ALPINESTARS

What began in 1963 as an Italian-based company that produced safety gear for the motocross crowd, has become the leading brand name in apparel that has graced and protected the bodies of some of the sport's biggest contenders.

Casey Stoner, Tony Elias, Ben Spies and Mat Mladin, winner of a record breaking 60 AMA Superbike Nationals and six AMA SuperBike Championships, all wear Alpinestars' gear.

To say that Alpinestars' clothing is the choice of champions is to put it mildly. With laboratories out in L.A. and their headquarters still based in Northern Italy, Gabriele Mazzarolo has taken his father, Sante Mazzarolo's, vision and created comfortable, durable and iconic items for both the hard-core biker and the weekend warrior.

One of the more popular products that Alpinestars creates is the Tech 8 series boot. The boots have a quick break-in period, a patented ankle bracelet for extra support to give you a snug, yet not encumbered feeling, and have an easy buckling system so you're spending more time wearing the boots on the ride than fiddling to get the boots on. And the important thing: The Tech 8 boots keep the elements out.

And if you're looking for hand safety the GP Tech gloves are designed with injected molded thermoplastic that gives superior impact and abrasion resistance. You can find this also in the wrist gauntlet of the gloves instead of leather, which gives the wrist an added layer of protection, and the third and fourth fingers are connected to prevent finger roll so if you take a tumble your fingers will stay nice and unbroken.

It's those extra little features built in to their products that make so many top MotoGP and WSB riders choose Alpinestar as their professional gear of choice. So if the champions use Alpinestar to save their bones and keep themselves comfortable on the track, why shouldn't you.