Alpinestars Tech 8

Holy shit these boots are stiff. I have had them for a year. Wore them a few times on my YZ250, caused me to crash a few times. Used them for a 120 mile ride last weekend and they killed me. I can't up-shift at all, boot gets wedged between peg and shifter and there is no feel. Taking them off and on is a pain in the ass also. Today I rode in some hard-core hiking boots, 172 miles and they felt great. NO WHERE NEAR THE PROTECTION of the Tech 8, but I felt more in control of the bike and could feel what the tires were doing much better. Does anyone here ride with full MX boots? Thoughts? I have been thinking about a set of the Klim Adrenaline GTX Boot, anyone tried them? I like the protection of the Tech 8, but maybe its overkill for my riding?

I have an R6 track bike and I wear Alpinestars SMX-Plus boots on it, they feel and work great. The Tech 8 hurts my ankles too.

If I go off-road, I will surely wear a pair of MX boots... when riding around town, I wear touring boots

I have the No Fear Trophee boots for off-road, they are cheap and pretty flexible even when new, esp the ankle area, yet still have plenty side way protection

perhaps you should try to break in your boots first.... I heard some warm water can do the trick?

Go get them wet and muddy they will soften right up. I have a pair of Tech 7 and was having the same troubles now they are awesome

boogn1sh wrote:

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I have an R6 track bike and I wear Alpinestars SMX-Plus boots on it, they feel and work great. The Tech 8 hurts my ankles too.

Compared to a nice road boot like that, an MX boot will always feel bad and you'll feel like you have less control because you do. With a road or touring boot you can actually feel the shifter and have some idea where you're at with it. With the MX boot I find I just stomp down or pull up with my whole leg (to avoid getting the toe stuck) and hope for the best. Definitely no finesse shifting.

I where them of road or when I'm playing motard. I use touring boots for touring and commuting, and road boots (SMX+) when out and out road riding.

I wear Sidi Crossfires.
They have a little added flex in the ankle because they're hinged... but not much. They're still stiff.
All I had to do was move my shift lever up, and my brake lever down. No problems any more.

I got a pair of tech 3s with one season on them and everytime I ride I get them soaking wet (with hot water if possible) and they're softening up nicely. On days I've stayed around the house, Ive even soaked them in hot water and wore 'em around all day, got some funny looks from neighbors though.

I have Forma Raptors and they are real stiff. There seems to be more plastic than leather, so I think soaking them in hot water is only going to soften them up so much. I walk around in them like I shit my pants they are so stiff.

Just logged a ton of miles in the Tech8 this week and they are getting better everyday! The first ride was pure torture.
By the second ride they were working better. Then I adjusted my shift lever to better accommodate MX boots and that made a HUGE difference. The stock setting on my WR shift lever left no room for anything larger than a tennis shoe. I wore the Tech8 for 8 full hours on Wednesday and me feet felt great at the end of the day. The first time I wore them for more than an hour, I couldn't walk when I took them off. And the protection these things offer is amazing. I'm starting to like them as much as my Alpinestars SMX-Pro road racing boots ;-)

I have to agree, I am using the Tech 8's and you have to move the shifter up a notch or you miss shifts. Once that is done they seem great.

I have a pair of super stiff Fox F3 or F5 boots. I forget the model but have never liked them with this bike because of the problems others have stated. I recently got a pair of Alpinestars Tech 3s. I believe they are the all-terrain sole. I bought them very slighty used so they may be a couple models old. I love them. They are very soft and flexible compared to a higher line MX boot. I feel alot better than just wearing my Work-style boots and can shift and feel everything perfect. Granted they may not provide as much protection as higher level Alpinestars but if your not getting the "feeling" you want out of stiffer mx boots, These seem to be a good balance between feel and protection.

you mite wanna try some pivot pegs .... great for stiff mx boots... i had the same problem the with my tech 7's....

I have had a pair of tech 8's for 9 yrs. I wear them about 10 times a yr for mx. They were broke in after 1 or 2 rides and I love them. I can actually walk sorta normal in them I am so used to them. Plus I feel alot better protected and I even feel they give me more confidence when I ride.

I tried a couple of pairs of Alpinestar Tech 8 at the local Cycle Gear, both of them pressed a spot on top of my foot, so they were a no-go. I've been beating up my expensive Sidi On-Roads in the dirt, and they don't offer the support and protection I want for putting my foot down in the rocks. So I tried a bunch of MX boots at the store and bought Alpinestar Tech 3. Given the extreme stiffness, they're comfortable enough, but I have to learn to shift all over again.

I moved the shift lever up a couple of notches after some trial and error (at least 3 notches over stock since I'd adjusted it before). This helps. My shifting problem was that I was jamming the lever in the up position after a shift because the boot toe box is so tall, so I couldn't shift up again. 1st to 2nd was always fine, but the rest were iffy. I finally figured out that I had to point my toe down to let the lever "relax" so it can pick up the next shift pawl. Not being able to feel anything slowed my learning curve. Now I have to adjust the brake lever down because it's too easy to step on it hard.

After all that, I'm still going to get new footpegs to better accommodate my size 11s. I'm getting the Fastways because they have a down and back mounting option (about 3/4") that should give my boot the room it needs.

I have to say, as much as I want these boots, I'm not enjoying the new MX boot experience. Hopefully the boot break-in and control surface adjustments will compensate.

