Objective research on 1-piece leather suits

Is there any objective research available on one-piece leather track suits anywhere? I want to update my gear and I am having trouble finding resources for this. The last thing I read that compared and rated them, was from a motorcycle magazine from the UK, in which the review was very superficial – price, style, vented etc.

Also, I have read raving reviews of the German made Daytona boot for its comfort and quality. A friend just bought the Daytona’s, and after holding them, I am not convinced they will protect as well as a high-end Sidi or Alpinestars boot.

Any opinion from seasoned experienced track riders would be much appreciated.  

A decade ago, the Daytona race boots were state of the art. Unfortunately, they've pretty much stayed the same, while others either taken the idea and improved upon it, or used other concepts to provide as good or better protection...at less than half the $1000+ asking price.

Unfortunately, there aren't any one-piece leather suit comparisons (with actual evaluative testing) that we know of. One problem is that much of a suit's effectiveness is dependent on proper fit; people come in so many shapes and sizes that it's difficult to fit everyone properly unless they get a custom suit for big $$, and conducting any sort of realistic and repeatable test would be a difficult task.  

Thanks for the reply. I just ordered the alpinestars MX1 one piece, as well as their Supertech R boots. I was really confused researching this because there are some companies out there making claims that a "soft" armour, works better than a hard plastic armour, and that safety standards are basically self imposed ( CE ratings) by the companies who manufacture the product.  

Both the MX1 leather suit and Supertech R boots are excellent products. We've got first-hand experience with both, and found them to be well-made, have good fit, and offer excellent protection (especially the Supertech R boot).

In order to spread out the impact over a larger area and lessen the blow, some sort of hard material is required. The problem is that having hard armor (such as thermoplastic) under leather makes the leather tear/rip easier upon impact than it does with something softer underneath. However, what would you rather have, torn leather or broken bones? There are some new "soft" armor developments on the horizon, but they still need to be proven first.

Stating that a product is "CE approved" only means that the manufacturer hired a qualified third party to conduct tests to prove that its product met the particular standard. There is no random batch testing to ensure that the product manufactured continues to meet those standards.  

The evolution of ski boots is interesting in this context.

Back when, ski boots went no higher than mid shin, they were ankle boots; their function was to attach skis to feet.  That was the era of lower leg breaks.

Improved design led to boots that rose higher up the leg and allowed more aggressive carving through greater pressuring of the skis with the lower leg against the shin panel of the boot.  That pushed the injuries up and into the knees and now external articulating knee braces are common protective gear.

A similar thing happened with MX boots. Construction boots morphed into armored articulated ankle and shin protection such that many dirt riders now wear external articulating knee braces too.  

Sidi are the boots I prefer. In terms of suits I'd suggest looking at how they're constructed i.e. stiching, leather thickness, and of course armor and comfort features. An important question is what purpose are you considering? Racing? However, I agree with others in that an objective comparison of leather suits with two piece or textile suits/two piece suits isn't available or at least to my knowledge. With the larger number of companies making suits and various price points this could be difficult but an objective analysis would be interesting.  

Finding a source is not always easy. I too was looking for a one piece suit. When I was looking I came across the AGV Sport website.  Its pretty neat. Im 6'1" 180lbs and usually wear a size 48 and the size charts were really easy to figure out. Anyways best of luck.