Kevlar jacket/pants/suits

Anyone have any experience w/ kevlar gear from http://motoport.com ? I'm really tempted to get the jeans for days I don't want to put the whole suit on. It seems nice & cool & protective. http://motoport.com/saveyourhide.pdf

Their pants are all kevlar, unlike 'draggin' jeans advertised in magazines.

Heard that they'll melt to your skin if you go down and don't believe this to be true. Anyone been down w/ kevlar?

Thanks.  

It's my understanding that it's polyurethane that will melt under friction, which causes heat.  But I've never heard of kevlar melting under that type of stress. If you get the pants, let us know how they work out in terms of fit and comfort.  

Depending on how the Kevlar is manufactured (layered, woven, etc) can effect it's resistance to temperature.  However, the standard heat resistance for Kevlar is considered to be about 750F.  Kevlar is considered to decompose at this temperature without actually melting.  Not sure what temperature's are going to occurr between a sliding bum and the asphalt but I doubt they'd see this kind of temperature.  

Kevlar is wonderfully protective, no doubting that, but the thing you really want to look at is skid resisitance. Kevlar is far superior to leather in many protective aspects, except one...slowing you down when you crash. I wish I could remember the article I saw a while ago, but it was concerning the manufacture of Kevlar suits for riding. The suits held up much better in tear/abrasion resistance, but it didn't slow the subject down once sliding had begun. Leather will wear much faster, but bring you to a stop much sooner as well. In my opinion, the kevlar isn't worth the money.  

Not worth the money??  I think Kevlar is perfectly fine for the street, and Kevlar gear almost always seems to cost a considerable amount less than leather.  It's not like Kevlar has "pam" sprayed all over it, I think you're going to stop in a similar manner leather or kevlar...I'd be interested in that article you mentioned if you can find it.  

I don't think Kevlar is worth the money in respect to the amount of "protection" it claims to provide. I personally wouldn't spend $300 (which is the cost of the pants in Silver's link)on a pair of Kevlar pants under the assumption that they were far superior to a pair of jeans or leather pants. And you can get a decent pair of leather pants for around $200.    http://www.kneedraggers.com/details/36-JR-BLSTPT  That's just my opinion, obviously...lol. And I'm gonna try and find that article. It was in something like Popular Science.  

I hadn't clicked on the link, $300 does seem to be a bit high for textile (Cordura is cheaper while still offering GREAT protection).  This certainly isn't to say that all Kevlar/Cordura/textile pants are $300 or more, just like not all leather jackets are $500+ or not every good full face helmet costs as much as an Arai.  Kevlar is definately far far far superior than a pair of jeans, not even in the same ballpark.  Look at the guys racking up the miles on the big sport touring machines, often times they're wearing Kevlar or Cordura textiles and not leather.

I really don't believe you're going to come to a stop "much sooner" when wearing a leather suit verses a textile suit, it's going to be roughly the same distance all else being equal.  

I highly disagree with your statement that you'd stop just as soon with kevlar versus leather. Kevlar's abrasion resistance is considerably higher than leather. Which means it will take much longer for the material to break down which in turn would mean your speed is not going fall as rapidly as it would had you been wearing leather. That is just a fact. Sure, let's say you fall off and are sliding along in the grass, then I'll agree that leather probably won't slow you down any faster than kevlar, but on the street, leather is going to wear faster, in turn, slowing you down. That is why people wear leather in the first place. Is it the most breathable fabric? Is it the lightest? Is it the most tear/abbrasion resistant? No, it's not. Leather wears away and slows you down. That's what it's there for. If that wasn't true, why wouldn't racers just wear kevlar suits?? Gee...maybe they don't wanna slide for 1000 feet going 100+ mph. Think about it.  