I have a pair of the Tech 3's and I do like them, but I have the same issues. I ended up buying Gaerne Balance Oiled Boots and they perfect for the kind of riding I do and this bike. I am saving the Tech 3's for the MX track. I think trail riding you really need a good feel on the brake and shift with ease, but need good protection, and I think these Gaerne's fit the bill. IMO

I've got a pair of Alpinestars Tech6's that I loathe to replace as we've been through a lot together. I wore them on the TAT last summer, worn them on the dual sport events this year, wear them any time I think I'm going to find myself some place off-road and technical. When they were new-to-me from eBay, they apparently only had a few rides on them and were stiff as hell, like walking in ski boots. After a few thousand miles of road, trail, and walking, I can happily walk/ride all day in them, hell I've even jogged around in them.

And I've crashed in them. More than I can remember. I've been pinned under the bike with them, got the boot caught between the peg and a stump, kicked big SURPRISE! branches that ripped my foot off the peg, got ran into another rider on a trail, and plenty of normal off-road shennanigan type crashes and I've been protected.

The key to breaking them in:
1) wear the boots. A lot. A lot a lot. Move your shifter up to accommodate and its gravy. You'll eventually learn to feel through them.

2) it helps to get them wet and wear them till they dry, and/or to apply snoseal to warm boots. Both soften and work the leather so its more supple.

3) wear the damn boots. They're heavy thick leather, you have to wear them to break them in.

boogn1sh wrote:

Holy shit these boots are stiff. I have had them for a year. Wore them a few times on my YZ250, caused me to crash a few times. Used them for a 120 mile ride last weekend and they killed me. I can't up-shift at all, boot gets wedged between peg and shifter and there is no feel. Taking them off and on is a pain in the ass also. Today I rode in some hard-core hiking boots, 172 miles and they felt great. NO WHERE NEAR THE PROTECTION of the Tech 8, but I felt more in control of the bike and could feel what the tires were doing much better. Does anyone here ride with full MX boots? Thoughts? I have been thinking about a set of the Klim Adrenaline GTX Boot, anyone tried them? I like the protection of the Tech 8, but maybe its overkill for my riding?

I have an R6 track bike and I wear Alpinestars SMX-Plus boots on it, they feel and work great. The Tech 8 hurts my ankles too.

boogn1sh,

Thanks for the frank review. I definitely don't want another pair of too stiff boots!

BigFeet
aka, Artoo

I wore my new Tech 3s as much as I could for a couple of weeks to get used to them and adjust my shift lever up before a big ride. Had the big ride last weekend, 9 hours of dual-sporting on Friday and another 9 hours of the same on the return trip the following day. I do believe the boots saved me from more serious injury in one incident. I was going along a rocky trail at about 5mph when my right foot contacted an immovable rock. That shoved my foot back hard into the passenger peg bracket before shifting the whole bike away from the rock. The back of my ankle, the Achilles’ tendon, got a good bruise. This is the softest part of the boot because it has to flex there for up-down toe movement. I'm sure my foot and ankle would have fared much worse had it not been encased in a relatively hard and stiff boot.

I'm glad it was my right foot and not the left since the left has to flex so much when riding. I wear a lot of protective apparel for riding in the dirt and am not going back to lesser boots.

Boondocker wrote:

I wore my new Tech 3s as much as I could for a couple of weeks to get used to them and adjust my shift lever up before a big ride. Had the big ride last weekend, 9 hours of dual-sporting on Friday and another 9 hours of the same on the return trip the following day. I do believe the boots saved me from more serious injury in one incident. I was going along a rocky trail at about 5mph when my right foot contacted an immovable rock. That shoved my foot back hard into the passenger peg bracket before shifting the whole bike away from the rock. The back of my ankle, the Achilles’ tendon, got a good bruise. This is the softest part of the boot because it has to flex there for up-down toe movement. I'm sure my foot and ankle would have fared much worse had it not been encased in a relatively hard and stiff boot.

I'm glad it was my right foot and not the left since the left has to flex so much when riding. I wear a lot of protective apparel for riding in the dirt and am not going back to lesser boots.

From the way you described that, I dont think my Gaerne Balance Oiled Boots would have done much for me .. I think I will make a shifter lever adjustment and start wearing in my Tech 3's!

Found this vid on youtube ..

I have had other DS riders imply that my Tech 8's are overkill. I disagree. I think a strong boot is only second to a decent helmet. I ride in my Tech 8's all day and I'll admit a lighter boot seems appealing on the surface. My size 13 boots weight more than 11 damn pounds and my hips remind me of that at the end of the day. Bottom line is that I feel very confident that whatever happens I am not coming home with a crushed ankle.

ekahwaty wrote:

I have had other DS riders imply that my Tech 8's are overkill. I disagree. I think a strong boot is only second to a decent helmet. I ride in my Tech 8's all day and I'll admit a lighter boot seems appealing on the surface. My size 13 boots weight more than 11 damn pounds and my hips remind me of that at the end of the day. Bottom line is that I feel very confident that whatever happens I am not coming home with a crushed ankle.

tech 8's are a bit overkill, i mean its your choice, but tech 8's are designed for extreme riding, i've had some really bad wrecks with my tech 6's and never had a problem, and they give you some feeling where as the 8's almost completely immobilize your ankle.

However always wear what makes you comfortable, well safety wise that is.