Why good gear? Here's why.

[adouglas]

TL; DR - You think leathers are expensive? Try a hospital bill on for size. Here's the real cost.

About a month ago, I got a leg infection unrelated to motorcycling. Simple, even trivial, thing... a break in the skin on my left calf got infected.

Within 24 hours my leg from the knee to the ankle was the color of corned beef hash, swollen like a party balloon and I had a fever pushing 103.

I wound up in the hospital for five days, on IV antibiotics. That's all they did... no ambulance, no surgery, nothing but a bed, food, 24/7 nursing care and IV.

Yesterday, the bill arrived.

Thankfully, I have a good insurance plan. It does require coinsurance, however. For those who don't know the confusing terminology of the insurance world, coinsurance means that when something costly like a hospital stay happens, the insurance company pays most, but not all, of the bill. You pay the rest.

Here are the actual numbers off the bill:

Charges: $19,848.02
Insurance payment: $19,098.02
Patient balance (i.e. the coinsurance, or what I paid): $750

If you don't have insurance as good as mine, you'd have paid more.

So let's pretend for a minute that what had actually happened to me was a crash. Say I had to have a big skin graft because my gear was not sufficient to protect me, requiring that same length of hospital stay. Let's also pretend that the cost would have been the same (it wouldn't -- it would have been higher).

The conscious decision to NOT wear good gear would have cost me $750, plus five days in the hospital.

Is buying/wearing that set of leathers starting to look more like a smart investment than a needless expense/hassle?

It should.

[snot]

I love my leathers.

[adouglas]

Me too. I seriously feel odd when I ride the bike without being fully kitted. I do so from time to time, typically for the one-mile jaunt to the diner at lunch in ordinary pants. It's almost like the leathers are part of how I interact with the bike.

I've been holding off on buying a neck brace for the track because the Leatt track version is hella expensive (like $550) but this bill is making me think hard about it.

[psych0hans]

Originally Posted by adouglas

TL; DR - You think leathers are expensive? Try a hospital bill on for size. Here's the real cost.

About a month ago, I got a leg infection unrelated to motorcycling. Simple, even trivial, thing... a break in the skin on my left calf got infected.

Within 24 hours my leg from the knee to the ankle was the color of corned beef hash, swollen like a party balloon and I had a fever pushing 103.

I wound up in the hospital for five days, on IV antibiotics. That's all they did... no ambulance, no surgery, nothing but a bed, food, 24/7 nursing care and IV.

Yesterday, the bill arrived.

Thankfully, I have a good insurance plan. It does require coinsurance, however. For those who don't know the confusing terminology of the insurance world, coinsurance means that when something costly like a hospital stay happens, the insurance company pays most, but not all, of the bill. You pay the rest.

Here are the actual numbers off the bill:

Charges: $19,848.02
Insurance payment: $19,098.02
Patient balance (i.e. the coinsurance, or what I paid): $750

If you don't have insurance as good as mine, you'd have paid more.

So let's pretend for a minute that what had actually happened to me was a crash. Say I had to have a big skin graft because my gear was not sufficient to protect me, requiring that same length of hospital stay. Let's also pretend that the cost would have been the same (it wouldn't -- it would have been higher).

The conscious decision to NOT wear good gear would have cost me $750, plus five days in the hospital.

Is buying/wearing that set of leathers starting to look more like a smart investment than a needless expense/hassle?

It should.

It's ridiculous how much health care costs in the US.

[snot]

My leathers saved my skin at mid ohio 2 years ago. I did not have a scratch on me, not even a bruise.

[Sirref]

I love my frank thomas suit

all I have to do is look at it to remind myself how much skin I still have because of it, it is shredded and has been in multiple (read 3 high speed (100mph+) and 2 low-medium speed) crashes without a failure in any of the seams or holes in any of the leather that couldn't be patched back together. I've still gotten scars through the leathers but nothing even remotely close to what would have happened without the leathers

Now if only I could afford a new suit, thankfully my insurance is top notch

[verboten1]

The wife had good gear on, but when her foot hit hard parts on my bike, it was broken, we are out about $4000 right now. And the deductible resets in a few days. Awesome

This is why you need it. I can't imagine where either of us would be without it.

[cbinker]

I guess you could use this as a reason to have good gear. I have had an experience of neglecting a wound. I scrapped my left knee in my first ever crash at the track. Thought the pain was just due to bouncing my knee off the ground, but a few days later of continued swelling i went to the clinic and found that i had an infection. moral of the story, clean your wounds thoroughly after crashing in leathers.

[adouglas]

Injuries despite good gear aren't really the point here.

Imagine what would have happened had those crashes taken place while dressed the way most riders choose to.

[Sirref]

without my helmets I'd be dead many times over
without my suit I'd be dead of blood loss at least twice
without my first back protector I'd be a paraplegic

safety gear is an investment that protects both life and quality of life, that's all there is to it

[snot]

Originally Posted by Sirref

without my helmets I'd be dead many times over
without my suit I'd be dead of blood loss at least twice
without my first back protector I'd be a paraplegic

safety gear is an investment that protects both life and quality of life, that's all there is to it

I need to learn more about the back protectors

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by snot

I need to learn more about the back protectors

It's easy... get one and wear it. Maybe even consider a chest protector too.

