Test expensive textile suits

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Test expensive textile suits

Test expensive textile suits
Noble thread

They are made from high-quality fabrics and cost a lot of money: five textile suits at prices between 1000 and 1250 euros. The MOTORRAD comparison test explains whether the high price is justified.

Holger Hertneck

02/28/2003

Leather suit or textile suit with functional membrane? More and more motorcyclists are answering this question with “textiles”. The advantages are obvious: much more comfortable, waterproof, breathable, more practical (many pockets) and mostly equipped with removable thermal lining, therefore suitable for large temperature ranges. And as far as accident protection is concerned, new processing techniques and increasingly abrasion and tear-resistant materials as well as tested protectors ensure safety in areas at risk of falling.
The only downer: high-quality fabrics and protective measures have their price. Ten years ago there were hardly any suits over 500 euros. There are now almost no upper limits. Nevertheless, the upper market segment recorded high growth rates. Today’s motorcyclists are in their prime and often have enough money on their side for their hobby. If there is a purchase in the house, may it cost a little more? The main thing is that the quality is right.
With one exception, MOTORRAD tested whether textile suits in the price range 1000 to 1250 euros are really worth their money at all providers that serve this segment: BMW, Dainese, Kushitani, Rukka and Stadler. Another possible candidate, Yoko, canceled his participation.
For the five other test participants, the importers or manufacturers put together appropriate combinations of jacket and trousers in order to arrive at the total amount given. Incidentally, only suits with a Gore-Tex membrane can be found in this price range.
Since the buyer expects a little more from such expensive clothing, MOTORRAD subjected the functional suits to a very special endurance test. Apart from an extensive moisture test (see box on page 158), which was carried out in cooperation with Gore, all protectors had to prove their capabilities in a shock absorption test at Viscotec (see page 160). But that’s not all. On a one-week test drive, five MOTORRAD employees determined the practicality of the textile suits. During the almost 5000 kilometers long tour to Italy and back, the most diverse climatic conditions prevailed. Almost 1000 kilometers of driving in the rain were just as much a part of it as driving in sunshine and 25 degrees Celsius or two Alpine crossings at temperatures just above freezing point.
Let’s start with the uncomfortable part: wetness. The pants from BMW and Dainese unfortunately did not hold tight on the test drive. Annoying for the porters who had to survive the rainy days sitting in a puddle. If you discover such a leak, you should contact your dealer as soon as possible and insist on his guarantee. The consistently used high-quality Gore membranes certainly do not let any water through (except after mechanical damage). If at all, the water finds its way in at unclean seams or tapes, and then processing errors are the reason. The manufacturer is therefore obliged to carry out repairs or provide an equivalent replacement. Therefore always keep the proof of purchase.
The removable thermal lining, which was left in the hotel room during the day in warm Italy, proved to be very advantageous. As the only item of clothing in the entire test field, the BMW Streetguard trousers do without such a lining ?? unusual in this price segment. Anyone who frequently drives a motorcycle at low temperatures should therefore take warming undergarments with them when buying to check the fit.
Of course, the fit is also decisive for all other textile suits. Buyers should take a close look at the suit of their choice and thoroughly try on whether it is sufficiently long on the arms and legs when sitting on the motorcycle, the gloves fit under the cuffs and the pant legs over the boots, and that it fits nowhere tweaks. However, it must not be too far either, otherwise there is a risk that the protectors will slip in the event of a fall. Because of the many sizes available from BMW and Stadler their combinations can be optimally adapted to buyers who are particularly slim or particularly strong.
Although practically every test participant could still improve one or the other detail? Thermal lining on BMW trousers, connection zipper on Dainese jacket, width adjustment on the arm cuffs on Kushitani, larger outside pockets on Rukka, weight on Stadler ??, all textile combinations left a noble impression in keeping with the price.
Only the results of the shock absorption test of the Rukka protectors were really shocking. The Finns should address this problem urgently. Alternatively, offer a higher quality set of protectors ?? even if the undisputed very high wearing comfort could suffer a little? would be at least a beginning and possible without much effort.
Since the protector and wetness test only make up a quarter of the overall rating, while the functionality and suitability for everyday use contribute 50 percent, Rukka just manages to score “good to satisfactory” thanks to its good practical suitability. Kushitani does best in this comparison. The very good results in the wetness and protector test as well as the very high practicality bring the Japanese victory? ahead of Stadler, BMW and Dainese, who are also worth their money.

