Alpinestars Supertech M10 Helmet Review
A MOTOCROSS HELMET FOR ADVENTURE RIDERS?
Helmet choice for motorcyclists is a very complicated decision. With quite so many brands, styles and designs available, not to mention price ranges that go from £50 to well over £500, picking the right helmet is not an easy task.
But for the combination of safety, style and value for money, the Alpinestars Supertech M10 helmet is right up there among the best that we’ve ever worn or tested. Lightweight, well designed and packed with the latest technology to keep your head safe, Alpinestars M10 is everything you’d want in a premium helmet – great for off-road and pretty damn impressive for adventure and even road riding.
BACK STORY
The M10 took over five years to develop, eventually being unveiled at the opening Supercross event of the 2018 season – known to most as Anaheim 1.
The brief for the designers had been to produce the most protective, most comfortable and lightest possible motocross helmet, and having used this helmet for over two years on everything from week long trail rides to fast and furious adventure riding and cross country rides on the blacktop, we reckon that they got it pretty damn right first time. As a first entry into a highly competitive market, Alpinestars have come in strong.
Add in the fact it looks as cool as an ice cream sandwich on an iceberg, you might be getting the impression that we like the M10 quite a lot.
FEATURE PACKED
The Supertech M10 is bristling with features to live up to it’s billing as the best possible off-road helmet, and draws on Alpinestars long experience and reputation in racing, from MotoGP to MXGP and Supercross, rallying to enduro. Sponsoring and providing kit to the best riders from Marc Marquez to Jett Lawrence, Alpinestars equipment is never going to disappoint
TOUGH SHELL
The Supertech M10 shell is made of three different layers to give the best possible strength and protection. There’s a 3k high density carbon fibre outer layer, then a uni-directional carbon composite later and finally the inner layer of aramid – that’s the stuff that they make bulletproof vests from.
The outer two layers combine to give the best energy dissipation and allow radial strength to restrict compression yet allowing controlled deflection, with the aramid layer providing protection from penetration. All three layers are bonded together with an epoxy resin which help spread the effect of any impact over a wide surface area and be better absorbed by the inner liner.
The chin piece doesn’t go overlooked, with a polypropylene construction that allows a certain amount of deflection in a crash and allowing better protection to your collar bones in that situation. For the same reason, the lower profile of the shell is deliberately raised over the collarbone area, with a flexible rubber energy absorption pad on the lower surface just in case you still manage to hit your collarbone with the helmet. Having crashed pretty heavily in this very helmet, we’re happy to report that all collarbones remained intact.
The shells come in four different sizes – Small, Medium, Large and Extra-Large, ensuring riders get the correct fit and hence the best protection.
INNER CIRCLE
Below the shell, the Supertech M10 has an inner liner made from multi density EPS polymer, with four section construction, with different densities used in the different areas of the helmet to offer the best safety and fit. The MIPS ( Multi-directional Impact System) technology within the inner liner reduces rotational motion injuries and gyrational forces being transmitted to the brain, allowing the impact of a crash to be absorbed and redirecting the energy.
On a slightly less important level, the EPS liner has channels within the chin piece that allow the positioning of a drinks tube, or alternatively a microphone for communication systems. If you are using the latter, positioning on the left of the helmet, with convenient channels for the associated wiring, and purpose made cut outs for the speakers on either side. We’re using a Cardo system and it fits perfectly.
Beyond this is a removable and washable inner cover, made from a Coolmax fabric with anti-bacterial yarn which keeps things nice and fresh and means that if you do get particularly hot on your ride, the inner cover dries out pretty quickly when you take a break.
Another cool and revolutionary feature on the inner liner cover is the adjustable pad on the top that allows the helmet to be adjusted to sit higher or lower on the head, which and can also alter the angle of the helmet. This is particularly useful for off-road riders who send a lot of time standing, so you can adjust the fit to make the angle and hence your field of view better.
On either side of the helmet there are washable removable cheek pads, with 5mm thicker ones available to improve the fit if you have a slightly slimmer face. Whichever pads you chose, these are quickly removable in an accident, with an ‘eject’ mode which allows emergency removal of the helmet without putting load on the spine. It may be a grim thought, but it’s a great feature to know is there
VENTILATION NATION
So one of the key features we particularly like on the M10 is the amount of air flow through the helmet. Now this might not necessarily be a priority on a wet Sunday in the Welsh Valleys but bashing through the jungles in Cambodia or Vietnam on one of Ride Expeditions epic adventures, you need all the air you can get.
