Hey girlies.  I'm contemplating a new pair of boots, and I really like a pair of Alpinestars, but don't know how they fit.  Does anyone have a pair that would know if they run true to size, small, or large?  I want these...

http://www.alpinestars.com/Stella_SMX_5_Boots/pd/np/111/p/222319.html

I'm not sure how the lady's version fits, but I think the men's version is a bit on the large side.  I typically wear a 11-12 so I ordered a size 11.5. I had to add change out the insoles to get a nice snug fight like I was looking for. Thank goodness I bought them from a store where I could try them on.

On the bright side, I love the boots. I've wore them for 8hr shifts and work with no complaints. They can get a touch warm off the bike, but that's to be expected IMO of a boot. No issues with shifting or breaking, seems to have good feedback as to where and what my feet are doing.

Never had those. Right now I'm sporting a pair of Frank Thomas that I got off Pronator! Thanks Pro! I would love to find a pair of solid black boots that would be comfy enough to wear at work. Unfortunately, I walk almost my entire shift

Mary

hmmm...  this thread is FANTASTIC!!!

(it shows me which members are female.)


Hello ladies!

Lol Thanks An!  I thought it'd be a good thread for ladies gear and sizing issues.  On another note, I just bought this jacket!  You can't beat $50 for a leather jacket, with a cold weather liner, and full armor!  I buy most everything from NewEnough.com, SportBikeTrackGear, and SandHillsPowerSports.com

http://www.newenough.com/closeouts/bargain_basement/cortech_by_tour_master/ladies_lnx_leather_motorcycle_jackets.html

Don't think I could do the Leopard print LOL! That's to girley for me. But, I did get a new Jacket too. the Joe Rocket Suzuki one nice. And thanks to the nice guys here for getting it for me!

Mary

Yeah Mary I saw that!  Looks good on you, girl!  The leopard print really isn't my thing either, but I just have a textile jacket now and wanted something a bit warmer.  I figured I can suck up the ugliness of it in exchange for price and warmth!  Where else can you get a fully armored leather jacket for $50?!

Ok, I'm not a woman...but my wife is so I asked her.  

She has a pair of Alpinestars Stella SMX-4 boots.

She says (imagine this in a woman's voice) they're very comfortable once they break in (took 2 or 3 rides), very hard to get on and off without my help, fine for walking, and don't look too rediculous under jeans.

Having said that, I'm with annguyen...

 

Quote from: ineedanap on July 26, 2009, 08:02:11 PM
Ok, I'm not a woman...but my wife is so I asked her.  

She has a pair of Alpinestars Stella SMX-4 boots.

She says (imagine this in a woman's voice) they're very comfortable once they break in (took 2 or 3 rides), very hard to get on and off without my help, fine for walking, and don't look too rediculous under jeans.

Having said that, I'm with annguyen...

Fantastic!  I was wondering if anyone else had these or a version smiliar.  Would you ask her if they run big or small on her?  I'm a 9 and need to know what size to order since no dealers around me have womens boots to try on.  I could always get mens....but what fun is that?!

OK, I have to chime in...

I've checked out those very boots in the store, and I can hold the foot in one hand and the upper in the other, and bend it back and forth freely with just my hands.  That's no ankle protection at all.  Nothing in the current Alpinestars lineup will resist the pressure of my hands, which is a lot lower than the force a bike falling on your ankle and trying to make it bend the wrong way will exert.

If you're my size - EU36 - you're a bit fooked, as no manufacturer currently makes a decently protective boot in that size.  If you're 39 or up (that might be a woman's 9 - woman's US sizes vary way too much, IMO, and EU sizing has been more consistent for me), you should seriously consider the Sidi Vortice.  That is a seriously quality boot, very protective, nice adjustability.  M'boy has the Vertigo Corsa, which is the top-end Sidi just one generation back, and goddam I want that boot - but they don't make it in my size.

They're not cheap, but how much are your ankles worth to you?  I had a long time to consider that very question while I was hobbling around on crutches because of a bike landing on my foot during a low-speed fall, and making my ankle bend in a direction it was never meant to bend.

Quote from: ~*STEPH*~ on July 27, 2009, 06:16:28 AMI could always get mens....but what fun is that?!

A lot more fun than this.

Roadstergal, While I appreciate your input and fully understand where you're coming from, I'm one of those "belivers" that if my ankle was meant to break on a particular day, then it will.  I want to be well protected, yes....but unfortunately a broke college girl can't afford Sidi's, so I wanted to start w/ A-stars.  My boyfriend races, and he has a pair of Sidi's, Oxtar's, as well as A-stars, and he likes htem all.  He can give me something positive/negative about each of them, as I'm sure you could as well.  I'd LOVE to have a pair of SIDI's, but $300 on a pair of boots is just too rich for my blood right now.  $150 is just about at my limit.  But who knows what Santa might bring me!    Thanks for the info though!

Quote from: ~*STEPH*~ on July 27, 2009, 02:10:49 PMI'm one of those "belivers" that if my ankle was meant to break on a particular day, then it will.

Then why spend even $150 on boots? 

Cause it's gotta be better tahn the ones i'm wearing at the current point in time!!!  I'd rather have a little protection than nearly nothing!

Because it's better than nothing    I mean how comfortable are these walking around? If your ankle doesn't bend at all when walking then I probably won't wear them. And yes I've spent six weeks on crutches myself from not having on the right foot protection. But, my orthopaedist said "if you had been wearing really thick ankle protection then your knee probably would have gone out" so in essence my ankle wouldn't have been hurt as much (still woulda been hurt) but I would have had a hurt knee too! Every person is different.