BMW Tourguard jacket

Tourguard jacket
Sizes: D 36 to 46, 72 to 88, 18 to 22; H 46 to 66, 98 to 118, 25 to 32
Colors: blue, black
Upper material: Cordura with Gore-Tex Armacor reinforcements
Functional membrane: Gore-Tex laminate
Features: CE protectors on shoulders, elbows and back; two waterproof outer pockets, one inner pocket; removable thermal lining; Crotch strap; Reflective material; Connection zipper; Waist belt; Drawstring in the hem; Ventilation openings; Cuffs with leather braid, zip and Velcro fastener; special labyrinth sleeve construction (so-called storm cuff with elastic cuffs); Leather trim on the collar; two year guarantee

Streetguard trousers
Sizes: D 36 to 46, 72 to 88, 18 to 22; H 46 to 66, 98 to 118, 25 to 32
Colors: black
Upper material: Cordura with Gore-Tex Armacor reinforcements
Functional membrane: Gore-Tex laminate
Equipment: CE knee protectors; an outside pocket; ComforTemp lining in the seat area; Connection zipper; Waist belt; Zippers and Velcro fasteners to adjust the width of the trouser legs; Reflective material; two year guarantee

Practical evaluationWet testIn the laboratory test, pants are absolutely tight, but slight water ingress on both sleeves despite the complex labyrinth construction with elastic Gore cuffs; jacket completely tight in the practical test, water ingress in the crotch area of ​​the trousers; both jacket front pockets sealed Protector testAll six protectors on elbows, shoulders and knees as well as the back protector meet the requirements of the current CE standards Plus high-quality workmanship; Fit and comfort very good; smooth zippers; low overall weight; waterproof outside pockets; functional ventilation; two-way front zip on the jacket lining; soft collarMinus pants without thermal lining; Velcro collar too small; Bulge formation on the cuffs ConclusionVery well made, high-quality combination, unfortunately without thermal lining in the pants; Available in many sizes, which guarantees a high degree of accuracy of fit

Dainese Madison jacket

Madison jacket
Sizes: 44 to 60
Colors: black / blue, black / red, black
Upper material: NSP (Dainese own, highly abrasion and tear-resistant textile material)
Functional membrane: Gore-Tex liner, removable
Features: CE protectors on shoulders and elbows; removable CE back protector that can also be worn separately; two waterproof outer pockets, one breast pocket; an inside pocket; removable thermal lining; Reflective material; Crotch strap; Width adjustment on the upper arm; Waist belt; Drawstring in the hem; Sleeve cuffs with zip and press studs for width adjustment; two year guarantee

Rex trousers
Sizes: 44 to 60
Colors: black
Upper material: Cordura
Functional membrane: Gore-Tex liner
Features: CE knee protectors, soft foam on the hips; two outside pockets; removable thermal lining; Connection zipper; Zippers and elastic cuffs on the trouser legs; high cut; elastic straps; two year guarantee

Practical evaluation Wetness test in the laboratory test Pants absolutely tight, but slight ingress of water on both sleeves (no labyrinth construction); jacket completely tight in the practical test, water ingress in the crotch area in trousers; Two jacket front pockets leakproof Protector test Three out of six joint protectors meet the requirements of the current CE standard, the other three are just above this ?? also the back protector. The soft foam hip protectors do not comply with the NormPlus low tendency to flutter; large temperature range; high quality; high wearing comfort; Back protection can also be worn separately; very high-cut (dungarees) pants, minus, relatively heavy; fiddly putting on and taking off the jacket thanks to separate Gore-Tex and thermal insert; no connection zipper on the jacket; Sleeves a little too short Conclusion Noble textile combination with a multi-layer jacket construction for a wide temperature range, but also an elaborate donning procedure

Kushitani jacket Hayaku GTX Armacor

Hayaku GTX Armacor jacket
Sizes: 50 to 60
Color: Black
Upper: Gore-Tex Armacor
Functional membrane: Gore-Tex laminate
Features: CE protectors on shoulders, elbows and back; five outside pockets, three inside pockets; removable thermal lining; Crotch strap; Reflective strips; Connection zipper; Width adjustments on the upper and lower arm; Waist belt; Velcro straps in the hem and on the cuffs; special labyrinth sleeve construction (so-called storm cuff construction); Leather trim on the collar

