Textile or leather?

[YamahaWolf]

I have recently brought a 600cc Thundercat. Should I ride with textiles or leather. I want to be comfortable but also safe. Can you reccomend any leathers or textiles that would be good?

[Roadtorque]

It's all about the weather,,,,

leather's good for for summer & dry riding & can cope with rain up to a point,,,

Textile is better for all round weather protection & is warmer in winter,,,

All have inbuilt protection & like eveything else, quality comes at a price,,,

Sorry, NO, not all have protection, but it's easy to sort out the rubbish

[MonkeyKnuckle]

And buy a proper back protector and get rid of the foam that comes inside most jackets.

[TC1474]

And buy a proper back protector and get rid of the foam that comes inside most jackets.

 

Bit of a sweeping statement

You obviously are not aware that some strap on back protectors can cause more problems than they solve in road use, whereas a lot of in built back protectors are actually safer, particularly those made of memory foam which is standard on a lot of garments these days.

[YamahaWolf]

I do alot of long distance riding, so I think that textiles may be better for me, so is a back protector a good idea then?

[Roadtorque]

I do alot of long distance riding, so I think that textiles may be better for me, so is a back protector a good idea then?

 

Check the one in the jacket & if need be fit a better one,,

but protection in most jackets in the upper price range is good

[Guest]

obviously remember when purchasing textile that it will not be as strong as leather when you impact something / slide / graze, i had a low speed impact (about 20-30mph) in leathers and ripped the leathers wide open.

if i was wearing jeans or textiles i can only imagine how much worse the damage could have been to my leg.

[Guest]

obviously remember when purchasing textile that it will not be as strong as leather when you impact something / slide / graze, i had a low speed impact (about 20-30mph) in leathers and ripped the leathers wide open.

if i was wearing jeans or textiles i can only imagine how much worse the damage could have been to my leg.

good leathers wouldn't rip open as they're double/triple stitched, and the ce armour helps..

if you plan on doing track days then leathers the way to go, textiles are a no-no..

[Guest]

obviously remember when purchasing textile that it will not be as strong as leather when you impact something / slide / graze, i had a low speed impact (about 20-30mph) in leathers and ripped the leathers wide open.

if i was wearing jeans or textiles i can only imagine how much worse the damage could have been to my leg.

good leathers wouldn't rip open as they're double/triple stitched, and the ce armour helps..

if you plan on doing track days then leathers the way to go, textiles are a no-no..

 

that is a very narrow minded thing to say. for the sake of the argument, they were triple stitched and were "good leathers" if by which you mean branded, very popular and expensive.

[Guest]

obviously remember when purchasing textile that it will not be as strong as leather when you impact something / slide / graze, i had a low speed impact (about 20-30mph) in leathers and ripped the leathers wide open.

if i was wearing jeans or textiles i can only imagine how much worse the damage could have been to my leg.

good leathers wouldn't rip open as they're double/triple stitched, and the ce armour helps..

if you plan on doing track days then leathers the way to go, textiles are a no-no..

 

that is a very narrow minded thing to say. for the sake of the argument, they were triple stitched and were "good leathers" if by which you mean branded, very popular and expensive.

just my experience, as is yours..

[TC1474]

A heavy guage cordura (textile) is actually 5 times more abrasive resistant than leather. The downside is that because cordura does notn give or mould to the body the same way as leather does, you can't wear textiles tight like you do leather hence the reason for the compromise between leather and textile.

As an all rounder, a good quality textile is a dam good option.

[Roadtorque]

So there you go, Leather or Textile, at the end of the day,,,

It's All Down To You & what suits your needs

[Guest]

And buy a proper back protector and get rid of the foam that comes inside most jackets.

 

Bit of a sweeping statement

You obviously are not aware that some strap on back protectors can cause more problems than they solve in road use, whereas a lot of in built back protectors are actually safer, particularly those made of memory foam which is standard on a lot of garments these days.

 

Can you elaborate please cos Im not aware and wouild like to know

[Hywel]

And buy a proper back protector and get rid of the foam that comes inside most jackets.

 

Bit of a sweeping statement

You obviously are not aware that some strap on back protectors can cause more problems than they solve in road use, whereas a lot of in built back protectors are actually safer, particularly those made of memory foam which is standard on a lot of garments these days.

