Textile vs Leather

[Focus Mike]

I do most my riding in the city to and from work with your cruise every now and then when i want to enjoy some nice riding weather.

I am going to be hitting the highway this year with my bike and would like something to save my skin is something bad happened.

I have a Joe Rocket armored coat that I used with my scooter and I am using it with my 250R now.

I am heavily leaning towards a leather coat.

How does leather stack up against textile coats, and pants for that matter. Would I be okay purchasing a leather coat and textile pants, or should I just sack up my money and buy a leather coat and leather pants...

Keep in mind 99.99% of the time I am going to be riding at 45 mph or so.

I would rather sweat than bleed. I just want protection.

Current set-up

Icon Airframe
A-Star Leather gloves
Sidi street burners
Joe Rocket textile coat


I am most likely going to purchase A-Star gear but I may go to the Icon side because they offer nice stuff too. Its going to be what fits better vs what looks better but looks are always a huge plus.

[bdavison]

Leather is always the best option...Period.
But textile is a pretty good compromise. I wear a textile Scorpion Burnout jacket.

The key is going with products from companies you trust...and by trust, I mean trust with your body. Stay far away from the cheap stuff, quality costs money.

[Focus Mike]

I think I am going to sack up and spend more cash and just get leather everything and sweat.

Is wearing leather extremely hot and sweaty? Should I buy "OVERPANTS" or just ride in my underwear and throw the bike pants over them?

I wear jeans to work "WORK CODE" and with leather + jeans + undies I am sure my male member is going to be hot...

What do you guys think about just getting the size I should wear in jeans and just acting like those are my jeans but leather pants?

Do I comprimise safety because with leathers + Jeans + undies I have 3 layers V.S Leather and undies...?

What do you guys think.

Whatever it is I need to make a decision by friday afternoon because thats when I am going to go shopping.

[sombo]

If you plan on going with overpants I would actually say go textile. In fact I think almost all overpants are textile while leather is usually either pants or 'chaps'. Leather is better overall for pants (meaning they take the place of your jeans) but a good textile one will do just fine for protection especially if you're only talking about 45mph.

If you go with the leather pants (not overpants) then take your jeans work with you and change in the bathroom when you get there. That way you still follow the work code, aren't layered to hell, and you still have that high level of safety.

Some good brands for textile are Fieldsheer, Tour Master, Joe Rocket, Alpinestars, and Icon. They would definitely be trustworthy for textile gear. For leather I usually see Joe Rocket, Alpinestars, and Icon ranking high in quality and customer satisfaction.

[Rayme]

I would get both. I use an icon leather and wear it in the hottest days buy some people don't like it. Any textile that is plastic based (polyesther, etc...) WILL melt when rubbing against the pavement at high speed, so for city riding, textile will cover your ass...on the highway, leather all the way. I only have alpine star textile pants for now, they have armor which is all I need for now.

[cnichols79us]

Todays Textiles are quite Super! I have seen pics of peoples Textile gear after highway/freeway crashes at SPEED, and couple of the people kept the gear and were wearing it STILL because it had so little damage.... I don't disregard textiles at all anymore, AND its more comfortable to me than Cow Skin, so I know I will always put it on. My 2 cents...

[sombo]

I have to agree with Jeff, I've also seen plenty of pics of people crashing with textiles. The OLD cheap stuff just tears up and shreds. But anything made within the last 5 or so has been able to go through crashes with little damage. I have yet to see pics of textiles 'melting' to a person, even though I have heard and keep hearing that story. If you go with leather get a vented one, if you go textile most are already vented and both styles can have zippered vent channels. You'll see that more on the textile though. Also look for ones with a removable liner so you can use it in more then just one weather condition.

[miks]

Like a few people have said, stick with textile for the daily commutes. It makes it so much easier in all kinds of weather. As for sweating instead of bleeding I agree 100%, but being hot, sweaty, sticky and bothered by the heat is going to hinder your riding. So you have to be comfortable, relaxed and 100% concentrating on the road not how hot it is.