Hasaki GTX trousers
Sizes: 50 to 60
Colors: black
Upper material: Cordura
Functional membrane: Gore-Tex liner
Equipment: CE knee protectors; two outside pockets; removable thermal lining; Connection zipper; Reinforcements made of Cordura 1000 on the hips and knees, double layer of leather on the seat; elastic waistband and belt on the waistband; Zipper and Velcro fastener for width adjustment on the trouser legs; Stretch inserts in the knee and calf area; four stable eyelets for suspenders

Wetness test: jacket and trousers absolutely leak-proof in the laboratory and practical test; Chest pockets not waterproof, two jacket front pockets tight Protector test: All six joint protectors (elbow, shoulder, knee) and the back protector meet the requirements of the current CE standard and achieve the lowest and therefore best residual strength values ​​in comparison plus low tendency to flutter; high quality; many practical pockets; good fit; excellent wearing comfort; Jacket can be closed / opened quickly with just one front zipper Minus too little width adjustment on the cuffs; Front zipper hooks onto the leather strip in the chest area; Pants legs are too short Conclusion Very well made, absolutely waterproof combination, which is very comfortable to wear due to the soft protectors. MOTORRAD judgment very good

Rukka jacket A-Tech

A-Tech jacket
Sizes: D 34 to 46, H 46 to 66
Colors: black / blue, black / red, black / titanium, black
Upper: Gore-Tex Armacor and Cordura 500
Functional membrane: Gore-Tex laminate
Features: CE protectors on shoulders, elbows and back; two waterproof outer and two inner pockets; removable thermal lining; Crotch strap; Reflective strips; Connection zipper; Width adjustments on the upper and lower arm; Waist belt; Velcro straps in the hem; two vents in the chest area; Sleeve cuffs with zip and Velcro fastener; Neoprene collar; five year guarantee

RVP Pro trousers
Sizes: D 38 to 46 (short), 34 to 46, 36 to 42 (long); H 48 to 66 (short), 46 to 62, 48 to 58 (long)
Colors: black
Upper material: Cordura
Functional membrane: Gore-Tex liner
Features: CE protectors on knees and hips; two outside pockets; removable thermal lining; Connection zipper; Locking latch; Zippers and Velcro fasteners to adjust the width of the trouser legs; Reflective material; Stretch inserts; removable, elastic straps; five year guarantee

Practical evaluation Wetness test in the laboratory test Pants absolutely tight, but water ingress on both sleeves (no labyrinth construction); jacket and trousers completely tight in the practical test; two jacket front pockets tight Protector test All eight joint protectors (elbows, shoulders, hips and knees) as well as the back protector do not meet the requirements of the current CE standard ?? they clearly fall short of the permissible limit values ​​plus low tendency to flutter; large temperature range; high quality; good fit and very high wearing comfort; relatively easy; Legs nice and longMinus much too small outer jacket pockets; Bib closure with fiddly double D closure; Velcro collar too small; Sleeves are too wide despite adjustment? Protectors can slip. Conclusion Very well made, comfortable to wear suit with a good fit but despite the test mark not CE-compliant protectors MOTORRAD judgment good to satisfactory ** the poor results in the protector test lead to devaluation

Stadler Transair GTX jacket

Transair GTX jacket
Sizes: D 36 to 46, 80 to 92, 20 to 23; H 48 to 62, 102 to 118, 25 to 31
Colors: black / gray metallic, black / silver
Upper material: Cordura
Functional membrane: Gore-Tex liner can be removed as a separate rain jacket
Features: CE protectors on shoulders, elbows and back; four removable, waterproof outer pockets, one of which has an integrated cell phone pocket, three additional outer pockets, one back pocket, two inner pockets, two additional, waterproof inner pockets in a membrane jacket; removable thermal lining; Reflective material; Connection zipper; Width adjustments on upper and lower arms; Waist belt; Drawstring in the hem; Ventilation openings; Sleeve cuffs with zip and Velcro fastener; ten year guarantee

Airway GTX trousers
Sizes: D 38 to 44, 72 to 92, 19 to 24; H 48 to 62, 98 to 118, 24 to 31
Colors: black / silver
Upper: Cordura 500; Cordura 2000 reinforcements on hips, thighs and knees; Double nubuck leather on the seat
Functional membrane: Gore-Tex liner, can be worn as separate rain pants
Features: CE protectors on the knees, Suprotec foam protectors on the hips; three outside pockets; removable thermal lining; Connection zipper; Waist belt; Zip and drawstring at the leg ends; Reflective material; Cordura stretch insert in the back of the knees; ten year guarantee