I couldn't find that old article, but found a reference to an issue of Cycle in 1989. Good luck find that one. But I did find this internet article. It at least acknowledges leather's advantage of slowing you down over kevlar. I'll post the reference and the link to the site:

Abrasion Resistance
From Tom Cohen <thos@cia.com.au>.
Abrasion resistance is important, possibly more important than protecting against impact - low siding off the bike only drops you from about a metre anyway... There are a few different types of material that you can wear:
[ Leather | Kevlar | Waxed Cotton | Nylon/Cordura | Denim | Price ]

Leather
Leather is still the king. Has been for years and is unlikely to lose the crown in a hurry. Lorica (an artificial leather), as used on mostly Italian boots, is not very good at all. Leather breathes, abrades slowly (depending on type) and is more or less showerproof. Great against the wind, but is hot in summer. Can be dyed to almost any colour, and there are a number of places around that make to measure. And it never seems to wear out (except against a road) - old jackets are just as good as new ones.

Kevlar
Close weave kevlar is effective but doesn't slow you down (the world is waiting for a kevlar suit with little moulded rubber lumps on it for braking). Unfortunately, most of the kevlar used in protective clothing is loose or open-weave type. This is not much good because the first impact with the ground destroys the weave of the kevlar and there is little left to protect the skin. If there are two layers then the performance is much better because the first layer protects the second layer which does the sliding.

Waxed Cotton
Good for sliding on once, possibly more. Warmer than leather and more waterproof, but gets dirty when hot. Can leave stains on other clothes. (more detail needed)

Nylon/Cordura
OK for strength, but the weave in the nylon can snag on rough surfaces and tear. Is waterproof, but doesn't breathe. Good for winter, Dri-Riders are made from this. A good range of colours too.

Denim
Not really a protective material. If you fall at 60km/h, denim should protect you for about 1.3m, after that you're on your own. Interestingly enough, older jeans are better (as long as they have no holes) because their material is smoother and slides better. Jeans with 'fashionable' holes in the knees are no protection at all, and if you fall off with these on you'll get no sympathy from me.

http://www.cskk.ezoshosting.com/cs/moto/aus.moto/FAQ/part3.html

There you go.  

Quote:

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Kevlar
This is not much good because the first impact with the ground destroys the weave of the kevlar and there is little left to protect the skin.

Nylon/Cordura
OK for strength, but the weave in the nylon can snag on rough surfaces and tear.

There you go.

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Lol...we're talking about kevlar, that's the topic of this post, not textiles in general. And maybe "most" people aren't going to slide down the highway at 150+mph, but SOME do. AND...racers wear leathers because of it's ability to protect against abrasion AND slow you down. I'm QUITE sure that a high-end kevlar suit would hold up better in a crash than a high-end leather suit, but that kevlar suit is NOT going to slow you down. So even if "most" people on the street don't crash at racing speeds, the leather suits are STILL going provide better protection through slowing the rider down in the event that they actually DID crash at even normal highway speeds and are sliding on pavement. You're not getting the importance of slowing down as opposed to tearing of the suit. Any racer will tell you that if they're going to hit an obstacle they'd rather do it at a slower speed. That also applies to the street. Here's the point, plain and simple: Kevlar is not worth the money, buy leather. Kevlar will NOT slow you down as fast as leather, PERIOD. Hitting object at higher speeds will result in more severe injuries. Do you know anyone that races above an amateur level? If you do, go ask them why they wear leathers. I'm quite willing to bet it's not because they're more durable or they "hold up better in a crash".  

Thanks for all the info. guys.  This is the third forum I've posted this in, nobody else could give me any info.

I never thought of the sliding aspect.  I certainly don't worry too much about sliding, but I've often worried about impacting concrete barriers, cliff walls, etc.

My main use for the kevlar jeans would be for riding my bike to a friend's house, restaurant, etc.  For this riding, wearing my racing pants etc, always seems overkill & too much trouble.  In these instances, I've always just worn my jacket, gloves, helmet, boots & jeans.  

Seeing what little protection jeans provide from friends that have gone down at only 30-40 mph, I was looking for something to save skin.  I feel naked with just jeans since I purchased a suit.

I think I will go ahead and buy them for this purpose.  If I go down, hopefully, the leather on the jacket/gloves/boots will slow me down enough.  I don't want my skin to be the thing that slows me down.

They are a little pricing, but they are made custom to fit.  You send them a pair of jeans that fit you well, and they return them with the kevlar jeans cut the same way.  Also, they are 100% kevlar w/ padding built in.  Not like the draggin' jeans that only have kevlar in the ass/knees.

Thanks again.