Why Alpinestars’ Motocross Helmet And A Women’s Jacket Are Important

As the fall season looms and new motorcycle models wait to be revealed for next year, Italian gear company Alpinestars pulled the sheet off its 2019 lineup. Across the mammoth line of gear that Alpinestars offers—boots, gloves, roadrace leathers, riding jeans, city jackets, adventure gear, motocross kit, and more—71 new products will hit the US market.

The high-spec, carbon-shell lid made its debut at the Anaheim Supercross in January of this year. It's clearly a big step and a significant push for Alpinestars to work its way into the North American helmet market. Expect to see more of the Supertech M10 lid on pro starting lines in 2019.

The Andes’ success brought the company to invest in an upgrade, and in doing so it has become one of two jackets that will offer the TechAir airbag safety system to women for the first time in the US market.

The stretch panels that are key for making room in a jacket or race suit when an airbag goes off are being used even more extensively now. This is especially evident in the new two-piece Missile suit, a split version of the Missile one-piece, which uses the stretch panels for TechAir expansion points but also to help blend where the now-larger zipper holds the jacket and pants together.

While it’s often utilized in TechAir applications, the stretch material also allows flexibility in garments that are either less likely to be used with an airbag or even ones that don’t offer TechAir. Cynics will say it’s brochure fodder that any company would use to sell more product; racers might say it’s technology making its way to consumers that only trickles down from a company steeped in competition. If it means more comfort and a higher potential for a rider to utilize a state-of-the-art airbag system, we say that has to be a good thing.

The expanse of the Alpinestars line is vast; from chinos to backpacks, leather shoes to neckwarmers, there are lots of products and lots of little updates every year. A few more of the notable updates are shown in the photos and captions below. For the full lineup, go to alpinestars.com.