With the visor an integral part of the plan, it channels air into the four vents under the visor and the two on the sides of the helmet, the air passing through the liner and directly on to the top of your head, before passing out of the five rear ‘exhaust’ vents on the back of the helmet and a further three at the very base of the shell. While this is great for air, one downside we have found it that it’s also pretty good for dust and if you are not using a helmet liner or skull cap, your head and the inside of the helmet can get quite dusty.
One definite advantage of motocross style helmets over adventure and road helmets in hot or difficult conditions is the amount of space between you mouth and the chin piece. When you are short of air or the air that is there is running at 35 degrees, it’s much more comfortable to have a good space in front of you mouth and the M10 has plenty. This not only makes it easier to breath, it means that if you are riding with a camel back – a must for hot conditions – you can easily get the drink tube to you mouth and once finished, it will fall away without getting stuck. We like this a lot.
VISOR TIME
So you wouldn’t think there could be that much to say about the visor – or peak as we Brits would have it, but the Supertech M10 even has the latest tech here too. Featuring hidden attachments on the side of the helmet to avoid any catch points or fiddly fasteners, the high-set visor is held securely enough to stay solidly attached in the most challenging riding and at high speed on the tarmac. But in the event of a crash, the M10s visor is designed to detach on impact, whatever the angle, to avoid any potential twisting or leverage affecting your neck and spine. OK you might look like Billy Bullethead after, but that’s a small price to pay for walking away with nothing more than bruised pride.
BUCKLE UP
While most helmets use the ratchet system for swift attachment and removal, as the Supertech is essentially designed as a competition helmet, it uses a Double D attachment system. While a tad more fiddly to use, this tends to be the only attachment allowed in racing, and in fairness, if the one we actually prefer for it’s adjustability and security on a ride, There are soft, removable and washable Coolmax material liners on the straps and a popper to keep the end tab from flapping about.
TIP THE SCALES
So the Supertech M10 comes in at 1260grams or 2.78 lbs for a medium. To be honest we might have expected it to be slightly less than this, as once on your head it feels substantially lighter, but that’s down to good design. It’s still lighter than most adventure helmets, and vastly lighter than any flip front helmet.
And to protect your investment, the M10 comes with it’s own carry bag – nice!
ON THE ROAD
Ok so it might seem odd to be assessing the on road capabilities of what is essentially a motocross helmet, but we feel the Supertech M10 is quite so good that Adventure riders are going to lie it just as much as we do. On the road, the light weight and great fit makes it one of the first helmets on the shelf we reach for on a sunny day. OK so if we are looking to go high speeds on the motorway, it’s a poor choice on a sports bike, but for anything with a tall screen the M10 is surprisingly good at a decent pace, the visor not catching too much wind.
Around town and for those twisty backroads, the wide field of view and open front make the M10 perfect, and the added bonus of looking super cool cannot be overlooked …
OK so here’s the downside. As a motocross helmet, there is no actual visor to look through ( as opposed to what the Americans call the visor but we know is the peak!) so the Supertech M10 has to be used with safety glasses, sunglasses or goggles. As a personal preference, we’re happy with that as we much prefer the protection and feel of goggles, but on a rainy day, this becomes less than ideal as rain runs off your nose and onto your lap!
ON THE TRAIL
Once you leave the tarmac behind and get on the pegs, the Supertech and all it’s design features comes together to be a thoroughly excellent helmet. With a large goggle aperture it will accommodate the largest of MX style goggles, with the space comfortably filled and – if thanks to the nose guard on top of the front shell, you whole face protected. The generous space between you mouth and the chin piece means your breathing doesn’t feel restricted even on the most challenging of sections, and the lightweight mean that the M10 is all day comfortable.
As mentioned, we’ve been using the M10 with a Cardo system, not so much for communication but more playing music as we ride the trails. With some classic 90s Hip Hop on the playlist, the Supertech ticks all our boxes and more!
VERDICT
APPEARANCE
DURABILITY
With 11 colourways to chose from, the Supertech M10 looks killer whichever you chose but for us the matt black Carbon is the coolest. Love it.
So we are a bit averse to assessing the longevity of helmets as they need to be replaced regularly, but the M10 is well made and is lasting well
COMFORT
VALUE
A full set of marks here again as the Supertech M10 is comfortable from the get-go. You can wear this all day long and it’s as good at sunrise as it is at sunset. One caveat, try before you buy because a good fit is important!
We think the M10 is good value for money for the tech and safety, and having been out a few years, there are deals out there so you can get all this for around £350. OK its not cheap, but you can’t get another head ..,.
RIDE EXPEDITIONS RATING
As a first entry into the motocross helmet sector, the Supertech M10 is a seriously impressive debut. Packed with tech that makes it one of the safest helmets you can buy for on or off road, the Alpinestars helmet is a great option and one that’s worth checking out for your next helmet purchase. Recommended