What Are You Wearing?

[onlycw]

I brought my heavy Harro leathers, but in those I would sweat a liter the first hour.

Do you compromise by risking serious injury in case of a fall? Option for a t-shirt, jeans and flip flops?

I read something about high tech clothes but fear the price tag

My wife gets to work on bike taxis every day for 8 years. Still, I might want something for her as well. Something better, something protective. I doubt she would wear leathers, though

I fell off a Kawa H 100 near Manchester. In those days, I wore 3 pairs of trousers, still, the knee was bleeding and it was only at 30 mph (trying to teach a bloke from Russia how to ride. Not sure what he did, maybe get his foot into the spokes or blocking the front wheel by braking too hard? Down we went. I think he panicked when there was oncoming traffic )

As long as you are riding, the wind should keep you kinda cool. Saw some photos and noticed European outerwear for GT Riders. When you arrive, you take a shower and change quickly? Is that the solution?

[thaicbr]

Onlycw.

Mesh jackets with armour are the solution up top. and jeans and knee pads are ok down bottom. or mesh trousers.

Decent helmet min REAL brand but better HJC UP. good gloves with armour on the knuckles. and a decent pair of sturdy lace/zip boots. Thats the bare minimum for going any distance imho.

If you have the money there are many options from shops like Paddock, Dirt bike etc or for slightly less money look on mocyc.cum. Some of the guys on here wear perforated leather race suits (normally when they are going balls out). Other riders wear a pair of shorts and a cut off denim.

[Netfan]

I think the honey on thaicbr's avitar has the right idea!

But if ya gotta wear something, I second what thaicbr said - I've got a mesh jacket with hard armor and leather gloves for around town - the jacket is comfortable, wouldn't go anywhere without the gloves. For road trips its a heavy textile jacket with armor and cordura pants with pads, boots. It's hot, but bearable. Problem is finding big sizes and low prices here. All my stuff was brought / shipped over.

[johnwills]

Anyone able to recommend some places to buy protective clothing in Bangkok, somewhere near Sukumvit Road preferably. Looking for armoured jacket, boots etc.

[Dave the Dude]

Anyone able to recommend some places to buy protective clothing in Bangkok, somewhere near Sukumvit Road preferably. Looking for armoured jacket, boots etc.

Or Internet sites that will ship to Thailand.

I assumed I'd find a good variety of mesh jackets on Australian sites, but had little luck.

Any ideas reader?

Dave

[thaicbr]

New enough.com are good. they have lots of stuff and will ship to Thailand. check out the bargain section in closeouts.

Allan

[Zzinged]

The shops here for stuff are:

www.Paddock.co.th

www.pandarider.com

and a few other places I can't remember off the top of my head.

They're all expensive though. Your best bet might actually be to take a 2 day trip to Singapore and buy stuff there to bring back.

[villagefarang]

Rush Jacket

This is what I wear and where I got it from.

[Bard]

Mesh is no good for a crash as Allan knows very well...

On tours I wear full leather (split set) with full armour, Race boots, race gloves and Shoei full face helmet.

Small trips around I use a mesh jacket, dragging jeans, tour gloves, ankle boots and same helmet. If just a pop to 7/11 just helmet gloves, ankle boots and jeans...

Depending on the leather, if you buy a perforated suit they are more comfortable than mesh on a tour with an undersuit it's cooler than mesh believe it or not. I am not the only one who can testify this, so it's true. The leather keeps the sun out and perforation lets air through and keep a nice air pocket around your body (as long as you use an undersuit) also for an unsuspected rainfall you keep dry again believe it or not. However full leather in heavy traffic where you don't get the air movement it's a real sauna. Then the mesh is still <deleted> but a little better.

Should you ever have a slide or accident which does not end up in a static object nothing ever beats leather with armour. Also when you ride on highway there is no snagging from wind with leather, and you relax more as your arms dont get wind jerking your arms.

Problem with mesh is it let sun in and heats up the stuff a lot, and you sweat a lot, then the movement cools you down from your sweat evaporation. Whe you ride in highway speed the mesh don't vent very well funnily enough, and due to the sun heat going into the mesh it cools less than the leather which reflects off the sunrays at the surface. (you dress the heat out) I find it very comfortable to ride with full leather on longer rides as long as you don't do a lot of static in traffic.

[12DrinkMore]

They're all expensive though. Your best bet might actually be to take a 2 day trip to Singapore and buy stuff there to bring back.

There is surely a market for a serious bike accessory shop in Thailand selling a decent range at reasonable prices. I'd like to buy some reasonable gear, but not at the Thai prices and, above all, the lack of selection.

A two day trip to Singapore, jeeze, that's pushing it, or do you mean travelling in a flying sausage?

