Crash Tested Gear I would buy again

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westers

06/04/2004 at 10:15

Well, I had a monumental off 2 weeks ago whilst racing - lost the front on the brakes at the end of the Revit Straight at Snetterton. The considered opinion was that I would have been doing about 100mph.

Anyway, after sliding for a long long way on the tarmac I stopped and got straight to my feet with nothing broken or cut. The only slightly sore bits were: tender index finger on the left hand (where I first slapped the ground), a slightly bruised shoulder (where I next thumped the ground) and a very slightly bruised back of the head (where I next hit the ground). None of these things stopped me from getting up, walking away, and kicking the tyre wall in frustration

, and remember they were all high speed impacts.

The gear I was wearing? Crowtree made to measure leathers with full armour, including their back protector. Scuffed like crazy on the back (well, I did slide along on my back for 60ft or so), but no seems wore through, no holes, no thin areas - infact, they are just scuffed. Shoulders and arms are again scuffed, but no holes or thin bits. Armour is fantastic and stopped any major bruising.

Belstaff gloves - not sure what model but have all the carbon bits on. Didn't wear through.

OGK FF3 helmet - saved my bonce. Ok, it's now unusable, but I can live with that seeing as I hit the ground with my head at silly speed.

Sidi Vertabrae race boots - kept my feet all nice and secure, no major damage apart from scuffs on the outer support bars.

I'd buy it all again, except I don't have to (apart from the helmet)

YourOldNemesis

06/04/2004 at 10:26

Thanks Westers, it's very good to know this kind of thing. Especially when there are som many posts with people complaining about kit... I will be in the market for some leathers as "summer" approaches and was thinking about Crowtree, it's good to have my suspicions about their quality confirmed.

Everything I post is just my personal opinion not that of Visordown yadah yadah yadah. I think everything's shite and if I'm slagging something in particular off at the moment, it's just 'cos I'm thinking of it at the time, not 'cos it's any worse than anything else.

rainmaker

06/04/2004 at 10:35

A second for the Sidi Vertebrae Race boots - the ones with the silver ankle hinges/protectors on the side.

I lowsided at about 70mph and did nothing but scrape the side bits - and as they're replaceable, ideal.

I would say DO NOT buy second hand leathers off ebay - mine holed in 3 places, and some of the slide was on grass.

I'll find out the name of the gloves I've got, cos they were barely marked, and I know they went down too!

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DSK

06/04/2004 at 12:32

Fwiw, I have only been off at about 50mph on the road but I'll give my 2p worth anyhow. Below are the items of clothing that I was wearing at the time and the damage they suffered. I was not injured apart from a slightly sore bottom for 2 days.

Belstaff 2 piece leather suit factory fitted with KNOX CE approved armour inserts. No damage, all seems etc are in place and look like new, scuffs on the leathers polished out and I didn't feel a thing. I still use them today as my main leathers.

SIDI Vertebrate - just the odd replacebale plastic slider sections picked up a few scuffs but they kept my feet/ankles safe from being twisted about etc. Replacement was not required.

Dannisport Steel Shield Gloves - no stiching came undon, minor scuff marks are the only damage and protection was good and I didn't feel any harsh impact or suffer from any soreness. Gloves are still in use today. Considering they cost me £45 and I chose them over some pairs that cost £120/130 - they really are a cracking bit of kit.

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Animal

06/04/2004 at 12:32

Same sort of speed crash for me, with the same results

Carrera Leathers (Still using them)
Arai RX7 Lid
Kushitani Gloves (Needed replacing... but I got another pair)
Alpinestars boots (velcro ripped a bit, but didn't burst)

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Nobody203

06/04/2004 at 14:43

When I came off the main impact were my knee, bum, and right hand.

Cheap Frank Thomas two piece leathers. Only had padding in the knee, from one impact the padding shredded and bruised me knee, so a vote for knee armour of some sort here.

As for the leather, I slid about 30yds on me bum, and leather thinned a bit, but did not tear or anything, which I didnt think was too bad for cheap £100 leathers.

As for me gloves, cant recommend them highly enough. HG Autumn gloves, cant remember the exact name, but only cost about £35 quid. Bearing in mind my right hand bore the full weight of me trying to stop on the aforementioned slide, I was quite impressed with what remained of the glove, just a few stitches having worked loose. Plus the fact my palm hadnt been touched.

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RiceBurner

06/04/2004 at 16:54

Where did I do this recently???

umm - HG Hiprotec Armour is TOPS!.

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mr red

07/04/2004 at 07:41

Great information about the kit worn and the way it bore up to various bumps. Has always struck me that there ought to be a national database of how well the kit we wear (and spend great gobs of hard earned cash on) stands up to real world damage. Is anybody out there aware of one??? And if so where would i find it. Forget product tests by RIDE or the like... this is the information we really need.

kyot

07/04/2004 at 08:20

mr red wrote

Has always struck me that there ought to be a national database of how well the kit we wear

Great idea.

Then all the manufacturers would start paying people to do offs in "controlled" circumstances and get them to enter their experiences in the data base! (or maybe they do, track racing?)

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mr red

07/04/2004 at 08:55

kyot wrote

Great idea.

Then all the manufacturers would start paying people to do offs in "controlled" circumstances and get them to enter their experiences in the data base! (or maybe they do, track racing?)

A little cynical maybe?

Track racing no doubt provides great feedback for the development of kit... but how many of us can afford (ro want to wear one piece leathers on the road) the same gear as the professional riders of WSb MotoGP etc. There are clearly some loopholes... but before forking out hundreds of quid on a new lid or cordura suit, would you not like to know if somebody else has had bad or good experiences in a bump?

kyot

07/04/2004 at 09:18

mr red wrote

A little cynical maybe?

