Might be worth swinging by cycle gear just up the road to see if they have an Alpinestars suit you can try on as well. That's what I did and got a good comparison.
However, with a lot of these small, custom suit companies - they are not all making the suits. There are factories in Pakistan that pretty much allow any joe blow to start their own "custom suit company" and make a website to sell these suits. If you notice a lot of them look the same but just have a different name - these are all made by this manufacture. So, all you are getting is something that may be specific to your sizing but you aren't necessarily receiving a custom or high end product. They boast kangaroo, kevlar, etc. but it is NOWHERE near the quality of Alpinestars, etc. How do you think you can get a "custom" suit made of kangaroo and titanium sliders for $900? All the rest of the nice double/triple stitching, extra layers of material in impact zones, development and testing is missing...
All very valid points, but I don't think location of manufacture inherently is the determination of quality. I mean I believe Alpinestars does most of its manufacturing in China and Vietnam these days (I could be wrong on this, you'd know better than me). As with anything, I'm sure there are some good ones and some bad, I only feel confident recommending Spartan Leathers since I've read about a number of reports and met a ton of people on the track with them, and they have a reputation for handling crashes like a champ. I've never met anyone that uses them that has had a bad experience, myself included. I think one huge thing that allows small manufacturers to be so much cheaper is they do all of their sales direct, so only the manufacturer needs to make a profit, and it's priced accordingly. I've seen dealer prices for Alpinestars stuff a while back and at those costs you definitely get a better bang for your buck than the small manufacturers (as I would expect due to economies of scale). Sidenote: Is anyone seriously advertising a kangaroo suit for $900? Because that would be sketchy as hell, haha.
This has proven to be a much more complex task than i had anticipated. Good discussion though. Keep it going!
dmason, i respect your dedication! I wish i could get my hands on one too see what makes them so great. I seen and worn a dainese in person, so i understand the "X" factor that makes them so nice. I wonder what had made you such a die hard RS Taichi fan. Your conviction is....convincing.
One thing that always stuck in my memory was when a well known leather repair expert was asked which brand to go with they said Taichi. Beyond that... I dunno. Been really happy with mine. Comfy, good looking, crashes like a champ. Plus it's a slightly more "unique" and "original" choice (slightly). Everybody and their brother sports A-Stars...
5 pages for a damn suit and still no decision made! Just make up ur mind man! Good luck finding the right suit. I cant really help you much on the subject. I have a A* Octane that I got cheap from Ebay. I do feel good in wearing the suit but luckily I didnt have to test it yet!
Anyone buy SYED leathers anymore? I still use my suit and it was the choice of most privateer racers back in the day. Custom made in Florida and very high quality starting at around $1100 for a full custom suit. I know guys who have crashed in them 10+ times and never had to have a repair. Matt
You probably just need to try a few on, because they all fit a little differently. The reason a lot of people recommend Taichi because they're one of the best….buy what feels good.
lol right! don't be a fanboy of a particular brand, buy them based off of results of crashes. I've seen Taichi crash pretty well, obviously Arlen Ness, dainese & Teknic as well. Alpine stars, i crashed one time & was told the suit was too thin to be safe for another crash & another layer of leather would be needed to make it more sturdy, my buddy ryan crashed once at putnam & his race replica (alpinestars top suit) ripped in the forearm. Just research and read around (most likely starting a thread everywhere isn't going to yield you very good results) Just buy something and hope you don't have to crash test it