Going Down in Leather or Textile?

[pvo22]

I've been doing a lot of research in regards to what gear would be better to get. I've come to the conclusion that leather is the best choice and some textiles hold up well while others don't. I've also read a lot of posts on here as to how happy people are with their gear but they haven't actually crashed in it. This really doesn't help me choose gear because I can only speculate how well that gear will hold up in a crash. I would find it beneficial if you could please tell me what you were wearing when you went down and what kind of damage was caused (to you and the gear).

As of now I'm considering going with a leather or hybrid jacket and hybrid pants. If I find out that textiles hold up as well as leather I'll probably go that route as I'm a little concerned that a leather jacket and pants will be rather warm for summer riding. Am I right in thinking this? Any advice or tips in getting the right stuff would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

If this question has already been asked in another thread could someone please direct me there as I must have missed it when I was searching.

[jonnythan]

You know, it occurs to me that I have never heard of someone going down in an actual motorcycle jacket, whether leather, textile, or mesh, and getting major road rash because the jacket failed to protect them well enough from abrasion.

Armor is a slightly different matter, but you can get quality armor in leather, textile, or mesh.

[Gunslinger]

Although I've never crashed I can tell you that leather will hold up better than textile, no question. It is just the nature of the material. If you want the best level of abrasion resistance you will have to sacrifice some level of comfort for an added layer of safety. I wear leather in the fall/winter and textile in the summer. It can get over 110 in the shade here during the summer months and with a leather jacket you would be makin' bacon for sure.

[Thumper]

I locked up my front brake and had a meeting of the pavement with my body; I was wearing a leather jacket and textile pants, and the amount of road rash I had on my elbow and on my knee was pretty much the same--and not much at all. It was more like a little skin rubbed off by fabric.

At a higher speed I'm pretty sure the textile would give out before the leather, but it worked well enough that I'm not worried about wearing a combo textile/mesh jacket for summer riding.

[Nick Pimpin]

My speculation is that leather would be "better" than textile. My basis for this assumption is Scorpion's website (scorpionusa.com) uses this "abradium abrasion scale" to rate their gear in terms of how protective it is. The leather stuff is a 4, the textile stuff is a 3.

I got the Scorpion "Hat Trick" jacket. It's a four season textile jacket with CE armor, and I swear it's the best motorcycle jacket I've ever owned (I also have a textile First Gear that was for the summer, a leather Joe Rocket and a textile Tour Master Flex). Sorry to go off on a tangent.

I've been riding since 2002. Fortunately, I have never dropped my bikes/been in an accident so I personally wouldn't know if any of the jackets I mentioned are protective as they advertise!

My preference is for textile products. They just seem more comfortable to me. I also wear textile overpants.

[RhadamYgg]

I love leather, I've had many leather jackets not for motorcycling and they are all great.

So, I want leather for motorcycling, but I also want to be florescent green - and be as visible as possible.

The other thing I want is decent back protection, but this seems harder to find in leather jackets than in certain textile jackets.

Well, I can get the Olympia AST jacket in Neon Yellow. The only barrier with this is that it is almost $300, but the alternatives I look at like a Joe Rocket leather jacket plus back protector reach almost that level of cost, but might not work in all seasons.

At newenough.com they had an Alpinestars jacket on closeout. (the ones with a lot of white on them) Alpinestars Jacket - but I'm concerned that it will be too hot during the summer. At the bottom of the page is a back protector you can add to it.

RhadamYgg

[dr_bar]

You're comparing apples and oranges...


How thick is the leather? What type of textile/armor?

I'd take my Joe Rocket jacket and pants, at speed, over poor leather any day...

[IcyHound]

I crashed in full mesh. It did it jobs. I had to replace it all which is the downside. The upside is that I was fine.

[Brackstone]

It really depends on the quality of Leather. My Icon Leather Jacket has way better Leather in it than most of the Leather Jackets I've seen out on the Market.

[RhadamYgg]

I crashed in full mesh. It did it jobs. I had to replace it all which is the downside. The upside is that I was fine.

What mesh did you have?

I noticed something odd - the women's Olympia gear has 500 to 2000 denier Dupont Cordura - and the men's only has 500 to 1500. I have no idea why this would be.

Mens
Womens

RhadamYgg