 

Can you elaborate please cos Im not aware and wouild like to know

 

I second this sentiment. TC do you have a good reason for telling all the poor 'unaware' folk this? A lot of people here seem to be all about the strap-on back armour. Gimme tr00fs plz kthx.

[nman1]

I`m going to have to say leather matey. Once it`s worn in and you get the correct fit, you don`t know you`re wearing it. I do have a textile jacket for winter but if I can get away with not wearing it because of the weather I will. It feels a little bulky and slightly more restrictive than my leather jacket. The other option some on here have is to have leather trousers (better abrasion resistant so they say) and textile top. Like said before it`s entirely up to you, go and try some kit on, it cost nothing to do that.

[Guest philgale]

obviously remember when purchasing textile that it will not be as strong as leather when you impact something / slide / graze, i had a low speed impact (about 20-30mph) in leathers and ripped the leathers wide open.

if i was wearing jeans or textiles i can only imagine how much worse the damage could have been to my leg.

good leathers wouldn't rip open as they're double/triple stitched, and the ce armour helps..

if you plan on doing track days then leathers the way to go, textiles are a no-no..

 

if they were a good name/expensive they must have been faulty, i have come off in frank thomas leathers twice ones around 30mph ones around 50mph and came off in my berick suit at around 80mph and they were fine. my berick ones dont even look like thay been down the track, apart from a big dent in the metal elbow bit....

[Pete]

I ride with leather Hein Gericke salopettes, and a cheapy textile jacket with knox armour in. I've also got a Knox Contour back protector and have left the foam one inside the jacket (looks like I've got a bit of a humped back at times!). I was out on the bike a lot over the weekend, covered about 500 miles and for the most part it totally pissed it down. I ran the Cat and Fiddle and for anyone that's been up there in the rain and fog you'll know what I mean when I say it wasn't just a little bit damp! My textile jacket let in a bit of water at the front zip, but that's to be expected with a cheap jacket, however much to my surprise my Hein Gericke trousers left my pins bone dry!

I feel "safer" in the leather trousers than in my textiles trousers. They're thicker, warmer (with jogging trousers on underneath), have better triple stiched seams and even though they were a nause to bed into they're now alot comfier than my textiles too. I'm still surprised at how waterproof they are, so maybe that was just me, or maybe because they're still quite new so you might not get as good waterproofing in the long run I guess.

I'd say textiles top and leathers bottom. The reason being that up top you can get better all-weather gear with textiles (depending on what you buy and how much you spend!) and can also add/remove layers more easily because of the looser fit with textiles than leathers.

TC1474 I would also like to know more about the back protector problems. Would wearing my Knox Contour and my foam insert one at the same time be a problem? My knowledge only goes as far as to know that Level 2 is the better of the two available and I'd be interested to know what sort of problems can come from an after market back protector and which ones in particular would be good to avoid.

[Guest]

in summer i run with leathers that zip together, for the damper days i have a textile jacket that still zips to trousers.

tip though, on wet days put the cuffs on the outside of the gloves, otherwise the water runs into the glove, getting wet and smelly..

and with boots, bag your feet, tuck under legs of trousers and put feet in boots, looks silly, but i got caught in a major downpour on the cat & fiddle going to MFN and it let me ride without thinking i had a waterfall running into my boots.. ohh, and boots are dry, leather trousers stayed dry, was just gloves and cuffs that got wet.

I dont have a back protector, for one reason, my trousers are a snug fit, either i lose some weight, or get bigger pants..

[Roadtorque]

in summer i run with leathers that zip together, for the damper days i have a textile jacket that still zips to trousers.

tip though, on wet days put the cuffs on the outside of the gloves, otherwise the water runs into the glove, getting wet and smelly..

and with boots, bag your feet, tuck under legs of trousers and put feet in boots, looks silly, but i got caught in a major downpour on the cat & fiddle going to MFN and it let me ride without thinking i had a waterfall running into my boots.. ohh, and boots are dry, leather trousers stayed dry, was just gloves and cuffs that got wet.

I dont have a back protector, for one reason, my trousers are a snug fit, either i lose some weight, or get bigger pants..

