Protective Clothing?
Discussion
Hi all,
My boyf has just bought a fireblade and only so far has a jacket and boots (jacket not leather).
I'd like him to be as protected as possible and have been looking at jackets/trousers and boots for sale.
Would he be better with leathers or kevlar? Are there any particular makes to look out for?
Thanks for any help.
Carrie
My boyf has just bought a fireblade and only so far has a jacket and boots (jacket not leather).
I'd like him to be as protected as possible and have been looking at jackets/trousers and boots for sale.
Would he be better with leathers or kevlar? Are there any particular makes to look out for?
Thanks for any help.
Carrie
Not an expert on the subject but I'd say wear the best protective kit you can afford to get (see injuries thread). What should you get - everything, don't skimp - Jacket, trousers, boots, gloves, quality lid and back protection if not built in to your jacket. Get kit that's designed for the job that's CE approved.
I've heard of a guy ending up in a wheel chair from a <20mph off, because he had no back protection in his jacket and bumped up a curb severing his spinal cord. Others may have a different view, but when it's my life on the line I'll take every step possible to improve my chances should the worst happen.
Steve.
I've heard of a guy ending up in a wheel chair from a <20mph off, because he had no back protection in his jacket and bumped up a curb severing his spinal cord. Others may have a different view, but when it's my life on the line I'll take every step possible to improve my chances should the worst happen.
Steve.
Hi all,
My boyf has just bought a fireblade and only so far has a jacket and boots (jacket not leather).
I'd like him to be as protected as possible and have been looking at jackets/trousers and boots for sale.
Would he be better with leathers or kevlar? Are there any particular makes to look out for?
Thanks for any help.
Carrie
Leather two-piece is best on the body.
Nothing protects like leather when you have a slide. Most leather has armour for back, shoulders and arms, trousers should have armour on knees and hips. Hard or soft armour - personal choice.
One-piece suits can be significant barrier to rapid medical treatment following a serious off.
Gloves - good protection for nuckles and palm. You also need the palm to slide on the road - not grip. Look for protection to the wrist.
Boots need armour on the shins and ankles - you don't want to wear them away.
Best helmet money can buy.
Nothing protects like leather when you have a slide. Most leather has armour for back, shoulders and arms, trousers should have armour on knees and hips. Hard or soft armour - personal choice.
One-piece suits can be significant barrier to rapid medical treatment following a serious off.
Gloves - good protection for nuckles and palm. You also need the palm to slide on the road - not grip. Look for protection to the wrist.
Boots need armour on the shins and ankles - you don't want to wear them away.
Best helmet money can buy.
Always, always buy the best you can afford – that fits properly. I brought a cheap (£110) leather jacket as my first bit of biking gear. It had a back protector built into it, armour on the shoulders, and arms, and ‘snazzie’ little buckles at the side to adjust the bottom of the jacket.. Top I thought!!. Within a yr, I realised that it would have been useless in a crash. The back protector was nothing more than a piece of hard foam stitched into the back, similar with the shoulders and arms (just thin impact foam – I suppose something was better than nothing). And the buckles did a good job when standing still, but as soon as I stretched for the bars – they just rose up my back. Although it was leather – it wasn’t very thick – and almost made a hole in it, over the yr when I used to catch it on a wall every time I put the bike away.
Leather Jacket/Trousers – I wouldn’t ride these days without a 1 piece (my personal preference) without armour for at least Knee, Shoulder, Elbow (these should ideally be a hard ‘cup’ sort of protection with impact foam around or built into them). The issue regarding medical assistance - is no joke - they can be difficult to remove in the event of a serious accident (they can be too good...?) - again though personal preference. I never ride without a back protector (might cost about £100 – but in my opinion invaluable).
Normal Jeans - I got my knee down once in my jeans (I was being a hero at the time), burnt a hole straight through the knee of the jeans, and made a hole in my leg too. And that was only a couple of light touches at about 40mph – round me local round-about. If that had of been at 100mph + The jeans wouldn’t have stood a chance – nor would my knee.
Gloves – Again buy good ones – ideally with double leather on the palms – if not he will grind away his palms should he ever fall off and try and stop himself with his hands (a natural reaction). Also make sure there is some sort of abrasive proof material on the knuckles. As a mate of mine (with cheap gloves!) ground one of his knuckles flat (no exaggeration!) was not a pretty sight – as his gloves just fell apart when he fell off.
