+1 on that statement Bagger. Properly fitting gear with properly placed armor, along with a higher strength material at the place of the armor and padding, along with quality stitching are most important to me. <$500 also helps.
The TourMaster and Joe Rocket stuff I have now doesn't meet any of the criteria other than price, so I'm on the hunt for something new.
This is where the EN 13595 standards come into play as they will tell you exactly how each different type of material compares in those regards.
EN 13595 - This covers jackets, trousers plus one and two piece suits and includes a wide variety of tests intended to assess the protection and integrity of the clothing ensemble . It has been formatted into four parts.
Part 1 - Establishes the basic construction requirements and the examination procedures for the clothing.
Part 2 - Impact Abrasion: The test involves the sample being dropped through a distance of 50 mm onto a 60 grit abrasive belt moving at a speed of 8 m/s (approximately 18 mph). The test ends when the sample is holed - defined by a trip wire, placed underneath the test specimen, being broken. The abrasive power of the belt is assessed using two layers of a standard reference fabric and the specimen's abrasion time is corrected.
Part 3 - Seam Burst Strength: A circular sample cut from the clothing is placed over a diaphragm and is clamped around its edge. The specimen is gradually extended into a dome shape thereby applying forces to the seam in all directions. The pressure required to burst the sample is recorded.
Part 4 - Impact cut: A test specimen taken from the clothing is mounted over a block containing a rectangular hole. A striker of fixed mass with a sharp blade fitted to its lower surface is dropped with a defined energy level so that the blade impacts the sample directly above the rectangular hole. The maximum penetration of the blade through the material is measured.
For a jacket or pant product to earn any level of CE rating it must pass all four parts of the testing. I.e. if it passed the first three at Level 2 but failed to meed Level 1 requirements on the fourth part it would not earn any CE rating. Additionally, if a product passes the first three at Level 2 and the forth at Level 1, it will only receive a Level 1 rating. Remember though, this is only for the shell construction and materials and has nothing to do with the included armor as it's tested and rated separately under EN 1621.
Here's an interesting excerpt from the write-up webbikeworld did on the Clover jacket pertaining to how leather and textiles compare in the EN lab tests.
Leather vs. Textile?
I asked Clover if there was any difference in the protective abilities of their Level 2 leather clothing vs. textile and received a rather surprising answer
They said that the 1.2 - 1.3 mm leather (tanned in Italy, high-quality leather) lasted on the impact abrasion test for about 3.5 seconds. This means it is not possible to have a Level 1 product with the use of a single layer of 1.2 - 1.3 mm leather, which is the standard leather thickness used on a typical leather jacket or suit.
To reach Level 2, the leather must have two layers, one for the external shell of 1.2 - 1.3 mm high-quality Italian leather, which will withstand the first 3.5 seconds, then a second inner layer, made with a particular fabric similar to Kevlar, but stronger for the other 3.5 seconds to reach the Level 2 target (minimum of 7 seconds abrasion resistance). All Level 2 garments must pass the minimum 7 seconds abrasion test.
Is Level 2 textile better than Level 2 leather? Clover said they have a better result for their textile on the abrasion test. Note that this is Clover's special textile, not just "any old" textile from other brands.
For the impact cut resistance test they get better results with leather. Textile has better tear strength, and both leather and textile have similar values when it comes to the stitching burst test. The best test they had was the main stitching on their leather jacket and suit, which was able to resist up to 1,144 kPa pressure (more than 11 ATM). The Level 2 standard calls for a minimum of 800 kPa pressure, so their leather tested 40% higher than the Level 2 standards.
Not sure what all the actual value requirements are for all the tests (some are given in the above quote) or how directly they actually correlate to what the gear will see in the real world, but at least they establish a set standard so we have a way of knowing it's definitely going to offer at least a predetermined level of protection.