Practical evaluation Wet test laboratory and practical test Jacket (although without a “real” labyrinth construction on the sleeves) and pants absolutely tight, also all jacket front pockets tight Protector test Five out of six joint protectors meet the requirements of the current CE standard, one knee protector is just above that permissible limit; Hip protectors and back protectors clearly fall short of the permissible limit values large temperature range; high quality; practical detailed solutions; soft, close-fitting, high collar minus relatively heavy; fiddly and laborious putting on and taking off; Hip protectors squeeze easily Conclusion very elaborately processed, absolutely watertight combination with many practical details and adjustment options, high practicality and a very long guarantee, but a somewhat laborious process of putting on and taking off MOTORRAD judgment very good to good

Wetness test

In order to support the results collected during the one-week test drive, one additional textile combination per participant had to withstand the wetness test in the Gore rain tower. In addition, the brand-new suits were first put into the washing machine for fifteen times each to wash off the basic impregnation of the upper material. Otherwise, new textile clothing usually stays tight in the rain for a long time, even without a functional membrane. The suits were then taken one after the other to the infamous rain tower under the supervision of MOTORRAD. To do this, a dummy was inserted into the suit to be tested and all zips and Velcro straps carefully closed. Sitting on a motorcycle model, the mute servant had to wait 30 minutes while a water jet tipped him from the front and a rain shower pelted him from above. So that no water penetrates through the collar, the dummy was given a waterproof hood. According to Gore, the intense water jet from the front simulates a driving speed of around 80 to 100 km / h ?? the 30-minute wetness test corresponds to the stress of driving in the rain for several hours. After the time had elapsed, the dummy was carefully undressed and the underwear looked for traces of leaks. Except for a few traces of moisture in the sleeve area of ​​some of the candidates, all suits were tight. Jackets without so-called labyrinth structures, i.e. the models by Dainese and Rukka, are generally at risk in the area of ​​the sleeves. However, when driving in the rain, the labyrinth cuffs only work if the gauntlets of the gloves are tucked into the jacket. Otherwise, the water will eventually run into the gloves from above and will inevitably be absorbed by the lining of the jacket or underwear and migrate towards the elbows. Except for the suction effects in the sleeve area mentioned above, all test suits held tight. The fact that there were leaks in the trousers of BMW and Dainese during the test drive in the »wild« can only be explained by processing errors. As soon as one of the sensitive gluing points has not been carried out 100 percent, water can penetrate even through the smallest hole after a while while driving. And then it says: make warranty claims? namely where the suit was bought.

Protector test

On the Viscotec protector test bench, MOTORRAD determined the shock absorption values ​​of the protectors used in the test suits. The individual tests were carried out based on the currently valid CE standards. Protectors differ in two sub-assemblies: the joint protectors (shoulders, elbows, hips and knees) and the back protectors. The two groups are tested according to different standards: The CE standard EN 1621-1 applies to joint protectors, the CE standard prEN 1621-2 for back protectors. Let’s start with the joint protectors: The European standard (EN) 1621-1 also includes the Minimum protector sizes for the areas to be protected ?? a distinction is made between type A (test area small) and B (large) for each joint ?? the permissible limit value for the residual forces occurring during the impact test. In this test, a defined, rectangular stamp with a mass of five kilograms falls from a height of one meter onto the protector to be tested, which lies on a hemispherical anvil with a force measuring device. Without a protector, the determined residual force on impact would be between 150 and 180 kilo-newtons (kN). The mean value of three test runs at different points on the protector must be below 35 kN, and none of the individual blows may exceed 50 kN. The stamp weight is still five kilograms, but the shape of the stamp now corresponds to a strongly curved curb. In addition, the back protector to be tested lies on a slightly curved anvil. The mean value of three test runs may not exceed 18 kN and none of the individual blows should exceed 24 kN. For all protector tests, the individual blows must have a distance of at least five centimeters from one another and be scattered over the entire test area. One hit each is in the central area of ​​the protector, one in the middle and one on the edge of the defined protection zone. The residual force values ​​determined by MOTORRAD show clear differences between the individual test participants. Particularly noticeable: the Rukka protectors fail miserably. Not a single one of the protectors marked as CE-approved even comes close to complying with the prescribed limit values. A note on the side: Even with a blow of around five to seven kilo Newtons, human bones break? Such a violent impact as permitted in the CE test would therefore not take place without injury.

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