Best unknown leathers

[Paul_E_D]

Interesting article here:

http://www.southbayriders.com/forums.../pic102319.pdf

[SWEET_Z]

Thanks, that is some great info. I wish the mags did tests like this more often. I don't like buying a suit based on how it looks like it will perform or by brand name alone. Funny how the 2nd and 3rd place suits were half the price of the others.

[joberly]

Awesome info, however I did a little research and good luck finding any info about some of those companies. Most of them are based overseas and I can't even find an online dealer for some of them. Great bang for the buck with some of those suits though!

[Paul_E_D]

What I thought was interesting was how the big names scored the lowest (in general)

[joberly]

Yeah definatly.... seems that the overseas people are more concerned with the way they perform... whereas the Americans like how it looks Form over function, the American way!

[Karaya One]

It's all driven by price. Most of those suits are sewn at countries in the pacific rim due to a much lower labor cost. Some of it is good, but most are not so good and it shows in seam construction and fit.

Leather is bought on the open market, same as textiles. This price is fairly constant. It's all about the labor and that equals $$$.

Just think about how a company like Vanson in Fall River paying American wages feels competeing against a Vietnamese sticher?

The Dainese suit is the biggest surprise, but not shocking. They began shifting production away from Italy a few years ago.

[Lucky13]

Great link..I have the Hein Gericke Tribal suit. I'm glad to see it scored well. I didn't really do my homework before I bought it.

[Green Hornet]

Nice find! I wish moto mags state side had features like that.

[Rye]

Originally posted by Paul_E_D
Interesting article here:

http://www.southbayriders.com/forums.../pic102319.pdf

Even funnier that the Alpinestars suit was the most expensive (by a lot) and performed nearly the worst.

[nefarious]

apples and oranges.. a pos Dianese suite compared to the almost top of the line BKG

[license2ill]

The top performers are available online only to us, as far as I can tell:

Dannisport, www.cbraceapparel.com

Carrerra, www.carreracanada.com

BKS, www.bksleather.co.uk


BTW, those suits are all made in the UK, and are completely CE certified as type-approved suits as a whole, not just the armor. So in other words, they have voluntarily met the industry standards that the big guys are still fighting compliance with over there. As such, they are the only suits that can legally claim that they are protective for motorcyclist use. I'm impressed by their integrity, and it shows results in the magazine test. I think the credibiltiy of their efforts shows us something the larger marketing companies don't. The RIDE test was basically a reproduction of those CE testing protocols.

Here's some briefings on what's involved in those tests and some info on the compliance issues goin on in Europe:

http://www.pva-ppe.org.uk/Motorcycle clothing and standards - a buyer's guide.htm

http://www.pva-ppe.org.uk/PART 2 THE PATH TO STANDARDS.htm

http://www.pva-ppe.org.uk/PART 3 THE EUROPEAN MOTORCYCLE CLOTHING STANDARDS EXPLAINED.htm

http://www.pva-ppe.org.uk/PART 4 COMPLIANCE & CONTROVERSY.htm

http://www.pva-ppe.org.uk/Compliance and Controversy 2004.pdf

It would be nice to see more companies interested in showing more credibility and honest operations, but it sems like its pulling teeth with the most well-known brands, that just happen to be the poorest perfromers in this particular test that includes most of the objective ares that are important to us.