Boots – Never wear any sort of boots with laces on (as these WILL get caught around the chain, stand, gear/brake lever, etc – or come undone and get caught else where). Boots with a shin protection are a good idea – and a heel protector (as in the side of your foot – the boney bit – not the back).
Helmet – Where do you start – I think you need to search on here about helmets, as there is sooo much to read about.
All of my current gear Helmet, Gloves, Boots, 1 Pc Leather and Back Protector – cost somewhere in the region of £1,375. (add that to the cost of another suit (for when I was a size or two smaller!!) – a pair of old boots, and about four pairs of gloves (I seemed to keep finding new better ones every summer for a period – I’ve now got a pair I’m happy with which I’ve had for 4 yrs) – That’s another £650 + the original jacket I brought £110.
Oh and the cost of a new helmet and leather repairs to my old suit when I once fell off on a trackday + £250 (although I had no broken bones, just bruises + bike damage). Making a total of £2,385 – just on protection.
Biking is expensive (if you want to be fully protected). You can do it on the cheap for about £500 – but in about 2 yrs time you will be wanting to replace it. Buy decent stuff now, and it will last…
Hope that helps…
jj
Leather Jacket/Trousers – I wouldn’t ride these days without a 1 piece (my personal preference) without armour for at least Knee, Shoulder, Elbow (these should ideally be a hard ‘cup’ sort of protection with impact foam around or built into them). The issue regarding medical assistance - is no joke - they can be difficult to remove in the event of a serious accident (they can be too good...?) - again though personal preference. I never ride without a back protector (might cost about £100 – but in my opinion invaluable).
Normal Jeans - I got my knee down once in my jeans (I was being a hero at the time), burnt a hole straight through the knee of the jeans, and made a hole in my leg too. And that was only a couple of light touches at about 40mph – round me local round-about. If that had of been at 100mph + The jeans wouldn’t have stood a chance – nor would my knee.
Gloves – Again buy good ones – ideally with double leather on the palms – if not he will grind away his palms should he ever fall off and try and stop himself with his hands (a natural reaction). Also make sure there is some sort of abrasive proof material on the knuckles. As a mate of mine (with cheap gloves!) ground one of his knuckles flat (no exaggeration!) was not a pretty sight – as his gloves just fell apart when he fell off.
Boots – Never wear any sort of boots with laces on (as these WILL get caught around the chain, stand, gear/brake lever, etc – or come undone and get caught else where). Boots with a shin protection are a good idea – and a heel protector (as in the side of your foot – the boney bit – not the back).
Helmet – Where do you start – I think you need to search on here about helmets, as there is sooo much to read about.
All of my current gear Helmet, Gloves, Boots, 1 Pc Leather and Back Protector – cost somewhere in the region of £1,375. (add that to the cost of another suit (for when I was a size or two smaller!!) – a pair of old boots, and about four pairs of gloves (I seemed to keep finding new better ones every summer for a period – I’ve now got a pair I’m happy with which I’ve had for 4 yrs) – That’s another £650 + the original jacket I brought £110.
Oh and the cost of a new helmet and leather repairs to my old suit when I once fell off on a trackday + £250 (although I had no broken bones, just bruises + bike damage). Making a total of £2,385 – just on protection.
Biking is expensive (if you want to be fully protected). You can do it on the cheap for about £500 – but in about 2 yrs time you will be wanting to replace it. Buy decent stuff now, and it will last…
Hope that helps…
jj
Clothing is very subjective, and it all comes down to how much you value your skin. The bike can be repaired or replaced your skin is a dam site more difficult to put right.
With helmets, it is not about how much you spend but how well the helmet fits. A £40 helmet that fits correctly will offer considerably more protection than a £400 helmet that fits badly.
Leathers are still considered to afford the best protection. There are 4 main materials used these days, Cowhide, Goatskin, Buffalo and Kangaroo skins.
Goatskin which is thinner is twice as strong as cowhide, is lighter therefore more comfortable in the summer, whilst Cowhide is thicker and more readily available.
For the road, a 1 piece is not as safe as a 2 piece. Although racers use 1 piece suits, there is always medical assistance close to hand, and by and large (although there are always exceptions) the crashes occur on uniform pieces of tarmac with none of the hazards we get on the road. During the golden hour, medical teams need to be able to diagnose quickly the extent of the injuries, and someone wearing a 1 piece will slow down this diagnosis process particularly if they aresuffering from upper as well as lower body injuries. A 2 piece will be easier to remove, thereby making it easier and more comfortable to carry out an examination without further compromise of the condition or injury, and more importantly the injuries do not need to be disturbed too much if there are upper and lower body injuries. There are quite a few documented cases where a 1 piece has actually contributed to the increase of the severity of injuries as a result of road crashes.
