Leather or fabric???

[Cougar]

About 4 or 5 years ago, I asked Freebird what kind of chaps he had

and he gave me a brand name and I ordered them. (I forgot what the brand was)

Anyways , they have been the BEST pair I have ever owned. You can also take out the lining for warmer

weather as well. they are not leather. not sure if he still uses them or not anymore.

Jeff

[painterman67]

guess Im the od ball here. I ride with heavy leathers in the winter. Sring and fall I use lined denim. ANd in the summer I wear mesh gear. Kinda think its all in what you fill comfortable with.

 

 

Each set of gear has its on pluses and minuses. For me its what I am mentally prepared to set myself up for. In my opinion you cant beat good leather for protection from road rash, but textile also offers armer.

 

Guess my thoughts on leather are a litle bias though . After a wreck at 65 mph when a lady pulled out in front of me and I laid the bike down. Walked away without a scratch. Bruised up a bit but no road rash. I was weraing full leather racing suit with armor. (YOunger and riding a crotch rocket back then.) I ruined the suit but it did what it was supposed to do.

 

 

 

david

[frogmaster]

You can get poor quality in both leather and textile that will allow you to walk or stretcher away without road rash and both will need replacing.... but it did it's job.

 

The quality of Leather or Textile and the severity of the slide are directly proportional to the protective value and follow on leather refinishing or textile replacement costs.

 

In most cases good quality leather can survive several skids and be buffed out and re-died and look almost new again. With Textile it is never going to look new and will need replacement.

 

6 of 1 or half a dozen of the other.

 

3 cents

Edited March 14, 2010 by frogmaster

[OutlawRider]

With all the info I have collected here. Gives me the feeling that they both will fear well if needed. None of us want to go down, but if it happens we want the least amount of body damage on us and our loved ones. Even if we have to replace the garmet. It has done it's jop,like mentioned before. Thanks for all the info.

[Bummer]

... In my opinion only, QUALITY leather gear offers better protection. I just don't think that any of the Kevlar or other choices offer as much abrasion resistance. ...

The guy who came up with Draggin Jeans has a video of himself being dragged quite a distance on a part of his anatomy that chaps don't cover. The kevlar handled it quite well. Of course leather might have too, had there been any there in the first place.

 

The point I'd actually like to make, though, is: What ever it is, it won't do you any good at all if it's in the trunk (or trailer).

 

I wear my kevlar lined jeans every ride. Period. That covers my butt, thighs, and knees. Always. They're no where near as hot as leather, and ya' gotta wear some kind of pants. Might as well be kevlar lined.

 

I have a leather jacket for when it's not hot, but when it's in the 90s and above I wear my kevlar shirt. Period. If it's t-shirt weather, it's Draggin shirt weather.

 

Just some thoughts.

[LilBeaver]

In my opinion it is worth the time to go physically try some on (with and without liners - since that is how you are going to be wearing them) since everyone's body is different and people are comfortable in different things. I will not mention which ones but there were one or two that I thought were quite comfortable with the liner in but couldn't stand with the liner out or vise versa. My g/f found a different selection of jackets comfortable with or without the liners but not both. That is, until we tried on the ones we wound up getting. After sliding those puppies on, there was just no comparison

 

So, you have lots of great choices out there and lots of good input from people here too.

 

have fun and good luck with your search! :mo money:

 

 

...

 

The point I'd actually like to make, though, is: What ever it is, it won't do you any good at all if it's in the trunk (or trailer)...

 

:sign yeah that:

 

...

ya' gotta wear some kind of pants...

 

...

 

Unless you are one of these guys, and you can play Piano :yikes::

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=45780

Edited March 15, 2010 by LilBeaver
Removed "Point being" from initial paragraph. My initial post comprised of a preceeding paragraph that I removed before posti

[Guest seuadr]

one thing i would highly recommend be it leather or textile is if you can, wear it with armour pads. CE rated armour pads. these pads are rated to absorb a specific amount of the force of impact to your organs. as we all know, organs are good, and we should keep them in working order.

 

just something to chew on

[RedRider]

1) Textile vs. Leather - Textile for me. I have worn a First Gear Killiminjaro jacket in:

a) Dry weather (all work well)

b) Wet - Summer storm on the coast of SC near Savannah. A real goose drowner. Kept me dry on the inside and all my stuff in pockets dry.

c) Hot - 100+ degrees running from Macon to Atlanta. High humidity also. While I wasn't overly cool, it was certainly bearable.

d) Cold - been snowed on in the Smoky Mtns and took it to the top of Mt. Washington. Always warm (although sometimes you need to add the liner).

 

If you want to have just one outfit for all riding, textile is the choice.

 

2) If you chose textile - get it from newenough.com. They are a sponsor of this website family and are the best internet vendor I have ever worked with. Check their closeouts. You can get some really amazing deals - although the color may be odd.

 

RR

[Bummer]

...Unless you are one of these guys, and you can play Piano :yikes::

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=45780

I was sitting here, watching that clip, wondering what in the world the point - Aaahhhhhh!!! My eyes!!!

 

indeed.

 

I'm more certain than ever. Gotta wear pants!

[OldBear]

Just a thought to remember. Leather probably IS the best, as evidenced by what the boys are wearing when roadracing (ie, full leather RACING suit). I've seen a lot of them get off at pretty high speeds and walk away from it. With that said, I have never had any leather that was comfortable in HOT weather, and if you aren't wearing it, it isn't doing you any good. The best gear in the world is worthless unless it is on YOU all the time.