They come in 2 main forms, inserts or standalone wearables.

Inserts must fit into your existing gear inner placement pockets. I like these for fitment and comfort the best as they seem to become "part" of your jacket or suit. I don't like the price though as they are normally higher and I am locked into that one piece of gear or piece with a pocket to allow insertion.

Wearables are cheaper and a more versatile option. Just put it on and then put on your other/whatever gear over it. Fitment and comfort become more of an issue though. If your jacket was tight without a back protector, it will be even tighter when wearing the protector. It is where I hear about back protector thickness at the track. Seems thinner is better but imho... there is a personal balance between form and function.

Unless you go to some huge superstore, you're not going to be trying it on before you buy. But I believe you are pretty close to the Iron Pony, so maybe a road trip is in order. If that doesn't work, a trip to the track is where you can try on and see how many riders are using them and most importantly... get an opinion on it's function.

[adouglas]

The advantage of inserts is that there's one less piece of gear to screw with. Convenient.

[Sirref]

wearables > inserts unless your suit/jacket fits perfectly or if you wear more than one suit/jacket. The back protector will not do much if it moves out of place as an insert could with a slightly loose jacket/suit

I prefer soft shell to hard shell for the increased comfort but hard shell is the preferred for better protection. If I were to ride at a course where there was furniture on the side of the road (like the IOM TT) I'd wear a hard shell for sure. Only time it has come into play was when I went through a tire wall so I'm not as concerned at the track (except shenandoah circuit)

[subxero]

so what was the wound on the calf from? Was it a cat?

[snot]

Originally Posted by csmith12

It's easy... get one and wear it. Maybe even consider a chest protector too.

They come in 2 main forms, inserts or standalone wearables.

Inserts must fit into your existing gear inner placement pockets. I like these for fitment and comfort the best as they seem to become "part" of your jacket or suit. I don't like the price though as they are normally higher and I am locked into that one piece of gear or piece with a pocket to allow insertion.

Wearables are cheaper and a more versatile option. Just put it on and then put on your other/whatever gear over it. Fitment and comfort become more of an issue though. If your jacket was tight without a back protector, it will be even tighter when wearing the protector. It is where I hear about back protector thickness at the track. Seems thinner is better but imho... there is a personal balance between form and function.

Unless you go to some huge superstore, you're not going to be trying it on before you buy. But I believe you are pretty close to the Iron Pony, so maybe a road trip is in order. If that doesn't work, a trip to the track is where you can try on and see how many riders are using them and most importantly... get an opinion on it's function.

my jacket has the snaps for the chest protection (CE level 2). The back insert that came with my jacket is CE approved, I could upgrade to the level 2 that fits in my jacket.

[MBZuki]

I have a Forcefield Sub 4 underneath at all times and their matching chest plate along with RS Taichi GP EVOs with Knox SPS and jacket/pants, leather or textile depending on the weather. Looking at replacing my Joe Rocket textile with a set of A* this year probably for vents I can open or close instead of full mesh.

Has kept me injury free at a few small spills, I'd hate to think what higher speed or less gear would have resulted in.

[CaliGrrl]

I agree about wearing good gear. I haven't wrecked, because I've been a passenger (until last week) and my husband is a very good driver, but still. We've always worn good helmets and gloves. When we were young, we wore jeans instead of real gear, but now we both have good stuff.

Got my own M1 license now, my own bike, and definitely good gear.

[BernawanFR]

Good gear is definitely a good safety investment. Crashed once in a high speed (40-50 Mph) down the highway, it could be fatal but my reliable riding gear saved my upper body skin from potential wound (sore, bruises or idk, even broken bones).

[spooph]

Originally Posted by subxero

so what was the wound on the calf from? Was it a cat?

+1

[adouglas]

'twas but a scratch that didn't heal promptly due to dry skin. Yet another one of the marvelous things that happens to us as we age.

[tgold]

Originally Posted by adouglas

Me too. I seriously feel odd when I ride the bike without being fully kitted. I do so from time to time, typically for the one-mile jaunt to the diner at lunch in ordinary pants. It's almost like the leathers are part of how I interact with the bike.

I've been holding off on buying a neck brace for the track because the Leatt track version is hella expensive (like $550) but this bill is making me think hard about it.

I have the same thoughts about the Leatt brace. I had a chiropractor take a look at my spine xrays and he told me that he could see where I had experienced a compression fracture. I know it had to happen during one of my off-track excursions, but I didn't realize it when it happened. I'm not sure if the brace would help that, but even if it only helped prevent a collarbone break (I've done it twice) it would be worth the money.

[adouglas]

Aaaaand thanks to a hot tip from @tgold, I just scored the only used Leatt STX RR I've ever run across, on eBay. Thanks!

PS: The seller had a pair of them, and I think I might be the only purchaser. So the second could get re-listed.

[2fiddy-trackpair]

The cost of good gear will look like change if you ever go down without wearing it and have to pay the doctor bills.