"Ballistic" clothing

[Ron4x]

I have been looking at buying either a set of leathers or some of the new man-made protective clothing. The advantage of the latter seems to be that it is waterproof whereas leather isnt necessarily so.
However, if you fall off and have a slide, how good is the man-made stuff? What make to buy for best protection ?

Thanks

Ron

[c_dug]

After wearing a hole through the shoulder of my jacket in my last off, at less than 30mph, my confidence in textiles abrasion resistance is pretty low, especially when the contact patch is as small as a shoulder. If your whole body is sliding I'm sure they're a little better.

I just take it as part of the risk of riding now. If I'm quick enough to wear through the textiles then a little road rash is likely to be the least of my worries. If I'm going slow enough not to impact anything other than the road then I'll count myself lucky to get away with a few grazes here and there.

I have full leathers and still choose to wear textiles on my commute, they convenience outweighs the risk for me.
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[CaNsA]

As far as i know.....

Textiles are designed to grip the road and slow you down.
Hence the low abrasion resistance

Leather is designed to let you slide.
Hence the high resistance.

[JoeDougieDoug...]

I've come off in my armoured textile jacket twice and its saved my shoulder and my elbows each time! It was only a cheap (£50) jacket too!
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CBT Passed - 22 / 10 / 11 >> Theory Passed - 16 / 02 / 2012 >> Mod 1 Passed - 07 / 03 / 2012 >> Mod 2 Passed - 18 / 05 / 2012.

[Ron4x]

[JoeDougieDoug...]

[Ron4x]

Hello Guys

Thanks for your help. Just been down to Mikes Bikes in Oswestry and got some Weise kit and a pair of boots. So the next step is to get retrained and then get a bike.

All the best

Ron