I walked into my friend's house in full gear (he also rides) and he was like WTF are you a Carbon Fiber Mummy? How do you move with all that stuff? Better yet how much are you sweating and are you comfortable. My answer was "no" because I had been on the bike all day and even though I was drinking I could not keep up with the sweating and my bp had dropped considerably. So in all honesty which is worse? Being fully protected and going down because you got dehydrated or maybe wearing a little less (ducks head) and be able to safely ride the bike? I fight this battle in my head constantly what is the right balance? With a typical day of hitting a heat index of 110 with 98% humidity it gets dangerously hot. Before someone says "then don't ride" I say then I should just get rid of the bike because then I'd probably only have a riding season of three months! Flick is a daily rider and I just wear what "I" feel comfortable with. Somedays it is full on gear somedays I do wear jeans and put the knee protection and hip pads in them with my L.L. Beans on over my Frank Thomas.

I hope you find that perfect boot that you never want to take off!

Mary

Roadstergal, I'm sorry to see that I'm not the only one here with a bionic ankle.  I was lucky though, I only had one screw placed.  Still don't have full ROM though. Probably never well.

You are correct, my SMX5 boots aren't the most heavily constructed boots out there, but they're leaps and bounds ahead of the low-top Vans I was wearing when I found that lovely patch of oil.

$300 for boots is costly, but for my surgery the combined insurance and out of pocket was about 10-13K.  300 kinda seems insignifigant when you look at it in that light. However, get something you can afford and what you can will wear all the time. Something beats nothing.

Chris

QuoteSomething beats nothing

Thanks guys.  That was my thoughts as well.  I just have an old pair of Eastlands that go just up to my ankle now, so I want some better protection.  I'm going to check out a few others before I buy...I just wish our dealer carried womens boots to try on!

I took roadstergal's advice. I got a pair of Sidi Vortice boots for $180 on eBay. Used. MSRP is $475. Totally worth it. And already broken in.

If you are patient you can get good deals there. It took me a month to get what I wanted, though.

Quote from: Toogoofy317 on July 27, 2009, 02:37:40 PMIf your ankle doesn't bend at all when walking then I probably won't wear them.

They do.  Every quality boot with good lateral bracing has that bracing hinged, so your foot can bend in the way it has to for shifting, braking, etc.  It simply keeps it from bending in the way it shouldn't.  I've checked out a number of boots with that bracing, from my Supertechs to the Puma V1000s to the Dainese Torque line (formerly Axial Race) to the Sidi Vertigo Corsa and Vortice to the Daytona Security Evo, and they're all like that.  They're made for riding, and you have to be able to shift and move around on the bike if you're riding.

Quote from: Toogoofy317 on July 27, 2009, 02:37:40 PMBut, my orthopaedist said "if you had been wearing really thick ankle protection then your knee probably would have gone out"

I hope he was just trying to make you feel better once the damage was already done, because that's a vast chasm over which to leap to that conclusion.  Proper protection doesn't simply transmit force; it absorbs it.  That's why the bracings on these boots are made of plastic and not metal.

That's not to say that I leave my knees to chance; I wear knee braces that prevent the knee from bending the wrong way and protect against hyperextension.  I don't approach strengthening a weak point with "Well, protecting x will just make y more vulnerable, so I won't protect x;" I look for ways to protect y.  I've had some gnarly dirt crashes and decent pave crashes at the track since I got proper boots (first-gen Supertechs on the pave, Stingers (the Crossfires don't come in my size) in the dirt) and proper knee braces (EVS Vision), and haven't had an injury from any of them, despite the bike coming down on my leg at odd angles.

In general - and this is my soapbox - I don't like the habit of marketing gear for women that's less protective than the men's and comes in pretty colors.  To me, that's offensive, but as long as girls buy into it, the manufacturers will keep doing it.  I give Dainese high marks for making its women's 1pc leathers just as good as its men's; I give Racer high marks for making its women's High Ends just as good as its men's (bless them for fitting small hands with good gear).  I give Daytona low marks for making the copy on its women's-specific boots all about how poor short little women need high heels to ride, and then leaving the bracing of the Security Evo and even the lower-end Evo Sports out of them altogether.

Riding the bus is cheap and economical; riding a bicycle is cheap and economical.  Riding a moto isn't.  I did some serious penny-hoarding when I was a grad student to afford good gear.  That's the choice everyone has to make for him or herself, but I think it's good to have it be an informed choice.  And yes, as per Intergalactic - I look for good deals.  I paid retail for my Dainese leathers, but I found my Supertechs on closeout for much cheaper than MSRP. 

(FWIW, the build quality on the Alpinestars gear I've had - and the Supertechs are no exception - is low; fasteners, seams, and the like tend to come apart, and the boots just die.  Sidi makes boots that last over years and years; m'boy has had nothing but Sidi for a while now, and if you pro-rate $475 over all of the years the boots will hold together - well, they end up being less expensive in the long run than Alpinestars.  I so wish they'd make the Vortice in my size.  Sidi did made a woman's boot this year... out of the generation-down Vertigo non-Corsa, with no bracing.  But it's really cute-looking!)

For NH/MA lurkers out there. Nault's Suzuki in Manchester NH is getting rid of its Sidi Stock at 1/2 off. Only what is on hand. Which seems to be the B-2 model and a few others. Not nearly as good as A Vortice or Vertigo Corsa, but a B-2 for $110 and no tax isn't bad if that's what you decide is what you want.

I have alpinestars mens boots and yes i can agree with roadstergel that they aren't put together the best and i have actually had the stitching give way on the inside of my one boot after only 9 months of owning them but to give alpinestar some credit they did replace them free of charge without any hassle.  So now i have a brand new pair of boots from them.