This Alpinestars AMT 10-R DrystarXF® pants are aimed at the adventure touring and dual-sport crowd.
The AMT-10R DrystarXF® pants are part of Alpinestars’ Motion Technology line (Project 001, so more to come we hope!). The underlying principle of this line is printed on the mesh interior lining of these pants : “Created to be the ideal set of adaptable equipment to be used all day, in all sesasons, in all environments where the ride takes you.” Now that is a serious mission statement from a garment, and I will argue they have acheived their goals here as they did on the jacket.
The Alpinestars AMT-10R DrystarXF® uses a variety of technologies and materials to pull off modern styling and ultimate adapability and pair it with all day comfort. Let’s start with part of the name, DrystarXF®. This AMT-10R sees the DrystarXF® lining laminated to the outer shell in a 2L construction. In this case, there is the outer layer which is coated with a DWR (durable water repellant) that causes water to bead up and roll off. This limits the amount of water that can eventually penetrate this outer layer. The next layer is the Drystar® membrane itself. Drystar® is Alpinestars’ house developed waterproofing technology and it is waterproof and breathable. The breathability is important as this allows any sweat or moisture within the jacket to evaporate and keeps you from feeling clammy or like you are wearing a plastic bag. The AMT-10R uses the latest iteration of the Drystar membrane : DrystarXF®. XF stands for Extra FLow, meaning this is going to breath even better than standard Drystar membranes.
Now back to the outer shell. The knees have an additional layer of SuperFabric® overlay. SuperFabric® is a thin layer of hardened plates with tiny gaps between them. This allows the fabric to stay flexible while providing excellent abrasion and cut resistance. The SuperFabric® allows the designers at Alpinestars to use unique patterns with breaks and gaps that are appealing to the eye.
For protection Alpinestars provides Nucleon Flex Pro CE level 2 armor at the knees and Bio-Flex CE level 1 hip armor. This is their thinnest and most breathable and flexible armor for both applications. The pants have two large zippered waterproof hand/cargo pockets near the waist and two additional smaller waterproof pockets of the tops of the lower portion of these pockets. Just above the knee are two large zippered vent panels that can be unzipped and rolled up into the top portion of the pocket for air intake on the front of the pants. The rear of the knee has a Rideknit® panel for stretch and breathability. On the inner knee there are leather overlays for improved grip on the bike.
Moving down the leg ther are accordion panels near the cuff and a long zippered gaiter so you can easily get the pants over your riding boots. Back up at the waist there is more accordion panelling below the full length connection zipper so you get some flexibility around the waist when you move. The fly zipper has a waterproof gaiter behind it and there is a pull tab on the “buckle” that you can pull with one hand and it comes unhooked easily. And since it’s magnetic just get it close and it will line up and close on it’s own! Best of all it is firmly in place when you pull side to side despite this ease of function. When we get items like this that have reinvented something that has been around for thousands of years like a belt we always test them out. Alpinestars has done this many times this year, the “lacing” system of the Alpinestars Turnstone Boot is the first one that comes to mind but they’re innovating in some very interesting ways and it is nice to see that come to market. This belt closure is suprisingly simple and easy to use but holds up under pretty intense side to side force, with just a simple pull popping it open when you actually want it open.
Overall this Alpinestars AMT-10R DrystarXF® line of pants and jacket packs just about every material and feature Alpinestars has in their awesome bag of technology into one garment set. It will exceed just about any expectations you might have on road or trail in any weather. :: Mike, 12/21/2022
