Leathery Advice needed

[rypt]

Until now I've always had textiles, now I however want a leather jacket.
So today I made a trip all the way to Swindon to try on some jackets

Now, some things fitted me decently, some did not as you would expect ... however nothing fitted amazingly.
Now, I know that brand new leather will be a bit stiff, but nothing really felt like it could become a second skin for me, so to say, with time.

I'm after something that is good for commuting, but is still comfortable (and not out of place) to wear when you are simply walking around on the street at the end of the commute. Nothing I tried today seemed to fall into that category, I need a 46" chest jacket (one size up from my shirt size), however I then find the jacket to be a bit short at the front (and too loose around the stomach) and restrictive with the arm movement (perfectly fine for riding in though).

Now this may be due to the jacket styles that I tried, I guess I need something that fits like Vintage jackets (though the Frank Thomas stuff is not that far away form this). If you want a mental image for the sort of fit I am after, use Hugh Laurie in the image below

That thing fits him as if it is just a normal leather jacket as opposed to a thicker motorbike jacket (granted it has no armour in it, but it's not the armour that I was finding getting in the way but just the cut/fit of the jackets) - and yes I know his jacket is not CE approved, but is there any reason why a CE approved jacket cannot have that kind of it?

Any ideas? Or do I have such awkward requirements that I should just stick to textiles

 

[rypt]

Don't think the George White outlet does Dainese

But yer, looks like a trip to the show is in order, if only to check out the bikes and try on lots of stuff


Out of interest, what is the opinion on getting a non-CE/armoured Jacket (but still with good stitching so that it won't come apart) and then wearing mesh under-jacket armour?

What other good places for gear are there not too far from me other than Getgeared and George White?

 

[rypt]

Cheers for the advice Matteh, popped into MPS to try on some stuff.
While I didn't like the XTI that much, the FT Richmond and Lichfield both felt pretty good.

Then popped into the Hein Gericke store, just to look around it as I've never been in it as yet. They don't do much in the way of leather jackets there, and none of the more relaxed fit ones.
However I started chatting to two of the guys who work there and they reckon that I should perhaps stay with textile stuff, as it will be very hard to find something that is both a good relaxed everyday fit but also the correct tight fight that you want in leather for protection.

Which got me thinking back to the 2 FT jackets I tried earlier, and how I actually had to be a size up from the ideal fit in order for them to have a more casual fit.


So perhaps I should just stick to textile ... or even go for mesh armour which would allow me to wear whatever I want on top of it?

 

[rypt]

I want comfort off the bike and protection on the bike

Been looking online at some of the pure body armour stuff, as used by MX / Enduro / Dual Sport people ... which you can just wear under a jacket (with the jacket armour removed)

 

[rypt]

The Evo pressure suit?

That's the sort sort of thing I'm thinking about, with a leather jacket with removed armour on top ... though preferably one that doesn't look as ugly as the Evo ... more inclined to the looks of this

Unfortunately all the ones with top of the range protection (with the better back protectors) seem to want to have the armour on the outside rather than under the mesh as in my link, which makes them look stupid if worn just on their own in summer ... but also makes putting items over them harder I would bet.


I need to go and look at some, but stuck with work and designing an engine for the next 2 weeks so not gonna get a chance to check anything out

 

[rypt]

There's got to be a fair reason that most put the armour on the outside, I'm thinking it's because those areas will also be the areas that rub on the jacket and that the mesh will soon wear through.. And perhaps that if the armour is not well secured underneath, there is an increased chance of it seperating away from the suit if the mesh is destroyed.

The AStars Bionic and the SixSixOne Pressure suits look of pretty similar construction with the mesh holding lots of the armour in place (and it is not that different to how stuff like Joe Rocket Mesh jackets are) ... however I do to take your point.

Perhaps wearing a motocross jersey over the armour and below any jacket would actually be the best solution for models that do cause jackets to catch on armour - though stuff like the SixSixOne Pressure suit looks like there isn't anything that can catch when putting stuff on top.



Dunno now lol

Is there a brick and mortar store that has different armour in stock to try on? Perhaps some sort of MX or Mountain Bike related store?
I want to go for a single suit rather than separate armour pieces ... but want to have the best armour possible, which means full chest and back protectors.

 

[rypt]

Pushbike, snowboarding stores and such often stock the same armour motorcycle users wear. They tend to do a few brands in each so it'll need a bit of travel to try on a good selection

No different to travelling to try on different leather jackets, as again each store does a few brands or even styles each only

 

[rypt]

Bet you mine yesterday and today are both longer

 

[rypt]

It is one of the only designs I can find (other than the Held one on the same site) that has the amour that is integrated closer into the mesh

HOWEVER, the back protector (only level 1) and chest protectors (2 pieces as opposed to SixSixOne single piece) are not as good as they could be

I'll post some pics to AStars, Dainese, Fox etc stuff at some point when I have time and am not at work (possible tomorrow morning if I don't need to come into work)

And yes it is a competition, I've worked 9-5 yesterday, and then did 6:30-10:30 doing group engine design. Doing the same today, not sure if I need to be in at work tomorrow but still doing 6:30-10:30 design tomorrow. And then again all day Sat

 

[rypt]

Part of my masters at Uni, we have to design a V16 engine

 

[rypt]

Well .. finally an end to another very long day \p/

Now to stick a load of armour pics here as much for discussion as it is for my own reference down the line when I go to check them out

661 Comp 2010

661 Vapor

IXS Assault

Brand-X X Suit

661 Vapor 2011

Speed Stuff Warrior Pro 2010

IXS Battle Evo

Thor Impact Rig SE

RockGardn Flak 2011

Dainese Performance

AlpineStars Bionic

661 Pro 2009

No Fear Blok 2011

661 Comp 2011

EVS

Dainese Racing

AlpineStars Bionic 2

OR

Troy Lee

Super Shield

Held Striker

Sette Impact

 

[rypt]

Um, WOW that is a lot of pictures ... hope no-one is on dial up

 

[rypt]

Heh, I got a few more pics and stuff to stick into that post if I ever find time

Basically putting pics of anything that looks half decent, so that I have a nice complete list somewhere to decide

 

[rypt]

Entirely depends on the suit surely

For instance, that Shield suit looks pretty easy to get into .. no different to a leather jacket
And it also has more mesh than other stuff

The issue with it is that it does not have the best armour possible, and has no rib protection and the chest piece is 2 piece.

But I may just go for it as it looks the least Crysis like, and the protection should be enough

 

[rypt]

To me the Comp and Vapor always looked much better than the Evo one

Another three things to add to the above list are

Forcefield Action Shirt & Forcefield Back protector

Knox Cross Shirt

Zac Speed Exotec Jacket

with

This has back armour and a hydration pack in the backpack



Realistically though I'm looking at either the Held Striker or the Super Shield. The Held item is out of production now afaik though, but it does offer rib protection unlike Super Shield.

Forcefield stuff while great, is bloody expensive.

Zac Speed setup is cool, but expensive and far more than I need

 

[rypt]

Oh no doubt FF stuff is good, but £200 for that whole setup is A LOT, and it has no rib protection.

Then again, the Held Striker is £170 ...

Though the Super Shield thing is only £100.

Most of the large armoured stuff (other than the ones where you are paying for the brand name such as AStars and Dainese) are not THAT expensive


Think I'm defiantly simply going for the Super Shield for now, assuming it fits me OK when I finally get a chance to go and try it on.