The highly anticipated Alpinestar motocross goggles is finally among us. After seeing Hunter Lawrence racing with it for the past two season it has been on the watchlist for many waiting for its release. Alpinestar have graced us with not only one, not only two, not only three, not even four but five varieties of goggle.
This review is going to focus on the Supertech goggles, both tear-off and roll-off form, which is their top-of-the-range goggle. Working their way down from Vision 8, 5, 3, and finally Vision Youth.
First things first, the box. It is by far the best box I have ever received a pair of goggles in. It is solid cardboard with a shiny finish and a small magnetic clasp to hold the lid down. If Apple made gouge boxes it’d be something like this. The goggle is held in the box by a piece of plastic moulded to fit the ends of the goggles.
In the box you get your Supertech goggle, and a draw string goggle bag. There are no tear offs or spare lens. What you see is what you get. With the roll off version however you do get 2 roll off films, a mud strip and an additional roll off pin.
On to the fit. Personally, I really liked the fit. They don’t sit too far down on my nose and they fit well in all the helmets I have tried them with. (Alpinestar SM10, Bell moto-10 and 6D ATR-3). The strap is easily adjusted with 2 injected buckles giving the strap a much lower profile. The Supertech also has a 45mm wide strap with a silicon pattern on the inside making sure that the goggle stays exactly where you want it. Unlike most goggles where the strap comes out of the frame straight the Supertech has two 13-degree wedges that position the strap in a much more central place on the helmet, once again allowing a better fit and less chance of movement.
The greatest feature of this goggle is the release mechanism to swap out the lenses. Alpinestars Super-Lock give the lens a tight seal as well as being incredibly easy to remove it. All you have to do is click up the tabs on either side of the frame. At the point you can take the lens out. To fit the lens simply put it in the centre of the frame and click the tabs back down.
Like most high end goggles these days the super-tech goggle has a rigid lens, thus avoiding any distortion that you may otherwise get with a standard lens that you bend to fit in the frame. Rigid lenses also tend to be stronger than standard lenses, which protect your eyes from stones and other debris.
The roll-off system is durable and easy to use. The Super-Tech frame allows the roll-off canisters to sit further around the frame so they are out of the rider’s field of vision. I am not a big fan of roll-offs and only use them when absolutely necessary but this really is one of the better systems. With the 48mm wide roll-off film and 160mm of width between the canisters, you get one of the largest fields of vision with each pull. There is also no worry of the film sticking to the lens as the roll-off lens has two built-in silicon glide lines that prevent that from happening.
Other key points:
The Super-Tech frame has a tear-off pin on the left side to help keep the tear-off tab from flapping around.
The 3D moulded face foam makes the goggle sit comfortably on your face.
Clear roll-off canisters so you can see how much film you have left.
Supertech roll-off price (£139.99)
Supertech tear-off mirrored lens price (£119.99)
Supertech tear-off clear lens price (£95.00)
The super-tech is certainly one of the dearer goggles on the market but if you have ever worn anything made by Alpinestar, whether it be gear, helmets, or boots you will know they don’t cut corners. So if you don’t want to lose your vision mid-way through a race this goggle should be on your wish list. I can’t guarantee that this goggle will never go wrong but I can guarantee that the possibility is a lot less likely than if you decide to go for a cheaper goggle.
Tested and written by Brad Wheeler
