Pick one

[Scott of the Sahara]

It really depends on the outside temp. I use my leather jacket for 60 degrees up to 80 degrees. The textile jacket is good from 40 degrees to 60 degrees. I hope and pray that I don't dump it.

[Ncdan]

I just ordered an Olympia Dakar2 jacket (hi-Viz) to replace my 5-year old Olympia.  Olympia jackets are very well-made and full of intelligent features.  One attractive new feature of the Dakar2 is a rain liner -with hood - that can be worn either inside the jacket shell or outside, over the jacket. If you have to ride in the rain, the latter is the way to go, IMO.

Olympia textile jackets are excellent, but the CE-rated armor supplied with the jackets is just OK, not outstanding.  I take out all the removable armor and wear a Forcefield armored shirt underneath.  The shirt holds Forcefield's highly-rated Nitrex armor -
 including back protector and chest pad - firmly in place exactly where it should be.  I like this jacket/armor combination.

Dip, the Forcefield undershirt is interesting. How about a little more conversation on the comfort, cost, heat factor etc. thanks for the informative response!

[Diploman]

This is the Forcefield shirt I wear under my jacket  (Madame gave it to me for Christmas a couple of years ago!)  Once you get accustomed to wearing it (it does feel rather different at first) the shirt/armor becomes unnoticeable and does not impede movement or dexterity.  The shirt body material is elastic, very porous to cooling air, and wicks well.  The chest pad is built with many holes to pass cooling air. The whole ensemble presents far less of an impediment to cooling than I had expected, but does reduce the flow of cooling air by some percentage.  I recommend a highly-vented jacket to go over this shirt - I will trade a small reduction in cooling air any day for the increased protection offered by this item.  Forcefield is a specialist in moto armor and their products are among the best on the market.  Not inexpensive, but worth it, IMO.

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/forcefield-pro-shirt-x-v

[Huzo]

Huzo, I was talking about RIDDING instead of RIDDING in that sentence, lol
Not only do I have spelling issues , I'm to lazy to spell check before hitting the POST button ,lol😂
You aussies are too much. By the way was TOO correct or should it have been spelled TO, teacher;)

I think you know, or you wouldn't have asked. Anyway was basically joking, none of it matters.

[Bill Hagan]

I like both leather and textile, and have both.  But as Kathi and I are about to buy Helite vests, not sure it matters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI7iFZtuf70

Pretty spendy, but so is ICU.  Besides, I have noticed that I just don't bounce as well as I once did. 

Bill

[Socalrob]

I argued for textile under 50� and in the rain.

So you are claiming the various bugs that live in our gut know the future and try to warn us by screwing with our guts?  Fascinating hypothesis.

[rodekyll]

"I argued for textile under 50� and in the rain."

So you are claiming the various bugs that live in our gut know the future and try to warn us by screwing with our guts?  Fascinating hypothesis.

Noooooooo. .  . . . .

In that quote I'm claiming I prefer my textile jacket under 50º and in the rain.  Where do you get gut bugs out of that?

[Ncdan]

I think you know, or you wouldn't have asked. Anyway was basically joking, none of it matters.

I enjoyed the exchange Mate ;)  I'm still considering getting on a plane and taking you up on your offer to come down under and RIDING:)  with you.

[Huzo]

I enjoyed the exchange Mate ;)  I'm still considering getting on a plane and taking you up on your offer to come down under and RIDING:)  with you.

Norge Pilot who is an ex member, is coming over from California next year to do just that. I've bought a tidy Yamaha Diversion for him to ride and the offer to use the bike is open to any forum member to do the same. Ayers Rock is a solid 2 days or a sensible 3 days from here. My address is Burke St Creswick Australia, you can Google earth it, to see where I am geographically in Oz. You would be welcome to drop in, the bike is yours to use if you wish, alone or accompanied.

[malik]

Just don't think you can pick up a bargain in roo riding gear while here. I believe that now all the roo skin go offshore for tanning (Italy I've heard) so it's expensive, even tho' worth the cost. There are at least a couple of places that do bespoke gear in roo leather (& one a member on here). A great "souvenir" though.

And returning to the original question, I vote for leather. It works. And with reasonable care, leather will last more than a lifetime.

Mal

[AJ Huff]

Don't all those guys that go super super fast on bikes for a living wear leather? That seems to answer it.

That said, I wear textile do to money and size constraints.

-AJ

[Kev m]

Don't all those guys that go super super fast on bikes for a living wear leather? That seems to answer it.

That said, I wear textile do to money and size constraints.

-AJ

But does that answer it? Those guys on those super super fast bikes likely ride much faster too.

What speed are you going to be going on that tight blind curve on the road?

Hell I'm slow enough they I wore textiles on the track last summer too.

So since I'm never going to be as fast as those guys I'll stick with textiles.

[fotoguzzi]

from Aerostich:

Compared to leather of the same weight and thickness, Cordura nylon is a stronger material. But hides are thicker and heavier so they offer greater abrasion resistance. We repair about twenty or thirty Aerostich garments a month. About a third of these were in crashes that produced some abrasion damage. Several common themes have emerged. Though Aerostich suits are not as abrasion resistant as racing leathers, they offer significant and useful protection, especially at typical street speeds.

Aerostich wearers often think of their suit as sacrificial in the same way a car's airbag gets used up by its deployment. These garments are lighter, cooler and easier to use in bad weather (etc...), but less crash-durable than leathers. On average, street riders seem to crash only at infrequent intervals. How gear feels and works during the intervening years of use and the tens of thousands of miles of riding is very important. Most street crashes occur between 20 and 50 mph, not between 50 and 100. For each Roadcrafter suit that was in a 100 mph crash, we get dozens that need smaller repairs because the rider fell down at 35 mph . For these kinds of everyday spills, even the fanciest leathers do not offer protective advantages. We make gear to help you use a motorcycle more and be better protected. It has to be safe, easy to use, and comfortable for everyday riding.
Nylon and Friction?

