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Boy Scout
Mon Aug 4th, 2003, 10:12 PM
For the benefit of those who may be first-time shoppers for leathers, I wanted to share a summary of my recent experience. Please feel free to add any comments / differing opinions you may have.

The first task is to determine what you want for leathers: jacket/pants combo, 1-piece suit, or 2-piece suit. For me, that part was relatively easy. Assuming comparable quality, one-piece suits most likely offer the best protection. If you plan to spend most of your time at the track and/or racing, this is probably the best choice. As most of my riding (thus far anyway) is street/highway/canyon, I wanted the capability of taking off the jacket without having to let it dangle along behind me or tie it around my waist. At the same time, I wanted something that was suitable to use at the track. In short, I wanted a jacket/pants combo or a two-piece suit. The decision between jacket/pants combo and a two-piece suit was a little more difficult. You can find very similar quality with many of the same features either way. In general, jacket/pants combos will cost more than a comparable (quality and features) two-piece suit. While jackets come in a variety of designs and colors, most (not all) standalone pants tend to be black. Having full cruiser leathers, I am well aware of how hot black leather is, so the lighter colors available with suit pants was appealing. Finally, I preferred the appearance of the suits (top and bottom design/colors match). Primarily for these reasons I decided to go the two-piece suit route.

With that decision out of the way, here are some of the things I took into consideration (not necessarily everything I wanted, just things I considered):
Leather quality (type and thickness): I wanted something reasonably heavy that was suitable for both track and street (1.4 mm - 1.7 mm thick leather seems to be on the higher end).
Perforated vs. non-perforated leather (At what locations? Some are fully perfed, others are partially perfed): I wanted perforated leather as I tend to get warm easily.
Venting: How many? Where? Are they adjustable?
Zippers: I wanted metal zippers, rather than plastic, primarily for strength and durability (over the years I've not had good luck with plastic zippers).
Top/Bottom attachment zipper: I wanted full circumference.
Knee cups.
Knee pucks (Some come with, some have the velcro but the pucks are extra, some don't support pucks at all)
Armor (dual-density vs. plastic).
Stretch panels or flex material inside arms, crotch, back of knees to avoid bunching of leather in those locations.
Race hump.
Double/Triple/Multiple stitching in impact/high abrasion/critical areas.
Reflective markings.
NOTE: Pay attention to sizing. Some manufacturers use US sizing, others use European sizing! Also, just because you wear a size 48 from Manufacturer A, don't assume a size 48 from Manufacturer B will fit you. It doesn't always work that way.

For research purposes, I went down the Manufacturers list on the CSC website to find out what each manufacturer offered. Once I narrowed down my choices, I used the Shopping list on the CSC website to check pricing. With regard to pricing, let me say that it varies considerably (into the hundreds of $) between online vendors. Pay attention to shipping and return/exchange policies and fees. In general, sites that stock items will cost a little more, but offer quicker delivery. Sites that order the stuff you want, then turn around and ship it to you are generally a little cheaper, but it takes a few extra days. Stockers tend to have more liberal return/exchange polices and cheaper return/exchange fees than non-stockers. That said, don't let what seems to be an expensive return/exchange rate alone eliminate a vendor from contention for your business. In my case, I was able to find a vendor that with their pricey exchange rate (assuming I got the wrong size) was still cheaper than the 2nd cheapest vendor!

The end result of my research was an AGV Sport Talon Two-Piece suit ordered from Helmet Harbor. This suit had about everything I wanted and was one of the few two-piece suits available in fully-perforated leather. Since this was my first suit, I couldn't find any place that carried AGV Sport suits in the Denver metro area to try on, and I fell smack dab in the middle of sizes on the AGV sizing chart, I added the exchange fees for all vendors to their price on the assumption that I may very well have to do an exchange to get the right size. I ended up ordering two different sizes so I could try both to get the better fit, then returned the one that didn't fit me as well. Helmet Harbor, with their 20% restocking fee, was still cheaper than the next cheapest vendor on this suit. It was a closeout and as another member found out, is no longer available via Helmet Harbor.