Cordura is the prefered man made fibre. It is 5 times more abrasion resistant than leather, however with cordura you cannot get the skin tight fit that leather offers. However it can be worn over normal clothing, it is waterproof, breathable and therefore will keep you warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It is a compromise material, but ideal if you will be using the bike for work and you still need to wear smart clothing.
Gloves are again subjective, Many like armoured race type gloves some like waterproof gloves, others prefer thinner summer type gloves. Avoid wearing man made materials, but like leathers and helmets make sure they are a good fit.
Boots comes down to personal taste. Two materials are used, leather and Lorica which is a man made material. Fit is important in so much that they should afford a good snug fit around the ankle and foot, there should be a degree of reinforcement at the back to make sure they don't collapse, and they should be comfortable both on the bike and when walking. Armour makes no difference to their protective qualities, it is the abrasion resistance that will afford maximum protection along with the snug fit.
99% of leathers come from Sialkot in Pakistan along with 99% of gloves, and in the main you will be paying for the name rather than the quality. There are two recognised hides in respect of cowhide, those made from Brazilian hides and those that come from the Southern Germany. Brazilian hides are used by Wolf, Scott and one other that for the moment I have forgotten..
Leathers should be formed of large panels with any designs being as an overlay, and in stress areas they should be treble stitched with a maximum of 7 stitches to the inch. They should be a tight fit when new as they will give by up to 2 inches as they give and will mould to your shape thereby affording maximum protection. If they are too sloppy, it will cause friction as they try to slide, they cannot then hold broken bones together or reduce blood loss.
The subject is vast, and I am happy to offer any advice that you may want, but in short set yourself a budget and stick to it. You don't have to spend a fortune to get good protection, and if it fits right you will get good long term service.
With helmets, it is not about how much you spend but how well the helmet fits. A £40 helmet that fits correctly will offer considerably more protection than a £400 helmet that fits badly.
Leathers are still considered to afford the best protection. There are 4 main materials used these days, Cowhide, Goatskin, Buffalo and Kangaroo skins.
Goatskin which is thinner is twice as strong as cowhide, is lighter therefore more comfortable in the summer, whilst Cowhide is thicker and more readily available.
For the road, a 1 piece is not as safe as a 2 piece. Although racers use 1 piece suits, there is always medical assistance close to hand, and by and large (although there are always exceptions) the crashes occur on uniform pieces of tarmac with none of the hazards we get on the road. During the golden hour, medical teams need to be able to diagnose quickly the extent of the injuries, and someone wearing a 1 piece will slow down this diagnosis process particularly if they aresuffering from upper as well as lower body injuries. A 2 piece will be easier to remove, thereby making it easier and more comfortable to carry out an examination without further compromise of the condition or injury, and more importantly the injuries do not need to be disturbed too much if there are upper and lower body injuries. There are quite a few documented cases where a 1 piece has actually contributed to the increase of the severity of injuries as a result of road crashes.
Cordura is the prefered man made fibre. It is 5 times more abrasion resistant than leather, however with cordura you cannot get the skin tight fit that leather offers. However it can be worn over normal clothing, it is waterproof, breathable and therefore will keep you warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It is a compromise material, but ideal if you will be using the bike for work and you still need to wear smart clothing.
Gloves are again subjective, Many like armoured race type gloves some like waterproof gloves, others prefer thinner summer type gloves. Avoid wearing man made materials, but like leathers and helmets make sure they are a good fit.
Boots comes down to personal taste. Two materials are used, leather and Lorica which is a man made material. Fit is important in so much that they should afford a good snug fit around the ankle and foot, there should be a degree of reinforcement at the back to make sure they don't collapse, and they should be comfortable both on the bike and when walking. Armour makes no difference to their protective qualities, it is the abrasion resistance that will afford maximum protection along with the snug fit.
99% of leathers come from Sialkot in Pakistan along with 99% of gloves, and in the main you will be paying for the name rather than the quality. There are two recognised hides in respect of cowhide, those made from Brazilian hides and those that come from the Southern Germany. Brazilian hides are used by Wolf, Scott and one other that for the moment I have forgotten..
