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Important Info for Leather Suit Buyers

Author: Alexa Krueger

Not all suits are created equal

(Editor’s Note:  Alexa Krueger, owner of Spyder Leatherworks, tailors, modifies and repairs about a thousand race suits per year.  When she talks about the safety and construction of motorcycle protective gear, we listen.)

Lately, far too many suits are using inferior fabric in impact areas.  Even certain brand name suits are beginning to be built this way, possibly because these companies are feeling the loss of market share that the lesser suits are grabbing from them and are trying to make a more cost effective product so that they can maintain a competitive price point.  The problem is that most riders don’t know the difference between safe and unsafe stretch material and the manufacturers who use the weaker stuff aren’t about to point out the difference.  Sadly, it has become a “Buyer Beware” situation as riders purchase suits that they think will protect them and don’t find out what the garment has actually been made of until they crash and get hurt. 

I recently did a repair to a suit which had been built using a non-aramid fabric in the sleeve.  As can be seen in the first picture, the failure was quite dramatic.  No rider climbs into a leather suit expecting that it could come apart so spectacularly.  

This first picture shows the shredded panel of non-aramid stretch material that I removed from the damaged suit.  Next to it is a small piece of Keprotec with the finished side showing.  It’s very difficult to tell the difference between the two fabrics at a glance.   

This second photo shows the reverse side of the same two pieces of fabric. Note the lighter color of the Keprotec, which is caused by the Kevlar fibers woven into the blend. The non-aramid stretch material is black.

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