For those of you that are interested in a two-piece suit, drop me a PM with your email address and I'll email you an Excel spreadsheet that I used to compare the two-piece suits from various manufacturers. There may be a few manufacturers that I missed, but I think it includes most of them. It may save you some time in going to each manufacturer's website to find this info. I have similar, although much less detailed information about jacket/pants combos. Since I had eliminated one-piece suits as an option for me, I didn't gather this info for one-piece suits.

yakuza
Mon Aug 4th, 2003, 11:09 PM
Damn Nate, that's some exhaustive research. I'm sure it will benefit others, thanks for sharing!

MSienkiewicz
Thu Mar 10th, 2005, 10:08 PM
Nate,
Do you know of any manufacturers who make suits for the tall, lanky type? ..say 6"6", 190 lbs.?

Boy Scout
Fri Mar 11th, 2005, 01:07 AM
Sorry...I'm not built that way...but I'm sure someone here will be able to point you in the right direction. If you don't get a response in this thread, try starting a new thread with an appropriate subject. I'm sure you're not the only tall/lanky type around here. :lol:

wraithR1
Fri Mar 11th, 2005, 07:03 AM
You can get a custom suit from these guys:

http://www.tobefast.com/reflex.htm

Tobefast is one of better vendors in the bike market. Give them a call and I'm sure they'll hook you up.

Lomax
Fri Mar 11th, 2005, 07:32 AM
Good Job Nate. :applause: :applause: :applause:

NineTwoFour
Fri Mar 11th, 2005, 07:44 AM
You can get a custom suit from these guys:

http://www.tobefast.com/reflex.htm

Tobefast is one of better vendors in the bike market. Give them a call and I'm sure they'll hook you up.

I haven't had good experience trying to deal with those guys, and I've heard of some problems from other people. Nothing all that bad, but there are so many good shops out there, I don't like to waste my money with places that don't offer top notch service.

I think if you want to go custom, get one from Racer Supply (http://www.racersupply.com). Applehans had one of their suits made last year and I thought it looked pretty damn good. Not to mention those guys are cool as hell.

Or else go with Barnacle Bill. I remember that thread about the fundraiser for a local kid with cancer, so that really made a positive impression on me. I have never seen his work, but I have heard good things about it.

wraithR1
Fri Mar 11th, 2005, 01:50 PM
You can get a custom suit from these guys:

http://www.tobefast.com/reflex.htm

Tobefast is one of better vendors in the bike market. Give them a call and I'm sure they'll hook you up.

I haven't had good experience trying to deal with those guys, and I've heard of some problems from other people. Nothing all that bad, but there are so many good shops out there, I don't like to waste my money with places that don't offer top notch service.

I think if you want to go custom, get one from Racer Supply (http://www.racersupply.com). Applehans had one of their suits made last year and I thought it looked pretty damn good. Not to mention those guys are cool as hell.

Or else go with Barnacle Bill. I remember that thread about the fundraiser for a local kid with cancer, so that really made a positive impression on me. I have never seen his work, but I have heard good things about it.

You're part of a very small minority. The guys at Tobefast are a.) cheaper or will price match b.) tend to ship things express without charging you c.) Very knowledgable about the products they sell.

What problems did you encounter and who did you talk to?

Stuart Little
Fri Mar 11th, 2005, 08:29 PM
See if lurch replies or IM him, he's gotta be taller and bigger than 6'6" as I have to look up a good angle to see him

MSienkiewicz
Fri Mar 11th, 2005, 11:18 PM
Thanks Much!

TribalTT
Sun Apr 10th, 2005, 11:16 AM
just be happy you aren't a girl...With curves. :evil:

Any girls out there that need to same help...I PROMISE I have exhausted just about every option for us...I have a list of links and phone numbers for anyone interested...ended up with Spidi Hook 2 piece for $229.
You boys are LUCKY...