budbandit
Well-known member
One of the interesting things I have noted is that for some reason many newer riders feel a desire to purchase and use whispy, ephemeral lightweight, fragile textile gear - something that I have never really understood. If you have the money for a new supersport 600 then you in theory have the money for some gear, but it is amazing how often you will see new or newish 600s with aftermarket crap ridden by riders who have obviously cheaped out on their gear. Puzzling, isn't it?
Let's face it - leather is cool. Not only is leather cool, but due to the 3D matrix of the protein fibers in the material, it is also among the most abrasion resistant materials known to man. Real world tests and crashes consistantly demonstrate the continued superiority of leather to textile in terms of abrasion resistance and extensive real world testing in coffee shops and other trendy trolling areas have demonstrated the superior pulling power of leather garmets compared with textile.
Typically textile garments will be good for about 1/2 of one crash, usually failing or tearing thru at some point during the first crash. Sometimes high quality garments such as Aerostich suits (one of the few textile garments I could feel good about recommending) will do better. Mesh stuff? It just shreads. Even cheap leather will tend to outperform expensive textiles in terms of abrasion resistance.
One of the few advantages that textiles offer (except for cost and light weight) is waterproofing - they will keep you dry (or drier as the case more often is) than leather, with some garments being advertized as being "waterproof". However, judging by the lack of riders I usually see out in the rain the waterproof nature of gear is not a real consideration for most riders.
Your skin, your choice, but don't expect the cheap mesh crap to be much more than a compelling alternative to a t-shirt in hot weather and especially don't expect it to hold up in a crash.
Let's face it - leather is cool. Not only is leather cool, but due to the 3D matrix of the protein fibers in the material, it is also among the most abrasion resistant materials known to man. Real world tests and crashes consistantly demonstrate the continued superiority of leather to textile in terms of abrasion resistance and extensive real world testing in coffee shops and other trendy trolling areas have demonstrated the superior pulling power of leather garmets compared with textile.
Typically textile garments will be good for about 1/2 of one crash, usually failing or tearing thru at some point during the first crash. Sometimes high quality garments such as Aerostich suits (one of the few textile garments I could feel good about recommending) will do better. Mesh stuff? It just shreads. Even cheap leather will tend to outperform expensive textiles in terms of abrasion resistance.
One of the few advantages that textiles offer (except for cost and light weight) is waterproofing - they will keep you dry (or drier as the case more often is) than leather, with some garments being advertized as being "waterproof". However, judging by the lack of riders I usually see out in the rain the waterproof nature of gear is not a real consideration for most riders.
Your skin, your choice, but don't expect the cheap mesh crap to be much more than a compelling alternative to a t-shirt in hot weather and especially don't expect it to hold up in a crash.
