I have the tech 1kz alpinestars. And I love them. I have almost 3 seasons on them now. But I do have a new pair for this year
Hold up: they make leather driving glovesā¦
These would be nice for my commute. Totally unnecessary.
So far alpinestars line seems to be dominant in terms of respondents ownership.
I bought a couple pairs of minus gloves at United Kartkngs pro shop at the track. First time I saw actual gear I wanted to buy at a track. Mostly itās just T-shirts and stuff, so selling gloves might be profitable.
Gloves, balaclavas n boots. Maybe a small selection of suits, and helmets to order. And lots of Ts, there are so many cool and funny karting t shirts out there
How about Adidas kart boots? Anyone tried them? Their balaclavas are spot on but I donāt like their gloves, makes me wonder about their boots.
Not that this applies to you Dom, but for those of us with US size larger than a 12 there is only one option I have found. RaceQuip Euro Carbon-L. Available in sizes 1 to 20. They have many key characteristics. All leather upper, rubber sole, arch support and surprisingly comfortable with good pedal feel. I have been running mine for over 3 years and the only sign of wear is the the heel flap seam is coming loose, but that could be because I use shoe trees in them between uses which puts a little tension between the heel on toe so the leather does not get misshapen from my feet sweating.
The Zamp shoes I posted go up to size 15. Size 20 though, damn thatās a big mofo.
Second! Nothing more to discuss.
Iāve had alpine stars (but like 20 years ago), they lasted 5 or 6 years of near weekly racing. I then had MIR shoes that lasted about the same amount of time (the sole fell off eventually). My last racing season (2019) I basically used ASICS wrestling shoes and that was mostly because they just looked cool. They do have a very thin sole, feel wa great but didnāt have support to walk around the paddock.
In covid times I got some stand 21 boots on clearance because back when I was importing racewear stand21 where considered the gold standard for race boots. They are incredibly comfortable but being nomex Iām not sure how long they will last in a kart open to the elements.
I really like the look of zamps mostly because they look like the torq boots I designed but we couldnāt find a good manufacturer to do small quantity custom boots.
The zamps definitely look better.
After writing all that I realize I probably havenāt helped at all lol.
But it was fun reading.
Oddly those Zamp come only in full sizes.
I saw those a while back, but they were not offered in 15 at the time. Now it looks like they are available up to 15 in Black and Gray. Might have to pick up a set.
Skateboarder shoes. They last forever, these lasted 12 years, used 20-30 times per year. Retired them a few years ago. Tried racing shoes but they seem too soft in the sole, so I went back to skateboarder shoes plus they are cheap.
Vision street wear. Taking me back to the 80s, Larry!
i really like these ones they lasted me a year of heavy use pluse there comfortable
Those are nice looking.
After careful consideration @tjkoyen narrowly wins the shoe āinfluencerā award with the Freems. I ordered a pair.
Close second is @Rdub3 unusual Zamp shoe. Sadly, this shoe appears to not be offered in half-sizes so I was prudent and did not order.
@OldFartKarter gives me food for thought for my rental racing outfit and possible themes.
That being said, there are many non-karting shoes that work great:
Loafers, wrestling shoes, indoor soccer shoes, pumas line of ādrivingā casual shoes, etc.
I used wrestling shoes for a while too when I was younger. A nice pair of Adidas shoes I found on ebay for $15 lasted me a few seasons and came in colors you couldnāt get in racing shoes at the time. For the budget-conscious consumer, theyāre a great route.
In honor of @OldFartKarter deceased and unobtainable vision shoes, hereās a modern re-issue of sorts from DC shoes (Ken Blockās company that he sold).
And finallyā¦ @NikG theres a bit of a star wars vibe here: