@Sandi T , my mesh jacket had , back, fore arm/elbow and shoulder pads. The majority of the non mesh material was Kevlar and high density Nylon / Rayon material's ! The mesh was fine thread of a mix ! Rayon and Kevlar ? The stitching let go in a small - 2 inch section , location was top/front of shoulder , close to the end of the clavicle ! Hence the broken clavicle/collar bone... . The only gravel rash was knee cap left leg , my Kevlar lined jeans wore through , went down hard on left , foot/knee/shoulder ... Evidence of a longish slide 110kph / 70mph. Left elbow took a hard Knock. Small very dark bruise , no break , probably because of the padding. The shoulder seam let go because of abrasion and shearing forces caused in the slamming down force ??? The jacket had three and four layers of materials , especially in the solid weave area's , was dual layered in vented weave areas.
Oh gosh a really subjective and divisive topic, is that of wearing fabric jackets and trousers, my personal view is people can wear what they want it is a personal choice and I would never criticise riders no matter what they choose to ride in. I have heard of people who say they have had the misfortune to crash and suffered little personal injuries, this is probably due to luck than the fabric itself saving serious injury, what does need remembering is that any, and I do mean any fabric motorcycle clothing generates a lot of heat when a person wearing it is sliding down the road, an awful lot suffer "friction burns", most are due to not wearing "an antistatic undersuit either 1 or 2 piece". No matter how hot it gets I only ever wear quality leathers (mine being 1 piece), my sons also only wear the same, only they have the 1 piece Inamotion leathers (air bag suits), these are also available in fabric motorcycle clothing. The view that fabric motorcycle clothing is more resistant than leather in an accident is "completely incorrect" it is not. Try turning up to a trackday wearing any form of fabric motorcycle clothing and you will not be allowed out on track, it is a minimum of a 2 piece zip together or 1 piece leathers, not to mention racing especially the roads (TT - Classic TT/MGP - S100 - NW200 - Tandragee etc etc, the heat generated through nylon linings in fabric motorcycle clothing is enormous, enough to cause extensive friction burns even at 30 mph. Most modern 1 and 2 piece leathers have excellent perforations that allow good cooling when riding, I also wear an anti friction/static undersuit. I never begrudge spending out on kit be it helmet, gloves or boots. Have a look on the North Yorkshire Police video of "rider verses Subaru", and it becomes frightening what might have happened if the rider had not been wearing what he had (it was 100% the Subaru drivers fault, he was jailed). A lot of fabric motorcycle clothing (apart from the top manufacturers) have level 1 protection that meets that required standard, level 2 affords better protection, updating to level 2 makes sense. Ride safe all from an ageing Rocker that has worn leather from the sixties.
Man made protective fabrics are Far Far Stronger/Tougher than leather ! That's a given ! The reason motor cycle race tracks won't allow anything other than "leathers" is historical not factual based ! Everyone knows leather jacket and pants !! I had a minor spill , year's and year's ago. I was wearing a one piece wet weather suit over the top of a set of leathers. The crash happened at over 90kph/60mph in the wet (hence suit) I slid over a long distance , close to 100 m , the suit had no damages!! My leather jacket and pants had none either , and as I'd hit 'nothing' I had maybe two or three lite bruises. Just leather and my jacket would be shot !!
Hi Capt, here is a little test for people to try, take your mesh jacket or trousers turn it inside out, then rub it vigorously against your bare skin and see what happens. Also the reason why the ACU - FIM etc will not allow fabric garments to be worn on track is not historical at all, it was brought about due to safety improvements by riders who found leather to be a better protective factor, vast improvements with technology have seen the introduction of airbag leathers (including textile garments), however scientifically leather is accepted as being the better protective garment than textile. The advances made in racing are then cascaded down to the public sector. You only have to look at Moto GP to see riders unfortunately crashing at speeds of up to 180mph and walk away, this is due to the air bag system deployed, unfortunately you would not get that with any textile garment, that said we are talking in terms of riding on open public roads at legal speed limits. I take no issue as mentioned in my original post with whatever people choose to wear whilst riding, some are horrified by people that wear shorts and sandals on warm days, for me it is their decision and I genuinely will not pass judgement. Have a look at the Subaru/Fireblade as I mentioned, Yorkshire Police posted it on You Tube (some years back), it is still on there, the comments by the rider make for interesting listening. I did say the subject is very divisive within the biking community, the old adage applies "you pay your money and take your chance". Ride safe from an ageing Rocker.
this is a really interesting discussion, even if it starts to move away a little from the original posting... We can all be friendly enough to offer differing opinions hopefully... I think the friction burns spoken about above are, in fact due to "skin shear". Not so much friction on the surface of the skin as the skin rubs against the garment, but more to do with the surface of the skin "sticking to" the garment but the lower levels of skin still moving. This result sin subdermal shearing...and bruising etc... (that was my understanding of the video I saw). I think ultimately, what I still find confusing is the fact that, ultimately, manufacturers' main goal is to sell stuff...and so it often feels that negatives are ignored, positives are over egged etc... A jacket (or any equipment) is only as strong as it's weakest point... I don't understand how a jacket can be advertised as having all the wonderful attributes of "Level 2 armour"...when the weaknesses elsewhere in the jacket mean that in an off that armour won't stay in place long enough to do it's job? I don't mean to go off topic too much...but this is a really interesting review... I hope others find it useful....
The safest option is textile with a heat resistant lining ! Hence I had no friction burns , as the areas inside my jacket where slides occurred had insulated/padding . And in the case of my fall in the wet ... Insulation under the man made !! Man made materials have shearing strengths in the many ton's when woven , hundreds of kg per thread , leather tears quite easily ! Maybe 100 kg across a two inch strip !
Motorcycle riding gear - textiles vs leathers - Which is best for your needs? - Free Textile Industry Articles - Fibre2fashion.com - Fibre2Fashion https://www.rideapart.com/reviews
I'm on the cusp of choosing a mesh jacket for my first bike. Klim's Induction Pro checks all the boxes except aesthetics, which the Rukka Stretchair does, at least for me. I'm in the SE US, so it's rather hot, and will be moving at I-State/motorway speeds for extended periods, so these seem to be my best choices. Any criticisms?
Here's my two penn'orth... If you're looking at that end of the market then you shouldn't compromise on anything! Make sure it ticks every box for you! For what it's worth, and the opposite end of the spectrum, I just bought a RST F-LITE CE MENS TEXTILE JACKET But my needs differ too yours in that I want a summer mesh jacket fits commuting... That said I'm going to add a Lvl 2 back protector, and will also look to increase the level of protection elsewhere from 1 to 2 too I must say, I think it could certainly be made easier all round, from manufacturers to shops, to state, explicitly what level the armour is What level the jacket is Then we can compare... At the moment it seems you can get a wonderfully high level armoured jacket, with poor/low actual jacket integrity... Maybe it's just me...
Well, at least your standards are higher than the police who are buying made-to-measure textile summer riding suits.
I have a reassuringly sturdy BMW Airflow mesh jacket mated with some Resurgence jeans. If you are going somewhere very hot, consider an evaporative jacket as well. Leather is way too hot in an Italian mountain valley at 35C.- never again.
