AlpineStars Releases the SMX-6 V3 Boots!
The SMX-6 V3, as the name suggests is the third generation of the SMX-6 boot, and is a boot that features some track ready features while still maintaining a good level of off the bike comfort. Looking at the Alpinestars sport boot line you would see the Supertech at the top, their Moto GP level boot, then a step down would be the SMX Plus, and then sliding in right under the SMX Plus would be the SMX-6. In a nutshell each step up increases both cost and protection but at the cost of off the bike comfort. The SMX-6 line of boots would be perfect for someone looking for more protection than what is offered in a riding shoe but for someone who isn’t wanting to go full track spec where they are required to give up the off the bike comfort.
Alright lets take a look at options, there are quite a few versions and variations of this boot as well as multiple color options in each variation. Lets start with the ladies, Alpinestars has its Stella line that is specifically designed for women and there are three different versions, you have the regular Stella SMX-6 V3 Boots, then there is the Stella SMX-6 V3 Vented Boots, literally identical to the regular version with the exception of the added venting that is primarily from perforations in the leather and finally we have the Stella SMX-6 V3 Drystar Boot which is going to be the waterproof version. For colors the regular version comes in Black with white accents, and another version of black with white accents and just a touch of pink. For the vented version there is again a black version, and then this time a black and white version, and lastly for the drystar options are a black with silver accents or a black and white version.
Lets move on to the mens versions, again just like for the ladies you have a regular, a vented and a drystar, but what's interesting for the men is you also get a goretex waterproof version, so basically two different waterproof versions using different waterproof membrane brands. For colors in the regular you have black, black and white, black and red, black/white/red and black/silver/red. Moving to the vented version, options are black, white/black and black/silver/red. For the drystar there are two options a simple black, and a black and red option and for the goretex, there is only one option and that is a simple black but in this case the astars logo is a dark gray versus the white we normally see on their black boots.
On the left we have the V3 and on the right the V2, both in their vented versions,and right off the bat you will notice there are four main changes to the design, the first and most noticeable one which is down the bellows in the front here, as you can see the V2 has a large accordion, microfiber panel while the V3 switches to a much softer and lighter foam and tpr version instead, and looking at the design here its obvious that the V3 will flow more air vs the V2. This also continues on the rear as we have a similar panel here above the heel.
The next change to point out is the toe slider, clearly it looks different, but really the design change is just that, a design change, overall ability and functionality remains the same and in fact if you like the new look better but have the V2 boots you actually can use the new toe sliders with the older boot as the mounting system is exactly the same.
Moving on we go up to the shin protector, clearly a design change here, but the biggest change in functionality is this soft stretch material on top of the shin protector that is designed to sit up against your shin or racing suit which helps keep unwanted things out of your boots, this is a nice and welcomed addition as the V2s didn’t have it and previously you had to go all the way up to the supertech boots to get it, really nice to see features make their way down the lineup.
Alright so the last change here is going to be the ankle bracing, primarily it is a design change once again, but it does seem to me that Alpinestars focused on making it slimmer and smaller, and personally I appreciate that in a boot where the focus is still comfort in addition to protection, but with that said I would like to see Alpinestars and really all companies continue to innovate the protection side of things, so rather than making this piece smaller just to make it smaller I would have liked to see potentially this piece stay the same size but offer even more protection with evolving and improving safety tech.
Ok now that we have highlighted the main differences lets look at the V3 in detail, overall construction like its predecessors will continue to be synthetic leather and microfiber. And then looking at the boots from a protection standpoint you get the shin protectors that were mentioned earlier, a tpu reinforced toe box with the replaceable toe slider, a tpu reinforced heel cup, and an ankle bracing system. A thing to point out on the ankle bracing system is that it is only on the lateral side of the boot, this has been the case for all versions of the SMX-6 line and is really one of the things that separates it from the more track focused boots that will have the bracing system on both the medial and lateral sides. This obviously aids in flexibility and walking comfort but does come at some cost in protection.
From a stiffness standpoint I would say these boots are about a five out of ten, where your full on track boots are more of a nine or a ten, which again is the purpose of these boots, to give you more protection than a riding shoe, but without going all out like a full on racing boot making them much easier to live with day to day in normal off the track riding. One thing I will note about the exterior design that I don't like is the fact that I didn’t notice any reflective materials and I would have loved to have seen that as it just makes night time riding safer.
Alright, one last thing before we jump in to the inside, the sole, like any proper riding boots or shoes the sole is crush proof, obviously that is important in the case that your bike might fall on your foot in an accident, you don't want this sole compressing or crushing as your foot would then be paying the price. And then looking at the overall design of the sole you do get a good amount of grip and it looks like the design hasn’t changed from the previous version which is a good thing since it worked. There are two astars logos in the sole design as well, and as you can see you do also get a lifted heel which many riders find helps with grabbing your controls, especially on track.
Let’s make our way to the inside, primary entry and exit is via zipper and velcro, the velcro is very strong and stays in place, and then I do like that they have continued putting velcro on the zipper itself to keep it in place. One thing to note that is nice and it’s something that Alpinestars has been doing for years is that the zipper system is mounted via a stretch panel, this really helps getting in and out of the boot that much easier. Overall the interior is very well padded and comfortable, and if you open the boot all the way up you do get a little bit of a sneak peak at some of the ankle protection here in this green color.
One last thing to touch on with the interior is the CE ratings, as you can see printed here the SMX-6 V3 earned a 2 2 2 1 rating, meaning that it received the top rating of 2 in Height, Abrasion resistance, and Impact cut ratings but it only received a level 1 rating in Transverse Ridgidity which is disappointing because if you take a look at the label in the SMX-6 V2 boots you will notice that they have a 2 2 2 2 rating. Again this goes back to what I mentioned earlier where the ankle bracing was changed to be slimmer and sleeker and it seems that that change may have caused the reduction in rating.
A few last touches on the outside, on the vented version here you do get some additional perforations in the leather on both sides, these have been laser cut, they look really good, there is an Astars logo on the heel just under the ankle brace, there is a small one on the toe slider, another small one right on the achilles, a written out smx-6 here on the side and then obviously the large logo on the shin protector. On top of the velcro closure there is one last alpinestars protects logo and then when we make our way to the front of the boot, for symmetry you will notice that each boot has a shift protector and both feature one last small astars logo.
Alright before we wrap this thing up lets talk pricing and sizing. Sizing is European and ranges from a 36 up to a size 50, I typically wear a US size 12 and in most boots and shoes that translates to either a European 46 or 47, in the case of the SMX-6 V3 boots a size 46 fits me perfectly, yes the Alpinestars size chart say that a 46 is an 11.5 and a 47 is a 12 but in trying both on I am definitely a 46. This is not the first time that we have noticed slight differences in sizing in Alpinestars boots, as it was also the case with the V2. For more sizing information be sure to hit up Motorcyclegear.com
If you would like to know more about the AlpineStars SMX-6 V3 boots check out our video, or hit us up directly.