Leathers - how good is a designer label?

[TLS-Moose]

Saw this posted elsewhere ....... bit out of date, but interesting reading for those who insist on off the shelf "designer label" suits

http://www.ridetriangles.com/pdf/581/211873.pdf

Interesting to note where Dainese came

Considering it is effectively PPE, it's a shame there is no compulsory testing system like that for helmets - especially considering there is already a BS/ECE set of tests available

When shelling out hundreds for new leathers (or any other safety clothing), it would be nice to have some sort of quantative test available to show how it performs, rather than "if they have a marketing budget big enough to give free suits to Rossi/any other racer journalist to wear, it must be good enough for me (even if theirs are hand-made specials)", and know it is going to protect you

[deej]

Intersting read there moose,be god to see a 2008 one with the likes of ebrik and arlen ness included and also a 1 peice guide too

personally i would buy dainese over most of the other brands there,when i crashed at 60 in my dainese there wasnt a mark on them or me yet my mate crashed in his frank thomas and they ripped to shreds,i wont repeat what gerry said about them when gerry saw them when they went there to get replaced. he also suffered bruising and carpet burns on his elbow from where the armour burnt his skin and his crash was slower than mine.

[DynaMight]

I think my leathers are Dainese Monza. I'm gonna stick to the proven method of not crashing...

[Blimey]

I think my leathers are Dainese Monza. I'm gonna stick to the proven method of not crashing...

Thats how i have always played it except at Llandow last year. My Alpinstars proved good and what i have heard from plenty of other riders who have tested thier abillity i think i will stick with them. Better the devil you know me thinks

[Scotty]

I was looking for some new leathers in late 2002 and tried a number of different brands on. Memorable from this was the disappointment in how uncomfortable a set of Texports were (the armour was extremely uncomfortable and really dug in) and how comfortable an Alpinestars Bostrom suit was, but the comfort factor was tempered by the feeling that it was a "one crash" suit ie. one decent "off" and it'd be fit only for the bin.
I decided to check up on made-to-measure stuff and found that for pretty much the same price (around £800) I could get something made to my own design and the choice came down to either Crowtree or Zak. As Crowtree were in Louth (110 miles from former home in Leicester) and Zak in Northampton (30 miles) I went to Zak and ended up with an excellent suit (including free back protector) that certainly resists crash damage well - after my 120-odd mph get off at Llandow last year there wasn't a mark on me save for some big bruises, and the damage to the suit was repaired for £75. My only issue with the suit is its weight, but that's due to the sheer amount of leather in it.
Karen, who runs Zak, knows leathers inside out (literally) as she made them for Swift and FT and has repaired and altered just about every brand around and can offer valid opinions on them all from the expert's perspective. Dainese stuff certainly looks good, but you couldn't pay me to wear it, especially after Karen told me about the arm coming off an £1100 Foggy replica suit in a 60mph crash....
With leathers as much as anything it's a case of getting what you pay for, but I'll always go made to measure in future, at least you can be certain of whet you're getting. I wasn't surprised to see the Hideout suit winning the comparison test on the link above, but if you're thinking of buying a suit, check by what margin the Hideout suit won the test and have a think about made to measure stuff. What's your skin worth?

[tafflade]

I find it interesting that you refer to your leathers as PPE.

the only part of your suit that is classed as PPE is the armour inside it with notable exceptions being Halvarssons safety jacket & trousers and a couple of other similar suits, the difference is in the price tag.


my Dainese 2 piece cost me about £600, the PPE suits cost £1000, this is probably down to the cost of testing