[capt_bugaloo]

I have used textiles for years and prefer them, especially in warm weather.
One big advantage is that they are machine washable, whereas leather needs special cleaning. It's nice to be able to throw riding gear in your washing machine.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Roostre]

Check out motoport's kevlar mesh line. Better protection than leather and it flows so much air that it feels like your wearing your street clothes. I've been using it for 4+ years and I'm about to order a new set (I've lost 80+lbs).

Once I took a downhill high-side on my KLR into a section of those sharp, black lave rocks wearing the jacket and some jeans. I landed on my left shoulder and side, sliding across the top of those razor sharp rocks. When I got up the rocks had cut through my jeans and I was bleeding badly from my hip to my knee. The area where the jacket covered was not hurt at all- in fact, it was difficult to tell where the jacket was impacted at all! (Very minor surface abrasion to the kevlar weave.) I ordered the matching pants the next day. Ultra II Kevlar mesh...yes it's expensive, but it's worth every penny.

[Momaru]

It's probably obvious, but: focus on something you're going to wear. If it's too much a hassle to deal with and gets left at home because of that, it'll do you no good.
As many people have said, textile protection is at least comparable, if somewhat inferior to leather. But the leather's gonna require a different level of care and it will start to smell weird after a few months of riding with leather pants in the heat. Good modern textile (I've heard 600denier material is a solid rating) should hold up well in a crash. One difference I've been told several times is that leather will (generally) survive a spill and still be usable, while textile will need either repair or replacement. But either way, it's better repairing/replacing gear than parts of yourself.

[tjkamper]

Textile over pants are very convenient. You can change in a parking lot or office in a few seconds without any embarasement. If you go with regular pants, you will always have to carry a bag to take your jeans in. You will also have to go into a restroom stall to change, or you could end up arrested for indecent exposure, or sued for sexual harrasment.

[Greg_E]

Most of the good textiles now have 1600 denier cloth in the heavy contact areas. The higher the number the more threads per inch or something like that. It's stronger fabric and should hold together better when hitting the pavement. The kevlar stuff looks nice but it is more than many leather alternatives.

[Focus Mike]

Tomorrow at this time I will post up what I get or around this time.

My buddy told me not to buy a leather coat because he has one with textile blend. Kind of like a hybrid. I said didn't you scuff it in your small crash, he said he wasn't wearing it. He probably should have been....

He was okay though. I will check it out, if it looks nice and fits nice I will throw him a couple bucks and scoop it up. I'm sure its a nice coat even though its a couple years old. If I don't like it I'll just buy my own though.

[BlueRaven]

I only own a pair of leather pants and am quite comfortable just as long i keep riding on hot days plus it helps that i only wear shorts underneath. I dont feel the engine heat much as compared to just jeans which i wore on a short test run one time. I'm looking for textile pants for days that i will doing short commutes but haven't found any good deals yet.

[untdavid]

The only think I own is Leather so I wouldn't have a good comparison, but I feel pretty safe in it since they say its the best protection you can afford for your body.

David

[eddiekay]

How much money do you have ?
Leather full suits ( the ones that don't fall apart) can easily go $700.
I have a nice textile one that I got for $135 off the net and it has light armor.
If protection is what you want, rather than "the look", check e-bay...lots of high end used suits for a fraction of new $$

[tapdiggy]

Are you looking for impact or slide protection more? I assume both, but which more?

[eddiekay]

In my, thank God, limited experience crashing I can say a suit is valuable in a slide on the street.. but at moderate speed....not that much better than blue jeans and a lined jacket....as long as you don't hit anything.
Blunt impact is different. Anybody have an experience in an impact crash where the suit was helpful ?

[Focus Mike]

Just got back a few minutes ago.

Icon Accelerant non perfed
Icon Arc Textile pants
Icon Air frame

As you can tell I don't really like Icon LOL
I have Astar gloves
Sidi street burners
Now my old joe rocket can collect dust in the closet, its still a great coat with armor and all.

I bought my girlfriend

Scorpion EX-700 helmet
Joe Rocket gloves
Joe Rocket coat

Now I don't have to be a squid and let her use my gear when I ride with her as a passenger. Now she has a full face helmet instead of a 3/4 face that she used on my scooter.

Enjoy the pics.









Now I feel more comfortable riding on the back of my bike in the city when we enjoy a ride together.

[BlueRaven]

Looking sharp