Alpinestars SMX-4 Stella Resole

Ok, let's start this review off with a few truths. I'm a 100% nobody. I don't ride for a factory. I'm not paid to test out anything. I'm not a professional blogger. I don't receive a single cent from anyone in the motorcycle industry for any opinion I have. Yep, I'm a certified nobody.

As a motorcyclist, I own a few motorcycles that I ride pretty much all the time.

As a person, I've got no mojo that any guy (or girl) would give me free stuff because they want to get into my pants.

I'm just a plain person.

Which brings me to the review you are reading. I bought a pair of SMX-4 Stella boots (size 43 / US woman 11) about a year ago. I say "about" because I know I am lying. My purchase was probably a little longer than a year ago; more like two. At any rate, somehow, the left boot, under the ball of my foot, developed a depression that worked it's way into a full blown hole in the sole. The hole could have been the result of too soft sole material, or a too aggressive foot peg on my 2008 Kawasaki ZX10R. Kawasaki made a very pointed tip to the foot peg, and since I ride on the balls of my feet, it was inevitable/probable that I would/could wear a hole prematurely in the boot. Alpinestars could reasonably laugh at whatever claim I might make about their boots. If I walked into a retail store, I know I would be laughed at. My only hope was to talk to Alpinestars directly. I was prepared for total rejection.

However, before I risked the laugh on the phone or polite rejection via email, I went and looked at other manufacturers. Maybe other boots were tougher than Alpinestars and I should try another brand. I looked at Sidi and a few others. I tried on other boots. With each new boot I tried on, I kept coming back to the SMX-4s. The Alpinestars SMX-5s were nice, new, and several hundred dollars. Again, I'm a nobody, so buying boots is not something I can do when just my sole needs repair to an otherwise perfect boot. Besides, the SMX-4s had worn into a perfectly comfortable boot that could take me from a track day to sport touring and I was not looking forward to starting the process of a new boot and break in period.

Somewhere on the net, I had heard that Alpinestars had a resoling service. As a nobody, I figured that I would probably have to pay for the service in some capacity. I was prepared for a price point of around $50 - 100. In the back of my mind though, I wondered if the folks at Alpinestars had made the original soles too soft, and that maybe, I could get a deal on the resole service. Of course, if I was a somebody, I had no doubt that Alpinestars would take care of me.

I expected rejection, but I sent the following email anyway to the folks at Alpinestars. I went for honest - without too much detail.

"Hi,
I have a pair of Alpinestars SMX4 boots.
Lady’s size 11. I have worn a hole in the sole of the boot.
I was wondering if there is a service where I can get the boots re-soled?
Thanks
."

I got the following email back from the folks at Alpinestars within days. Looking at the email headers, my email was forwarded from a Ryan Mizushima to Brett Neal.

"Hello Lauren,
Thank you for your email and I am sorry to hear you are experiencing problems with your boots.
Please contact us at the Alpinestars USA office at the number below.
Ask for product support and we will issue you a return authorization number to send them in to
remedy the problem you are experiencing in a timely manner.
Kind regards,

Brett Neal
Product Suppor
t"

I did a double take. Was I being taken care of? I was not being rejected? Alpinestars was going to resole my boots?!?!

Surely there had to be a catch. I was getting ready to make a deal with whomever I would talk to. If the price was too much for the resole service, then I might ask for a "pro -deal" on a pair of SMX-5s. Maybe they would send my boots off-shore to get repaired? I called up Brett with the number he provided. I got to a receptionist, and she connected me to the number/extension. I was talking to Brett in less than 30 seconds!!!!!

I'm a nobody remember?

Brett was professional, and he asked how long I had the boots. I said "About a year...or so". Brett laughed and said no problem, he'd go ahead and accept the boots for resoling - at NO CHARGE.

Within the hour, my boots were on their way to California.

Almost a month to the day, I got my boots back.

Results

I can't believe how well done the resole went! The boots look new again! They cleaned them up a bit and put new toe sliders on. The new soles are perfect!

In the image below, you can see my RA number with my name and when the boots were received. When I called Brett about my boots, he was able to quickly look up the RA number and tell me when UPS would deliver my boots.

In the image below, you can see that the resole used the correct size sole, and there are no gaps along the toe box. Everything is glued back together in an OEM fashion.

In the image below, the sole seems to be a bit harder than the original sole. It could be that they are so new.

In the image below, once again, you can see that an OEM sole was used as it follows the boot's contour perfectly. Alpinestars is definitely using their own products to fix their boots.

In the image below, the gluing and contour show craft-person-ship

Very nice!

My new toe sliders!

Conclusion


Lauren 9/7/2010