akilagun Posted April 16, 2012 Report Share Posted April 16, 2012 Hi, I am going to France and Spain in a few weeks and was wondering what clothing should i go for, textiles or leathers? Any suggestions? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktk_ace Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 whatever is within your budget ,comfy and carry ece level 1 safety certification is good imho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warregl Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 Are you looking for touring gear or track gear? If you are touring textile is more flexible but if you are on the track leather should provide more protection. Those are rediculously broad generalizations but... Dave says you should wear a thong (France is more liberal with those kinds of things). That said no one listens to Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crash106 Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 I vote for textile. Leather is too hot--unless you really need that level of protection for track riding. Olympia Moto Sports Aerostitch Roadcrafter TourMaster MotoPort Joe Rocket I'm still trying to decide on one, but I'm leaning toward the Olympia (best value) or the Roadcrafter (easiest on-off). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthem Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 I am a firm believer in leather. I have used textile before and have seen too many textile garments just not function as one would hope they do (especially mesh). The textiles that do function how I would want, are pretty much the same "comfort level" as functional leather. So I switched back to leather. Perforated leather for hot weather riding. . I do use textile in winter as it actually functions better than leather in terms of warmth/layers (and I'm using the heavier duty stuff). That being said - I can see where textile is useful if you're going on a trip. Because while you can get waterproof leather, its generally not as good venting as the perforated leather options that you have. So, if you're going on a trip where you need to handle cool, hot, wet and dry - then textile certainly might be more flexible than leather. As I generally keep my rides to dry weather and I can choose when/where I ride (not on a trip), I can limit my choices to what the weather is that day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faffi Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 Heat is not the problem here 90% of the time - chill and rain is. As such, textile offer a good compromise for shorter rides. But in my experience, they really aren't weatherproof. And they leak wind all over the place. Although slightly less convenient, I prefer leathers together with proper rain gear if its cold and/or wet. Or, if it's really cold, winter insulated textile with rain gear on top. As to protections, leathers sits miles above textile. I suffered a low speed get-off last summer, perhaps 25 mph, and tore a hole on the knee of the pants and had several holes on the arm and shoulder of my textile gear - bought for the trip in hope of having my cake and eating it too. Had I wore my usual leathers, they'd barely be scuffed a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthem Posted April 17, 2012 Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 Heat is not the problem here 90% of the time - chill and rain is. As such, textile offer a good compromise for shorter rides. But in my experience, they really aren't weatherproof. And they leak wind all over the place. Although slightly less convenient, I prefer leathers together with proper rain gear if its cold and/or wet. Or, if it's really cold, winter insulated textile with rain gear on top. As to protections, leathers sits miles above textile. I suffered a low speed get-off last summer, perhaps 25 mph, and tore a hole on the knee of the pants and had several holes on the arm and shoulder of my textile gear - bought for the trip in hope of having my cake and eating it too. Had I wore my usual leathers, they'd barely be scuffed a bit. Depends on what you get to determine whether things are waterproof. I find if you get the Goretex proshell type of jackets - where the jacket material and waterproof laminate are one piece and NOT a separate goretex liner - then the entire system can be made pretty wind/water proof. I have gone 8 hours in cold/wet without a drop of water. .. I can deal with cold and wet all day. I don't like hot, don't like hot and wet. Cold or cold and wet is a much easier problem to solve than hot or hot/wet. . . As a reference - for cold or cold/wet look at Rukka Armas. Ridden down to 0c without a problem and is good for up to about 25C. It's made up there in Scandinavia no less. .. However good Rukka gear is for cold and cold/wet - its not good for hot. .. And if you don't get the laminated gore-tex type of units - then the liner based units have problem like all the rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akilagun Posted April 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2012 Wow thanks guys, What a response, i was not quiet expecting that and such good sensible advise. After reading what has been siad i am going to opt for leather gear and buy a waterproof jacket just in case! Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mugget Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 It depends in what you'll be confident in as well. For me, leather is the only option for alot of highway/twisties riding. For around town I wear a textile jacket. Had a couple of low speed crashes wearing that and it does rip and wear away a bit, but I just stitch it back together. Riding in the wet... I've just come to accept that I will be damp and slightly uncomfortable. Everything pools to my crotch. 'Wets' or 'waterproof' over-suits have never lived up to their name. I have applied a sealant to the seams so I'm waiting for a good downpour to test that out. I have heard alot of great things about the Roadcrafter textile suit as well. I believe you can even get them custom made with leather knee sliders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.