Although we have not conducted tests comparing the friction coefficients of cordura suits and leathers on various pavement surfaces, we have collected a significant amount of relevant information. We repair many Aerostich suits every year, and most of these are damaged by sliding on all kinds of pavements. Many of the wearers (testers....?) had previous crash experiences with leathers. Post-crash wearers typically comment that their Aerostich was 'slipperier' than their old leathers. The consensus is that Cordura slides a little better and tends to roll and tumble the wearer somewhat less than leather. After studying hundreds of accidents, former Motorcyclist magazine editor and professional accident reconstructionist Gordon Jennings believed that more crash injuries (broken shoulders, etc..) were caused by tumbling than by the incrementally increased chances of hitting something due to sliding farther.

[TodkaVonic]

Wait, so a textile gear company is arguing that textiles are superior? And they're basing that, they say, on testimony they've received from people that they say have experience lots of crashes? Huh? Have we lost our critical thinking skills?

This Reminds me of that "study" which suggested that obese people did better in automobile accidents because their vital organs were safely stowed behind layers of protective blubber. You remember right? It was co-authored by Drs. McDonald and KrispyKreme and underwritten by a grant from the Too Fat To Die Foundation and it was published in Hoveround Monthly. Now I know you know what I'm talking about! Closer examination concluded that initial impact survival was negated by significant obesity-related morbidity leading to higher overall mortality rates for those with BMIs greater than 40. Dr. KrispyKreme changed the slides!

Seriously though... Aerostitch, you're arguing that textiles are more slippery, that people tend to tumble less and slide more, correct?

Correct,

And Aerostitch, would you say that you presumably only repair the jackets of those who survived their accidents?

I would.

So, Aerostitch, none of those riders who slid on their textile jackets right into oncoming traffic and died of their injuries needed their jacket fixed, correct?

Um, well, we make jackets. Gotta go! [smoke bomb]





I'll keep my bone-breaking, tumble-inducing, concrete-sticking leathers, thanks.

[Kev m]

Eleven, you DO know that Aerostich sells full leathers too right?

Yes they are suggesting that their textile products should offer sufficient protection for road typical road use, but they are not claiming blanket superiority over leathers and I think that speaks well for the potential believability of their claims.

Well that and anecdotal evidence from many of their customers which has been passed along by the customers through non-marketing channels for decades.

[TodkaVonic]

A) After lurking here for months and hardly posting at all,  I knew that if I did start posting more frequently, someday, someday soon, I'd say this "lighten up, Kev. It's a joke." What I didn't know is that I'd have to explain that after creating the character of Dr. KrispyKreme. Crazy times.
B) do they really make leather suits as well? I ask because I just went to their site and searched leather and cowhide and all that's turning up is gloves.

[Ncdan]

from Aerostich:

Compared to leather of the same weight and thickness, Cordura nylon is a stronger material. But hides are thicker and heavier so they offer greater abrasion resistance. We repair about twenty or thirty Aerostich garments a month. About a third of these were in crashes that produced some abrasion damage. Several common themes have emerged. Though Aerostich suits
are not as abrasion resistant as racing leathers, they offer significant and useful protection, especially at typical street speeds.

Aerostich wearers often think of their suit as sacrificial in the same way a car's airbag gets used up by its deployment. These garments are lighter, cooler and easier to use in bad weather (etc...), but less crash-durable than leathers. On average, street riders seem to crash only at infrequent intervals. How gear feels and works during the intervening years of use and the tens of thousands of miles of riding is very important. Most street crashes occur between 20 and 50 mph, not between 50 and 100. For each Roadcrafter suit that was in a 100 mph crash, we get dozens that need smaller repairs because the rider fell down at 35 mph . For these kinds of everyday spills, even the fanciest leathers do not offer protective advantages. We make gear to help you use a motorcycle more and be better protected. It has to be safe, easy to use, and comfortable for everyday riding.
Nylon and Friction?
Good information!
Although we have not conducted tests comparing the friction coefficients of cordura suits and leathers on various pavement surfaces, we have collected a significant amount of relevant information. We repair many Aerostich suits every year, and most of these are damaged by sliding on all kinds of pavements. Many of the wearers (testers....?) had previous crash experiences with leathers. Post-crash wearers typically comment that their Aerostich was 'slipperier' than their old leathers. The consensus is that Cordura slides a little better and tends to roll and tumble the wearer somewhat less than leather. After studying hundreds of accidents, former Motorcyclist magazine editor and professional accident reconstructionist Gordon Jennings believed that more crash injuries (broken shoulders, etc..) were caused by tumbling than by the incrementally increased chances of hitting something due to sliding farther.

[Kev m]

A) After lurking here for months and hardly posting at all,  I knew that if I did start posting more frequently, someday, someday soon, I'd say this "lighten up, Kev. It's a joke." What I didn't know is that I'd have to explain that after creating the character of Dr. KrispyKreme. Crazy times.
B) do they really make leather suits as well? I ask because I just went to their site and searched leather and cowhide and all that's turning up is gloves.

Ha ha, sorry my bad, I skimmed it while trying to forget this arm pain awaiting ORIF surgery tomorrow.

But yes, they do, it's called Transit 2

Aerostich Leather Jacket:

http://www.aerostich.com/jackets-pants/transit/transit-jacket.html

Pants:

http://www.aerostich.com/jackets-pants/transit/transit-pants.html

Though it looks like they may be discontinuing it after many years.