Track racing no doubt provides great feedback for the development of kit... but how many of us can afford (ro want to wear one piece leathers on the road) the same gear as the professional riders of WSb MotoGP etc. There are clearly some loopholes... but before forking out hundreds of quid on a new lid or cordura suit, would you not like to know if somebody else has had bad or good experiences in a bump?

Cynical? Moi? Yup.

Sure, I find the contribs here really useful on all kinds of matters.
But a "national data base" of something is a different matter.
Something that's been sanctioned by officialdom has to have transparent criteria etc. than
1/ people start playing games
2/ the "standards" tend towards lowest comment denominators
3/ it transfers responsibility for decision making from the individual to the "system".
The last point I have particular problems with for something like riding a bike; which requires, IMHO, a higher sense of personal responsibility.

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mr red

07/04/2004 at 09:33

kyot wrote

Cynical? Moi? Yup.

Sure, I find the contribs here really useful on all kinds of matters.
But a "national data base" of something is a different matter.
Something that's been sanctioned by officialdom has to have transparent criteria etc. than
1/ people start playing games
2/ the "standards" tend towards lowest comment denominators
3/ it transfers responsibility for decision making from the individual to the "system".
The last point I have particular problems with for something like riding a bike; which requires, IMHO, a higher sense of personal responsibility.

Why does it have to be sanctioned by officialdom??? Why not something collected and maintained by those of us who use the kit and hence give a s**t?

The Spin Doctor

07/04/2004 at 10:26

Quote

there ought to be a national database of how well the kit we wear (and spend great gobs of hard earned cash on) stands up to real world damage. Is anybody out there aware of one???

You do have the CE approval standard... it's a REAL test of how clothing holds up, and it's worth taking a look at the manufacturers which have signed up for it to have their kit assessed - not very many, but most of the bespoke leather makers have gone for it...

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kyot

07/04/2004 at 11:30

mr red wrote

Why does it have to be sanctioned by officialdom??? Why not something collected and maintained by those of us who use the kit and hence give a s**t?

"national data base" kind of implies that.
I'm all for posts like this being added to the SS sticky etc. and hope others add in their experiences.

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mr red

07/04/2004 at 12:19

The Spin Doctor wrote

You do have the CE approval standard... it's a REAL test of how clothing holds up, and it's worth taking a look at the manufacturers which have signed up for it to have their kit assessed - not very many, but most of the bespoke leather makers have gone for it...

A good point and no doubt a valuable standard. I was just thinking of something a little more focused on how the person inside the clothing coped... and it seems that here at visordown there is a pretty huge potential source of first hand information. (Bad choice of words on my part Kyot....but I was thinking of the "national" coverage that the membership of this forum provides)

westers

08/04/2004 at 21:59

Well, I've worn a lot of gear that has been good (Gericke gear) but didn't fit me properly - just a little bit loose in places. I never fell off in this stuff but I always wondered whether I'd have got abrasions from the leather as they slid on my skin (seeing as they didn't fit properly. I fell off once when I was 17 wearing jeans and a leather jacket at about 40 mph. I got more severe brusing from that than I did the other week. Took me months for it to go properly, and I was wearing a jacket with just the padded leather protection - no proper armour. Anyway, the jeans I had on didn't wear through, but I got a huge friction burn on my arse wher they'd slid against my skin). The very first time I put my Crowtree's on I could feel the difference. There was something about the fact that they actually fitted me - not just 90% fitted, but 100% fitted. They were snug, the armour was in the right places, and they felt tough. I tell you, riding the bike on the road with these on made me feel far safer.

If I was getting a two piece suit I know where I'd go - Crowtree made to measure. There's just nothing else like a suit made to fit your body only.

And when you crash, well it doesn't slide on your skin - it is your skin and slides on the ground for you.

FJSRiDER.

09/04/2004 at 05:40

mr red wrote

it seems that here at visordown there is a pretty huge potential source of first hand information.

Trouble is that creating a data set using first-hand information is not going to be of much use as I would (truthfully) be able to state I have crashed while wearing a bomber jacket, jeans and Docs (on my 350 LC!) at 60-70 mph did the road, sky, road, sky, hedge, field bit and destroyed the bike, shredded my clothes and survived with just a little gravel rash and a few scars.... So this protective clothing bit is a waste of money. OK?

TRX n Me = :o)

09/04/2004 at 16:59

My recomendations: -

Arai Quantum F, my bonce hit the deck from between 9 and 12 foot up, I'm still only slightly daft

Knox Back Protector, stopped my back from suffering any damage as it slid up a car windscreen (car doing between 20 and 30 mph) and then landed on the floor, from said altitude.

Sidi Vertebrate (sp??) boots, my right heel put a decent dent into the leading edge of the car's bonnet (try denting that with a hammer), despite that I walked into the ambulance, no foot pain at all.

Hiprotec, for all the other bits that didn't get bruised.

Any good ACU Gold lid would probably have done the job, as long it fitted well. The Knox and the Sidis took more serious impacts, in my opinion.

FJS, you bad boy....

I dumped a Guzzi Le Mans at 70 plus in jacket, jeans and boots. Light gravel rash and a bruised ankle was the sum of that one, so yes, personal experience is not a good guide to good gear. ACU Gold and CE will just have to do me for now.

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westers

10/04/2004 at 00:23

I think you two are the exception rather than the norm

FJSRiDER.

10/04/2004 at 05:31

westers wrote

I think you two are the exception rather than the norm

I don't.

I know lots of people who have fallen off while wearing 'regular' clothing and survived. But I also know of people in 'approved' gear who have died.

I believe that risk compensation is a factor that is ignored when (both) conspicuity and 'protective' clothing is promoted. The rider who believes hay are safe because of some external factor rides can often ride in way that exacerbates the problems that face when it all goes pear shaped.

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