Textiles vs Leathers
The textiles vs leathers debate is all about tradeoffs and so it depends on how much you value individual tradeoffs and ultimately, your intended use and riding conditions. Is safety above all the most important thing to you, or are you more interested in finding a balance between comfort and safety? Does your gear need to be waterproof, or waterproof and breathable? Does it need to be well insulated or do you want it to have max abrasion resistence?
The tradeoff between these questions have had great rider minds in a muddle and increasingly so over the last couple of years as the quality of textiles have improved so much making the debate that much harder! Just type in “leather vs textiles” into google and you will find that 90% of the results are from forums with the argument going back and fourth between riders with the answer ultimately resulting in the fact that it depends on your personal preferences. The problem is that this does not help those new to the biking world who have not had the time or experience to develop their own, well-guided prefences… and so the argument goes on.
Important Factors to Consider When Deciding on Textiles vs Leathers
Textiles vs Leathers: Price
Textiles are cheaper to buy than leathers, however imagine you have a crash the first time you wear your new textile suit. You will hopefully survive the crash – but your textiles won’t! It is widely accepted that your textile suit will probably only survive one crash (depending on the speed of the crash) and then you will have to fork out for a new pair.
Another disadvantage to purchasing leather is that it is harder to judge the quality of the leather, while man made fabrics are more consistent in quality. The quality of the leather in different level of thickness as well as the stitching and construction of the item will have a lot to do with how well it holds up in an accident.
Textiles vs Leathers: Maintenance
This one is simple – textiles can be thrown in a commercial washer, while leathers will need to be sent to the cleaners.
Textiles vs Leathers: Comfort
Textile has an all weather capability: vents for when it is warm, liners for when it is cold and water resistence for rain. It breathes more easily than leather, and water slides off it like a ducks back. However, although it can be sweltering inside leather during the summer, you can buy underclothes that will absorb moisture and keep you cool. You can also buy leather vents or perforated leather to keep you cool. Now you are safe and not suffering from the elements.
Textiles vs Leathers: Protection
Several years ago there was a magazine test (in the Motorcyclist) to compare the abrasion resistence of motorcycle riding gear materials, notably textiles vs leathers. The test was conducted by placing a heavy weight on top of the materials, and dragging it behind a car with heavy rope to see how far it would go before a hole wore through. Unsurprisingly, leather was the most durable. Kevlar was next, but only slightly behind the leather. Furthermore, leather does not melt from friction, it will cushion your fall more than textiles and offers the best protection against a road rash. The fact that leather also lasts through multiple crashes whilst textiles will probably only last through one, says a lot about the difference in protection and impact between the two materials. It is undesputable that leather offers better protection in the case of an accident.
The BMI Textiles vs Leathers Test
I have summarised the categories below. If the table still leaves you undecided as to your preference for the tradeoffs, follow the simple proces - known as the BMI (Best Motorcycle Information) textiles vs leathers test.
| The BMI Textiles vs Leathers Test | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Leathers | Textiles |
| Price | - | |
| Maintenance | - | |
| Comfort | - | |
| Protection | |
- |
- Rank the categories in order of their importance, with one being the most important
- Assign a percentage to each category in this order so that they total to 100. The more important a category is to you, the higher the percentage will be that you assign it.
- Add up the score for each material
Use this example as a guideline:
Step 1:
- Comfort
- Price
- Protection
- Maintenance
Step 2:
- Comfort = 50% (this could be because you are a commuter and will be riding to work daily. You need ventilation in the summer and you need to be able to wear many layers under your suit in the winter. The extra pockets in textiles is also very useful)
- Price = 25% (this could be because you are on a serious budget)
- Protection = 25% (you might like this to be higher, but the end of the day you main purpose of riding is commuting and you are on a budget)
- Maintenance = 0% (this is not a factor for you at all)
Step 3:
| The BMI Textiles vs Leathers Test | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Leathers | Textiles |
| Price | - | 25% |
| Maintenance | - | 0% |
| Comfort | - | 50% |
| Protection | 25% | - |
| Total | 25% | 75% |
Textiles gets the highest score and will probably best serve your needs. When your budget improves, you could always upgrade to leathers.
In Conclusion: Textiles vs Leathers
If you are a commuter, then textiles are probably the best bet. They are more comfortable and have more pockets for storage. Leathers are designed for performace riding so you are not able to wear many layers underneath, and if its hot, you’re going to arrive sweating – not good for your next promotion or that honey that you are trying to impress! At the end of the day, leathers offer more protection but all textiles have to abide by EU standards and so its not like they don’t offer you protection at all. Leather just offers better protection – that’s all.
If you are into extreme riding, then it is unquestionable that leathers are what you need!
My opinion personally is that skin takes a lot longer to heal than discomfort – but then again I don’t commute to work everyday, I am no longer on a budget and I have seen enough to put my safety first – always!
NOTE: If you really are still undecided on textiles vs leathers read further in motorcycle leathers and motorcycle textiles!