Textile or leather?
- Thread starter GS TRV
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rodsharp
Registered user
Hopefully June will be hot because Im going to Italy then. Used to wear leather and sweat to buggery. Now wear good quality textile summer kit and its miles more comfortable but probably not so much protection so make sure you dont come off.
MEDICMAN
Registered user
Seen (and treated) a lot of bikers over the years and (in general) all of those wearing leathers had less abrasions than those wearing textiles!
The armour is just as good which ever is worn but textiles wear/melt through on tarmac and end up making the wound worse.
I experienced this my self when I came off wearing textiles. Yes you'd think I should have known better but it was hot and my leathers were stifling and sweaty so I opted for comfort and as I sat in the casualty dept screaming (I've always been a girl with my own pain) as they washed the wounds I sooooooo wish I'd worn the leather.
The armour is just as good which ever is worn but textiles wear/melt through on tarmac and end up making the wound worse.
I experienced this my self when I came off wearing textiles. Yes you'd think I should have known better but it was hot and my leathers were stifling and sweaty so I opted for comfort and as I sat in the casualty dept screaming (I've always been a girl with my own pain) as they washed the wounds I sooooooo wish I'd worn the leather.
Leather every time if it's dry
As a rough rule of thumb iirc if you drop the bike at sixty mph you will slide for 6 seconds
whilst a very good set of leathers will last 8 
As a rough rule of thumb iirc if you drop the bike at sixty mph you will slide for 6 seconds
whilst a very good set of leathers will last 8 Leather every time if it's dry
As a rough rule of thumb iirc if you drop the bike at sixty mph you will slide for 6 seconds
Even if its 30*?
90% of the time it's leather for me, and that other 10% will be a textile jacket and only in very cold weather. (Off road is the only exception).
I mostly live in a made to measure BKS suit, and feel very safe in it.
Clearly they both have pros and cons. I reckon that whatever you're wearing, if you have an impact like a car bumper that's capable of breaking a limb, there's possibly not a lot of difference between leather or textile - hit some armco at 60 mph and it's probably all pretty immaterial. Aside from friction burns that's already been mentioned, is the other issue of bad ligament damage.
With a good quality made to measure (modern) leather suit, the suit is now cut to shape. In my suit, once it's zipped together I physically wouldn't be able to scratch between my shoulder blades - I struggle to pick something up off the floor in it! So if I come off and tumble, there's a good chance that my wind-milling body of flailing arms and legs will be better bound than in a textile suit - I'm less likely to come to rest with my legs behind my neck
Clearly, cancelling out all those advantages, is the practical every day life of touring, walking, going for lunch etc Do I want to be doing that walking like a monkey on holiday?
My choice for a holiday would be leather trousers zipped* to a textile jacket.
* any good seamstress or tailor will be able to do that for you - definitely worth doing ...
Have fun in Mugello and take earplugs! (and if you're a saddo that's into collecting knives, Scarperia is world famous for knife making - check out some of the shops and their pocket knives for hundreds of pounds ... !!)
Saw a report on TV last year (The TT coverage I think?). Compared leathers with textile. The outcome was that there's no man made textile that tops good leather. Theory is that leathers allow you to slide whereas textile "bites" and causes more tumbling (so more flailing and impact injury).
I love my Crowtree one piece leathers. bought in 2003 and with regular feeding and cleaning are still as good as new. Just a bit inconvenient when touring being a one piece and can be a bit nippy being perforated. I have had a couple of off's with them on trackdays and you can hardly see the scuff marks.
I've got a second hand twat suit (Rallye 2 Pro), which is pretty convenient for touring stuff, but not actually as comfortable as the 10 year old crowtree's.
Not sure what to wear for the annual German trip this year, twat suit practicality or Crowtree security and comfort.
I would vote...... Leathers.
I've got a second hand twat suit (Rallye 2 Pro), which is pretty convenient for touring stuff, but not actually as comfortable as the 10 year old crowtree's.
Not sure what to wear for the annual German trip this year, twat suit practicality or Crowtree security and comfort.
I would vote...... Leathers.
The Nutter
Registered user
It's like looking for the holy grail. A suit combo that has the advantages of both is not easy to find. I wear textile during the winter for the warmth and waterproofness. I did a tour of Germany in leathers a few years back and I felt like a boil in a bag meal. I then bought a rallye 2 pro suit for my next tour which worked a treat but I never felt as safe in it as I did with the leathers. I recently got rid of that suit and bought a set of Hein Gericke TFL Cool treated leathers. These leathers run quite a bit cooler than normal black leather. These are now my summer outfit of choice with a one piece oversuit for the wet stuff.
flytoolow
Registered user
Interesting thread this..
When I started I had a leather Jacket, then moved to Textile for "all weather" riding.
Ive never really given the safety aspect much of a thought. Ive been under the impression that Textile is "about" the same as leather...although one reason I use Halvarssons is for the "Hi-Art" bit in the middle....
Will be reading with interest...
When I started I had a leather Jacket, then moved to Textile for "all weather" riding.
Ive never really given the safety aspect much of a thought. Ive been under the impression that Textile is "about" the same as leather...although one reason I use Halvarssons is for the "Hi-Art" bit in the middle....
Will be reading with interest...
Hideout Leathers offer a made-to-measure (and off-the-peg) kevlar-lined textile suit to full CE spec , that is designed to fulfill the demanding requirements of the UK plod.
Not cheap, but neither is the Halvarsson gear.
Not cheap, but neither is the Halvarsson gear.
STUBBS
undead
mixture of both
I was a staunch leather supporter...but good quality modern textiles are hard to beat
I was a staunch leather supporter...but good quality modern textiles are hard to beat
I reckon the Armas fits the bill !
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