Hello! I’m RyanF9 and this is a riding shoe. Some see it as a convenient crossover piece, others as a stupid, squid-ish safety hazard. Time to find out who’s right.
The test subject of today’s Crash Test is an Alpinestars FastLane . If you’re old enough to watch this video, you’re old enough to remember when it first hit our markets in 2011. The shoe cost 150 dollars back then.
And it still does! Alpinestars threw in more ankle armour and started calling it the Faster 2 at some point, but in essence they’re still making the same boot. With the same … ambiguous relation to motorcycle safety.
Our first test is waterproofing, and I think the FastLane will do better than expected. It’s made from synthetic microfiber that’s supposed to be more water resistant than leather.
Test Fail
Next we have sole traction, which should be interesting. The FastLane has Alpinestars’ laser-ablated grip, which basically means they burned a micro-rough surface onto the sole with a laser . It’s some doctor evil shit … supposed to be brilliant on oily surfaces.
So let’s put that claim to the test. It takes me about 10s to run the SeaWorld sprint on regular ground. Anything under 15s on our cooking-spray-course is considering good sole traction.
So , 13.5 is a new lap record here in the Crash Test lab. Looks like the FastLane does indeed have good sole traction for putting a foot down on oily asphalt.
But , what if you step on a nail? Or even worse, what if someone shoots you in the bottom of the foot with a pointed penetrating pellet moving at 500fps? That’s a serious concern.
Shot number one!
Well , straight through in one shot. It’s a shame Alpinestars ended the steel shank at the mid foot, because that left the rest of the sole defenseless. Next we’re going to test the puncture strength of the upper – looks like carbon fibre, probably won’t protect like it.
Ah yeah , straight through in one shot again. We also saw this with the Sidi Vortice – microfiber just doesn’t resist punctures that well. By comparison, leather typically survives two shots or more.
So , a failing grade for both puncture tests brings us to abrasion resistance . We have a 40-grit belt sander spinning at 19km/h to approximate a decent slide on the pavement.
Wow, so a 1m32 seconds to go through this boot. Its actually really impressive. I always presumed that the toe slider on here was just for show but it never kicked the bucket on me. Â Ended going through all this technical fabric and into the boot that way. Even still the microfiber has very good abrasive resistance.
Now , Golf Town is my favourite spot in the FortNine lab because it’s where I get to test impact protection. On our end we have a sandbag foot and 100g stickers. And on Alpinestars’ side, they’ve got a heel counter, toe box and dual-density ankle protectors. That basically means they’re foamy on the inside, and hard on the outside. Not sure how the ankles will do, I reckon the heel is solid enough to stand a chance, and as for the toe box – I mean what is it made from Alpinestars? Play-dough? Cotton candy? I can hardly tell there’s a toe box in here at all.
So that’s the toe, the heel, and the ankle. More than 100gs and less than satisfactory on all three counts.
Now , last time one of you commented that we should test crush strength. That’s the type of forward thinking we like to hear at FortNine, so here we go… (turning ignition).
Unsurprisingly, the Alpinestars FastLane has absolutely no crush strength whatsoever. To be honest this is the first time we’ve run this test so I have no reference point to hide behind… but I’m still gonna call that a failing grade.
Which is a sad note to return to our whiteboard on… because the rest of our tests haven’t gone well either. Only the two p assing grade so far, meaning the FastLane will be our new lowest score unless it manages to ace both of the final two tests. I hope it’s heat resistant…
And microfiber usually is, as a matter of fact. We saw during the Vortice Crash Test that it resisted my torch about as well as leather. And it looks like we have the same effect here. No burning, no crackling, no outright inflaming... looks pretty good! The toe slider which is TPR makes a pretty color. Let's try this sole slider which is TPU...oh melty! Might burn by itself... yup here we go! Let's try some of these reflective eyelets...nothing crazy going here. The microfiber...about the exact same as the faux leather version. The rubber survived Alpinestars laser so it has no problem surviving my torch. The mesh and foamy liner is always not too shabby.
So , the FastLane was fairly heat resistant – well done (check) – which means we’ve come to FortNine’s ninth test, build quality, where we ask the question what still works .
The short answer here is: everything. I mean this is still a boot and everything is functioning the way that it should aside from little part that fell off during the abrasion test. Double stitching so the panels held together fine, even when I ran it over with the company car, sorry boss.
Overall, I’d say that’s pretty impressive build quality – nice work Alpinestars FastLane – you’ve earned your third passing grade .
So the FastLane earned its Fourth checkmark which also means you’ve narrowly avoided the bottom of our leaderboard. Four FortNine emblems isn't enough to lord over much but at least it's enough to brag over the Biltwell Gringo .
Next week we have an ADV helmet showdown. It’s the 400-dollar Icon Variant versus the 800-dollar Shoei Hornet X2. I can’t wait to crash test these lids, partially because it’s America vs. Japan, partially because it’s DOT vs. Snell, and partially because I’ve been riding in an Icon Variant for the last two years. Consider subscribing if you don’t want to miss next week’s test, and until then, take care!