Leather Riding Gear

[Greg_imp]

After wearing an Alpinestars textile jacket with armor for awhile I bought a used Vanson fully perforated jacket off eBay. The Vanson is an older model and doesn't have built-in armor, although it has a double layer of leather on the elbows and forearms and shoulders. Here's a link to a page on the Vanson site that also has a visual history of sport rider-type jackets. [url=http://vansonleathers.com/main_page/chapters/mens/sportrider_list.html]Vanson Leather

The jacket with built-in armor just didn't cut it for me. I'm rather thin and I'm pretty sure in case of a get-off, the elbow armor especially would move around and not be where it needed to be.

I got separate armor that I can wear under my leather Vanson, or under a [url=http://www.amazon.com/Draggin-Shirt-Natural-size-Medium/dp/B001J58FXY]kevlar shirt, or, on really hot days, over a t-shirt. My separate armor consists of fairly inexpensive elbow pads like most dealers have for and for full coverage, the [url=http://www.forcefieldbodyarmour.com/product/extreme-harness-adventure/2347]Forcefield Extreme Harness. I also have a pair of [url=http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/Detail.bok?no=4152]Knox Cross Knee Guards and [url=http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/Detail.bok?no=5935]Knox Cross Armored Shorts with a pair of Kevlar jeans sized big enough to fit over them.

Boots: Waaayy too many options, haha! I bought a pair of [url=http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/Detail.bok?no=4398]Alpinestars SM-X 5 Vented boots which offered good protection but I'm probably never going near a racetrack and these just looked wrong on me. So I got a pair of [url=http://www.chippewaboots.com/boots/safety_toe/27422]Chippewa style 27422, also known as fire station boots. After you get the double row of laces adjusted right, they zip on and off.

Gloves: A friend loaned me a pair of full gauntlet armored gloves but I eventually got a pair of short [url=http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/Detail.bok?no=29817]Knox Orsa gloves in white. I like the hefty palm sliders and the cable ratchet closure system.

A big part of the pleasure of riding for me is the feel, smell and heft of my leather gear. I don't look a power ranger on an insect bike, I feel like my dermis is fairly safe from abrasion and my kids can use this gear long after I'm gone (if they don't mind looking über retro).