Leathers should be formed of large panels with any designs being as an overlay, and in stress areas they should be treble stitched with a maximum of 7 stitches to the inch. They should be a tight fit when new as they will give by up to 2 inches as they give and will mould to your shape thereby affording maximum protection. If they are too sloppy, it will cause friction as they try to slide, they cannot then hold broken bones together or reduce blood loss.
The subject is vast, and I am happy to offer any advice that you may want, but in short set yourself a budget and stick to it. You don't have to spend a fortune to get good protection, and if it fits right you will get good long term service.
The subject is vast. I would say buy the best you can't afford. Make you always wear it. It's no good spending £5 or £600 on leathers and as soon as we get the one hot day of the summer you go out without them on. If you are going to be a pillion you do the same, i won't go anywhere without mine on. 2 miles or 200 always ride safe.
>> Edited by MrsS on Wednesday 30th April 18:56
>> Edited by MrsS on Wednesday 30th April 18:56
Carrie, i did my CBT a few years ago. The first time i went out on my own i was almost knock of my bike. It made me give up wanting to ride on my own.But it didn't knock my confidence,and being a pillion i just love it. We've being all around Europe, even 2 trips to Italy on a Ducati 851. You're not supposed to be able to tour on one of those you know, but its amazing what you can do if you really want to.
Best of luck Linda.
>> Edited by MrsS on Wednesday 30th April 18:58
>> Edited by MrsS on Wednesday 30th April 19:00
Best of luck Linda.
>> Edited by MrsS on Wednesday 30th April 18:58
>> Edited by MrsS on Wednesday 30th April 19:00
My injuries are listed in the 'what's the worst' thread so I won't mention them again.
At the time I was wearing an all in one Texport suit that had hard armour around the shoulders, knee and elbows. The back had some padding as did the area around the thighs. I would try to avoid gear with stretch panels at the hip joint, better to have some padding at least. Also avoid putting anything more than a wallet in the top inside pocket. I had a mobile, broke in in half, but also fractured my sternum.
My gloves were Dianese with kevlar and padding. Did the job but were well worn down.
Had Alpinestar GP boots on me feet. They were well worn at the ankle but stopped any injury.
Lid was a Shoei X8-SP. Excellent, just surface damage.
I'm convinced that without the above gear I would either not be in a position to write this or may have suffered severe skin injury. Fixing bones is far easier than replacing skin.
Here's some of my titanium parts...
ftp://tvr:chimaera@81.99.190.197/
Any probs with link mail me.
At the time I was wearing an all in one Texport suit that had hard armour around the shoulders, knee and elbows. The back had some padding as did the area around the thighs. I would try to avoid gear with stretch panels at the hip joint, better to have some padding at least. Also avoid putting anything more than a wallet in the top inside pocket. I had a mobile, broke in in half, but also fractured my sternum.
My gloves were Dianese with kevlar and padding. Did the job but were well worn down.
Had Alpinestar GP boots on me feet. They were well worn at the ankle but stopped any injury.
Lid was a Shoei X8-SP. Excellent, just surface damage.
I'm convinced that without the above gear I would either not be in a position to write this or may have suffered severe skin injury. Fixing bones is far easier than replacing skin.
Here's some of my titanium parts...
ftp://tvr:chimaera@81.99.190.197/
Any probs with link mail me.
If budgets are tight, I have a set of Texport orange and white 1 piece leathers for sale if you are interested. They cost me £600 a few years ago but they are slightly scuffed and would sell them for £30 to make room in my cupboard. I must get round to advertising them in the classifieds one day.
Hey there,
Have to agree with the first response to this question - Get the best you can afford, don't economise & put off till later. If you find a great set of leathers/crash/back protector helmet on offer that doesn't fit, it can do more damage than lesser quality stuff that does!! (RIDE did a report on this some time ago). I give my mates a hard time if they turn up in jeans for a ride!! (My 'Mum' head on).
Good luck & don't put it off
Have to agree with the first response to this question - Get the best you can afford, don't economise & put off till later. If you find a great set of leathers/crash/back protector helmet on offer that doesn't fit, it can do more damage than lesser quality stuff that does!! (RIDE did a report on this some time ago). I give my mates a hard time if they turn up in jeans for a ride!! (My 'Mum' head on).
Good luck & don't put it off
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