Joncon, is the entire pant 1000 denier or just the high impact areas?
I rode with a pair of Tourmaster something or others for a few years. They were nice, but I had the same knee protection placement problem, along with the fact that they were about four inches too short.
I tried on many a pair of overpants and every one had that same problem. They were a perfect fit off the bike, but with my knees bent they would be too short and the armor would rise above my knee.
Last year I just so happend to be riding through Duluth MN (so sue me if it was a bit off the GPS's charted course) and stopped by Aerostich's little shop of wonders. There I tried on a pair of Darien pants. Same problem. Too short when I got on the bike, and the armor placed wrong.
But the sales lady quickly informed me that this was indeed no problem at all. Out came the tape measure, and after a few pulls of the tape while I was seated on my bike, she assured me they could have a pair of overpants that fit perfectly.
I continued home with my Tour somethings, and a few weeks later a package from Minnesota arrived.
I haven't been happier with a pice of riding gear. Perfect fit, perfect armor placement, and very comfortable to boot. Yeah they're pricey, but they were made to my exact specs. In the U S of A.
I highly recommend the Aerostich gear to anyone who asks.
But that's just my opinion and it's worth as much as you paid for it.
-darrell
Vanson unfortunately lacks the customer service that once made them known in the MC industry.
What about Olympia Moto Sports stuff. http://www.olympiamotosports.com/home.htm (http://www.olympiamotosports.com/home.htm)
Dainese or REV'IT. But get yer checkbook out (http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j180/stevewfl/bigthumb.gif)
I am in the market for some leather since I got my leg rashed up last weekend. When my wife decides to ride she will also be wearing leather too. I am looking at Joe Rocket, AGV, and Frank Thomas, Alpinestars stuff seems a little flashy for my taste. I really want to find a brick and mortar store that I could walk into and try on different pants and jackets. Since a store like that is rare around my area I guess eBay or another online retailer with a good return policy is about my only alternative.
I like the MotoPort stuff....
For my 2 cents... I bought the transit suit from 'stich... Worth the cash, will protect you in a crash , keeps you dry in the rain. Did a 7500 mile trip this summer, suit was great... As stated you do get what you pay for.
Dave
Bagger, your funny as hell. Great perspective. My wife actually has been riding the hell outta me to get the Kevlar motoport pants or their 1000 denier cordura. Can't believe I am hesitating. Imma finally bite the bullet this week and order. Thanks for all the great comments on this thread.
Bagger, is there specific gear from Motoport that you would recommend? My wife and I are interested in some two piece suits for more long distance riding.
sweet...can't wait to see them...I'm begrudgingly dragging myself to ordering the pants....just don't feel like laying down the cash (also known as friends).... I like my friends...I greet each dollar bill as it migrates to my bank account but they never stay long.
but I guess daily riding justifies wearing some shyte that ain't gonna deliver in the clutch when I go down.
shyte...i thought they sell a waterproof liner as an option...it don't work?
think imma go with the 1000 denier cordura Ultra II...same pant just no kevlar and 200 friends cheaper. Imma get with the liner, hip & sacrum pad, and suspenders (I'm old school like that). Gotta do all the measurements and thinkin thats a sunday project. Excited to get this done as my leather pants just don't fit in the knees right. I'm a 32 inseam and they look like high waters so I always tuck them in my Commando boots. plus the knee pads just rides too high.
Talked to MotoPort, Kevin says my gear should ship on Monday. Hope it all fits, as I'm anxious to use and not send back for adjustments. For that kind of coin, its gonna fit right before I cover my sorry ass with it.
Haha. I MAY have already had a few cap'n M's in t
Those pics but I'm takin the fifth (the fifth of cap'n m that is).
Haha. I MAY have already had a few cap'n M's in t
Those pics but I'm takin the fifth (the fifth of cap'n m that is).
Everytime I do that ... I end up with another vehicle in my garages.
Indeed, drinking and ebay is a bad combo... :-[
I'll have to look into the Motoport stuff when I get some $. I resorted to the Nelson-Rigg rain suit over my waterproofresistant TourMaster jacket and Joe Rocket pants, just to make sure I was dry. The rockets are usually fine for short rain bursts while moving, but the crotch leaks in the pouring rain while sitting in traffic.
Took me a good 10 min to get on to 66 from the Balls Ford/234 light (1/2 mile)...all the morons were running into each other this morning!
Chiming in here a little late, but saw this a few weeks ago and it really shined a light on the protective qualities (or lack thereof) of Cordura. This video starts out talking about a new jacket, but then goes to show how products are tested to earn an EN Level 2 rating for abrasion resistance.
Clover Tekno Jacket (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0RdChrvRZ8#ws)
500D Cordura didn't even last 1 second, so I doubt 1,000D would last more than 3. I haven't seen any reports on how Kevlar or any other "super" fabrics stand up to this same test (it's elective for manufacturers and costs them money) so I can't comment on that.
The sad thing is that probably 90% of the textile motorcycle gear on the market is made of 600D or lighter Cordura and in the grand scheme of things really doesn't offer the wearer much protection. For example, most of the FirstGear products use 400D Cordura (the TPG line being the exception which uses 600D with 1,000D reinforcements) and the video above shows it's not even going to hold up for a full second in a slide.
This is one of the main reasons the European Union came up with their new system of standards for protective gear sold in that region in the late 1990's, but unfortunately they really don't enforce it and there's very little incentive for the manufacturers to have their gear certified. "Supposedly" under E.U. law manufacturers aren't allowed to market non-certified gear as having "protective" attributes, but we all know that's not the case. More details on the EN standards can be found at the following link if you're interested.
http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcycle-clothing/motorcycle-clothing-safety-standards.htm (http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcycle-clothing/motorcycle-clothing-safety-standards.htm)
The Clover jacket shown in the above video is the first textile jacket to ever receive top EN certification in all areas (abrasion, mechanical impact, sheer strength, etc.) even though these standards have been in place for a decade.
I get ya, Will .... I run into this question ... "Says who, where's the research?" in my business all the time. "4 outa 5 dentists recommend ... yada, yada". Whatever, eh.
I'll contact a couple of the manufactures of the gear and see if they have any laboratory test regarding durability of their fabrics in slides.
I remember reading the 75 lb sandbag dragging various materials behind a pickup several years ago. I guess that is about as good a lab report as you can get in the field.
damn! looks like it costs about 1000 bucks too. whaddaya think bagger? you seem to be our resident gear whore? gonna get one? :-D too rich for my blood.
Hey, I'm certainly no materials engineer. (don't think I'm a gear whore either, Will ... tho, I do have lots of 'stuff'). But, wearing some sort of protective gear ... jacket/pants/boots/helmet/gloves/codpiece ... should bode well for one if you get tossed off the bike. The armor seems more important to me
Meant it in jest Bagger. Mea culpa ma friend.
My concerns are more with the type and placement of the armor in the gear. Kinda like a block tumbling down the driveway. Just the sharp corners contact the Tarmac mostly. The flat sides are rarely in contact with the driveway until momentum peters out. JMO.
+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.
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.
I am just a cheapskate, so I bought a 2 piece Joe Rocket leather suit after my first get off. I got a killer deal on everything on ebay ($150 for a $700 set) I had been running all textile gear but I always wear my leather jacket now.