 

I looked around a lot before buying and felt that the Olympia gear was the best quality/vs price. Around here anyway the only place you can find it is at the BMW shops (Nashville and Louisville) and it compares pretty well with the high buck stuff with the BMW brand.

 

I'd encourage you to get the best gear you can afford and WEAR it all the time. ATGATT. Some of the newer stuff gives you some decent protection, with CE pads, and is still cool enough to be tolerable in HOT weather. Since you never now when you'll need it, can you really ever "safely" ride without it? And, if it's too Hot to wear, you won't!

[hunter 1500]

All I have to say is racers wear leather for a reason.

[Guest seuadr]

All I have to say is racers wear leather for a reason.

 

i can't see why.. seems that 1000 coudra, air mesh kevlar, and strech blend kevlar all three have more abrasion resistance, for longer. these are CE ratings, not some manufacturer's numbers, either. i don't know if you are familar with CE ratings, but they are ratings done by independant research orginizations for insurance and safety regulations and standards much like UL ratings for electricical components.

 

Tear and Abrasion Strength by the Numbers

 

 

 

Denier Measurement

 

 

Material

 

 

Pounds of Force Until Tear

 

 

Abrasion Cycles Until Failure

 

 

 

Cotton Jeans

 

 

4.5

 

 

50

 

 

70

 

 

Standard Nylon

 

 

4.5

 

 

165

 

 

500

 

 

Polyester

 

 

8

 

 

180

 

 

200

 

 

Standard Nylon

 

 

7.5

 

 

275

 

 

500

 

 

Cordura

 

 

22

 

 

710

 

 

620

 

 

Cordura

 

 

35

 

 

1200

 

 

 

"Safe-Seam" Leather

 

 

80 - 100

 

 

1200 - 1700

 

 

1000

 

 

Cordura

 

 

110

 

 

1780

 

 

 

Air Mesh Kevlar

 

 

1260

 

 

970

 

 

 

Stretch Kevlar Blend

 

 

420

 

 

1800

[Mel]

Check out my edit on the original thread.

 

Mel:Venture:

[Squeeze]

All I have to say is racers wear leather for a reason.

 

Thanks and I'll second that, those CE Ratings don't mean too much when it comes to real Life. I don't say Plastic is not OK, but a good fitting and padded Leather with Stretch Zones is much better than a Mesh or Cordura Fabric. Now, Kevlar is another Story, but be assured if Kevlar would be the Best Choice for the Racers, they would wear it instead fof Leather.

[Guest seuadr]

Thanks and I'll second that, those CE Ratings don't mean too much when it comes to real Life. I don't say Plastic is not OK, but a good fitting and padded Leather with Stretch Zones is much better than a Mesh or Cordura Fabric. Now, Kevlar is another Story, but be assured if Kevlar would be the Best Choice for the Racers, they would wear it instead fof Leather.

i've been researching this on and off for a couple years now, the only thing that i can find at all that suggests as to why racers wear leather is because leather doesn't retain heat from abrasion in a slide the way that kevlar/cordura does. I suppose there is concern that on a long slide there could be some burning?

[Squeeze]

Just do a little home made test ....

 

 

Put some Plastic in an old Pot and start to melt it, if it's somewhat liquid, stick one Finger in it and pull it out immediately. Let it cool and then try to get rid of it ...

 

:080402gudl_prv:

 

 

Honestly, Fabrics are Ok, i often wear only Jeans, Mesh Jacket or Fabric/Leather Gloves myself, but if it comes down too long and decellerating Slide, you could have to have to some Pieces of Plastic grow out of your Skin.

[hig4s]

I haven't bought the pants yet, I have the Tourmaster Intake Air II jacket and love it!

It has two zip out liners; one for rain protection and one insulated one. It can be worn with either, both or none. IMHO in the Mississippi summer wearing it, with both liners out, is cooler than just a tee shirt. To me it is good in cooler temps down to 45F.

 

That is what I have, and I agree, but I have the blue/black to match my bike..

I also have the Tourmaster Venture mesh pants, I wear on long trips, they are the same with double liners..

 

they are not always the most convenient when doing day or short trips, so I also have pair of leather chaps for over my jeans, and normal rain pants. Depends on how far the ride and what I plan to do when I get there as to what I carry.

[Bummer]

So just how far are you guys planning on sliding? [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUKzAORD35I&feature=player_embedded]YouTube- Draggin' Jeans Test Video[/ame]

[Guest seuadr]

Put some Plastic in an old Pot and start to melt it, if it's somewhat liquid, stick one Finger in it and pull it out immediately. Let it cool and then try to get rid of it ...

Kevlar® is a special way of weaving a liquid into a solid. This is called an aramid weave. Aramid fibers tend to be difficult to corrode, resistant to heat, and have no melting point.

 

Tests show it can deflect large materials at speeds of up to 250 mph (402.32 kph).

[Squeeze]

Hey, i just tried to ... :crackup:

 

 

 

 

Seriously, Kevlar is another Thing than Plastic(Cordura).

[Godlover]

I just got a First Gear Killiminjaro tan jacket and it came yesterday just in time for my ride. I like the comfort and warmth on a cooler day. It matches my 2000 MM as well. Only problem I had was I left the receipt on the kitchen counter top and my wife found it - for some reason it slipped my mind to tell her I ordered it! Got it from New Enough - arrived in 2 days - and it was 1/2 price!