrow around the arms and only just big enough around the shoulders (expected more room), while the waist is humongous (as expected). As long as I don't pack on too much clothes underneath, though, it works well at keeping me warm. The pants are seriously tight around the thighs, however, and I can only wear one thin layer of clothes inside. And even then there really isn't enough air inside to fight the cold properly. 

Other than that, the quality seems very good, with strong fabric and well sized zippers. Wents works well when it is warm (provided the insulated inner layer is removed first) or when riding off-road and fighting off the sweat. Plenty of pockets also that keep the innards dry.

Totally agree there.  I'm around the same sizes actually so it's interesting to see what their fit is actually like.  There's only one dealer locally that stocks them and, apart from their MotoGP exposure, hadn't heard that much about them.  Thanks for the info!  Will add them to the shopping list and good to know it's well-built, quality gear. 

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5 hours ago, Vic said:

Thanks for the feedback.  To be honest I had never really considered an airbag system as I would only planning a handful of trackdays initially and road riding - although plenty of scope for hitting something immovable there.

I didn't intend to sound negative against Dainese and certainly have no aversion to them - apologies if it came across that way.  What I meant was rather than go for an entry-level set-up, and then upgrade is it better to jump in and get quality, top-drawer gear from the get-go (feel I answered my own question there!)  I agree with you on brand identity and I am sure you are  paying extra for the name which is why I was inquiring about Rev'it.  

Always keen to avoid a collarbone break regardless.  Going to check out some airbag kit...

Cheers!

The biggest thing with collarbones isn't necessarily hitting some random object.  Breaks can happen because of landing helmet first because the helmet then cants to the side and jams into your collarbone.  The airbag kits mitigate this risk by providing extra cushioning between the helmet and the collarbone.  Although the airbag kits were originally one-piece suit only, both Alpinestars and Dainese now have them available in jacket/two-piece suits for more convenient street riding gear.

I am personally a fan of buying the gear that makes you feel safest and comfortable.  I don't think the higher end gear necessarily crashes better, but the higher priced kit does tend to have more supple or luxurious feeling leather.  You might feel some extra mobility due to the supple leather, but a well fitted, cheaper suit may do the same job.  Personally, all of the high end brands anecdotally have sufficient protection and quality.  If you stay with the major brands like Rev'it, Held, Spidi, RS Taichi, Dainese, Alpinestars, etc, you'll be in the ballpark. 

If you want a sensor deployed airbag kit though, Alpinestars and Dainese are really the only players.  Mithos and RS Taichi have licensed the Alpinestars airbag, but they only offer it in their one-piece suits.  Rev'it has the Dainese airbag, but again it isn't available unless you're a world level professional. 

 

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