Textiles Vs Leathers?

What are the main differences then? in most of the pics on this site you guys seem to be wearing leathers.

I have waterproof armoured textile clothing as I bought it originally to ride a scooter. Is it as good as leathjer in an off? or better? or not as good?

comments and advice please! I may go and sort myself out some leather in the near future if worth it

Leathers are tons better for abrasion protection - I think that's the main reason people wear them.

[M.C.]

textiles are supposed to be very good but you never see a racer wearing textiles always leather so draw your conclusion from that

Originally Posted by M.C.

textiles are supposed to be very good but you never see a racer wearing textiles always leather so draw your conclusion from that

But if you can only afford one or the other, go the "waterproof textile with removable thermal lining" route and save for the leathers. Ask Rossi about being cold in saturated leathers

[embee]

...or you can get combined items which are basically textile but with leather patches at the main abrasion points, elbows, shoulders, knees, hips. For example the Hein Gericke Spader jacket. This is probably a pretty decent compromise design for everyday use.

The only textile I've seen which seems to be abrasion resistant to a similar degree to leather is the "armacor" by the Goretex folks. I've seen it shown in some BMW clothing and some Rukka, but at a price

I did come across this German site with some discounted Rukka stuff, but still pricey.
http://www.biker-land.de/catalog/pro...59607d1ed664ee

And whatever you have, make sure there's armour in it... Hospital informed me that only reason I didn't smash both kneecaps was because my biking jeans had armour at knees (and hips)... neither my leathers or textile kit had that armour...

[northwind]

In bad weather textiles offer better primary crash protection-in other words, since you'll be warmer and more comfortable you're less likely to crash. Abrasion's less good than leather but still not bad- I came across a guy who'd dismounted his blade on a sliproad once at about 80mph (he reckoned) in cheap-ish HG textiles, and while he was pretty dinged up he had no serious injuries. Full armour's a total neccesity- I was wearing my Belstaff cordura trousers when I slipped in my driveway and fractured my hip, that's a 0 mph walking injury. Leathers give slightly better impact protection as well as better abrasion protection so hip, knee, and elbow armour just aren't negotiable IMO.

Oh yes, leather survives crashes better- my leathers have survived a 70mph slide on the track and a 30mph trip through a gravel verge with the bike on top of me, and are still perfectly wearable and safe. Try that in cordura...

This discussion always puzzles me.

There is no doubt in my mind that if you're sliding then leathers are going to be better than textile.

Problem I see is the most of the time we are talking about road riding so there is a better than even chance that we will hit something solid before we stop sliding.

Thefore it seems to me that you might as well textile for the better weather ptotection and zip in liners plus as SVeeedy Gonzales said

And whatever you have, make sure there's armour in it...

Tris

Originally Posted by Tris

This discussion always puzzles me.

There is no doubt in my mind that if you're sliding then leathers are going to be better than textile.

Problem I see is the most of the time we are talking about road riding so there is a better than even chance that we will hit something solid before we stop sliding.

Thefore it seems to me that you might as well textile for the better weather ptotection and zip in liners plus as

SVeeedy Gonzales said

Tris

I have to dissagree slightly...

Most textile and leathers now have ce approved armour in pivital impact and slide pints, elbows knees back etc...

i have had the unfortunate experiance of testing my textle jacket ad trousers, and in both instances they have come up trumps,

textiles are designed to give you a platform to slide on using the ce armour, the jacket may heat up and melt away, but this stops the heat being transfered through the leathers into your skin.... and that can be nasty as you end up sticking to the jacket..... ewwww.

my opinions are based on my testing of textile. along with my uncle swoping after he saw a textile jacket that had been used on a race track and slid along for many meters... it was in taters... but the bloke would have recieved severe burns if he had been wearing leathers....

as for puncture resisitance.. that i have neer thank god discovered... and hope i never will...

i feel its down to what your comfortable wearing.. good textile is no cheaper than leathers... but personally i guess its al little bit more versitile.... added to that you can throw it in the washing machine....

Originally Posted by 454697819

slide pints

Isn't that what they do in Bars in John Wayne Westerns

I'm already wearing my coat