There by hangs another tale,, finding a pair of gloves that will fit inside the the cuffs of a jacket,, it's not easy, summer gloves OK, but winter gloves it's almost impossible,, the thing with gloves, they don't seem to be made to do either

[Pete]

in summer i run with leathers that zip together, for the damper days i have a textile jacket that still zips to trousers.

tip though, on wet days put the cuffs on the outside of the gloves, otherwise the water runs into the glove, getting wet and smelly..

and with boots, bag your feet, tuck under legs of trousers and put feet in boots, looks silly, but i got caught in a major downpour on the cat & fiddle going to MFN and it let me ride without thinking i had a waterfall running into my boots.. ohh, and boots are dry, leather trousers stayed dry, was just gloves and cuffs that got wet.

I dont have a back protector, for one reason, my trousers are a snug fit, either i lose some weight, or get bigger pants..

There by hangs another tale,, finding a pair of gloves that will fit inside the the cuffs of a jacket,, it's not easy, summer gloves OK, but winter gloves it's almost impossible,, the thing with gloves, they don't seem to be made to do either

 

And with me they always seem to pop out after a couple of miles anyway! I've tried tightening the velcro cuff but that just makes the gloves harder to get back in afterwards!

[Guest]

tip though, on wet days put the cuffs on the outside of the gloves, otherwise the water runs into the glove, getting wet and smelly..

There by hangs another tale,, finding a pair of gloves that will fit inside the the cuffs of a jacket,, it's not easy, summer gloves OK, but winter gloves it's almost impossible,, the thing with gloves, they don't seem to be made to do either

 

And with me they always seem to pop out after a couple of miles anyway! I've tried tightening the velcro cuff but that just makes the gloves harder to get back in afterwards!

yep mine wont go under the jacket, especially when trying to make then with a gloved hand..

they've just come out of the freezer, so trying another top tip from here, cracking weather, and all kit has been washed, dryed, aired ready to go again...

[YamahaWolf]

Thank you for all the tips guys, very helpful.

[Guest]

obviously remember when purchasing textile that it will not be as strong as leather when you impact something / slide / graze, i had a low speed impact (about 20-30mph) in leathers and ripped the leathers wide open.

if i was wearing jeans or textiles i can only imagine how much worse the damage could have been to my leg.

good leathers wouldn't rip open as they're double/triple stitched, and the ce armour helps..

if you plan on doing track days then leathers the way to go, textiles are a no-no..

 

if they were a good name/expensive they must have been faulty, i have come off in frank thomas leathers twice ones around 30mph ones around 50mph and came off in my berick suit at around 80mph and they were fine. my berick ones dont even look like thay been down the track, apart from a big dent in the metal elbow bit....

 

i think its pretty naive to "big up" any sort of leathers with the "oh yours must be faulty cos proper leathers wouldnt ever rip cos mine never" remark, its ridiculous to assume just because of your experience that that will be the reality for all situations and outcomes of all accidents for all riders.

Just because no-one ever seems to be in your blind spot when you turn doesnt make lifesavers redundant and we all know someone who has smoked til they were 100 but that doesnt mean smoking is safe.

the leathers ripped because of a high speed impact into a solid abrasive surface (dont assume i was "down the track" just because you were), if they were textiles the outcome would have been a lot worse and it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure that out and thats all i was stating.

[Guest]

i think its pretty naive to "big up" any sort of leathers with the "oh yours must be faulty cos proper leathers wouldnt ever rip cos mine never" remark, its ridiculous to assume just because of your experience that that will be the reality for all situations and outcomes of all accidents for all riders.

Just because no-one ever seems to be in your blind spot when you turn doesnt make lifesavers redundant and we all know someone who has smoked til they were 100 but that doesnt mean smoking is safe.

the leathers ripped because of a high speed impact into a solid abrasive surface (dont assume i was "down the track" just because you were), if they were textiles the outcome would have been a lot worse and it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure that out and thats all i was stating.

 

Untitled, it would be nice of you to come out of the cold and introduce yourself..

[Alex Gold]

My 2 cents are - leathers are better in a crash, textiles are better in bad weather and wearing in everyday life.