But have you any recommendations for shops down there? Furthest south I've been is to KL on a Phantom but Singapore on the Kwacker 650 is doable. Roads in Malaysia are great and NO TOLL FEES for bikers.

[thaicbr]

"Mesh is no good for a crash as Allan knows very well"

Hi Bard. Yes. Mesh is no where near as good as perforated leather. But it has protected me in 2 crashes so far. the jacket was damaged sure, but i would have been damaged far more if i had not been wearing it. I havent tried perforated leather but will at some point. Until then i will wear mesh, because it does give protection. As other posters have said the availability of any decent stuff at a reasonable price is a big problem here in LOS.

Allan

[Travelmate]

just go to Paddock everything is there.

[Netfan]

I haven't bought anything from either of these shops yet, but they do have good selection and prices and they ship to Thailand - rider superstore or extreme supply, both on ebay. Be aware anything in a big box from a shop almost guarantees getting grabbed by customs and they can charge whatever they feel like in duty best if you have someone coming over with room in their bag, or get it shipped domestic first to a friend and have them repack/label it as "used" and a gift.

[Spoonman]

I have a nice leather jacket and pants, custom made with 8 layers of kevlar and a tidy nylon inner, dont wear em though, t-shirt/shorts and thongs for me when im on the scoot.

[Bard]

mesh is better than nothing I agree with you there Allan, but the small slide I had with one disintegrated the jacket, and because the armour is not tightly fitted it burnt the skin and I got an armour rash. Had jeans on at the moment and there were no rash or harm done other than scratched jeans. I am also sure I would gotten more hurt if there were no armour, but just beware a slide longer than a very few meters and the mesh is gone with the armour. The helmet I used saved me big time for any injury as my head hit the tarmac with force. I had not even a mild headache after, which proove the value of a proper helmet.

Leather rox, and they last a lifetime if you take care of them which is again more than I can say about mesh. You can even have a slide on leather and it's still usable after and if a massive slide you can repair them.

Any protection is far better than no protection, so if the choice is between t-shirt or mesh I would go mesh. I seen to many bike slides in Thailand where massive injury could be prevented by wearing protective clothing. In Pattaya you see daily tourists with burn scars from exhaust who was riding with t-shirt flipflops and shorts. You meet tourists with massive road rashes, and how many Thais do you know without a motorbike scar? Today I read there were fatal motorcycle accident number 10 this year for Brits in Pattaya, on the picture he had ziltch safety gear on. It was tragic to read, and it is devastating for family and friends when this happens, safety gear is not a warranty but a higher chance of survival and less damage when accidents happen.

You see morons without helmet, or with a thai lid worthless in a crash. Not to judge anyone, everyone have to decide what they think is right for them, but if you feel you cannot afford massive hospital bill, or you think your life is worth something I would consider some form for protection and spend money on the helmet.

However do not ever come in under the false assumption that wearing this will save your life always, if you hit a solid object the chance of surviving is slim to none. This is something motorcyclists face everytime they start the bike, you might follow every rule in the book but still someone may go right in front of you with a big car or truck. Any speed over 20 km/h can kill you then. As more gear you use as higher your chances are to survive granted. Most accidents involve sliding and not hitting a solid object luckily, and in these occations you have a huge advantage. Even if you should hit a solid object a proper helmet and armour will hugely contribute your survivability but it is not something you can bet on.

Thailand has extremely high risk for riders as most of us comprehend, we still ride. We still do it despite the risk, because either we love it or we cannot afford to own a car. To suit up for the risk is to try to minimize the outcome in case of an accident. There is still a high risk hanging over us and the statistics are against us, so my advice to anyone riding in Thailand is to (A) buy a proper helmet and always use it, and B try to add up with as much safety gear as you can comfortably/afford to wear.

[submaniac]

Onlycw,

When riding in Thailand (Bangkok) I generally wear 1) Joe Rocket Armored ballistic mesh jacket 2) alpinestars gloves 3) USA made and DOT approved helmet (bringing my Arai to Thailand when I go next time) and 3) boots that cover the ankle (I also bought an extra pair of Sidi riding boots which I am also bringing when I go). This is of course when I am planning to go more than a mile on motorcycle. When I go to the 7-11 on the corner (about 1/2 mile away) I probably will only wear helmet and gloves. I think helmet and gloves are the bare minimum I would ever do. The helmet I know I need always; even if I drop the bike from a complete stand still, there is the chance that I could crack my skull without a helmet. And gloves, well if you are going down the first thing you will instinctively do is stick out your hand to try and break the fall. Short rides to the corner store, I can justify t-shirt, flip flops, and shorts...so long as I am wearing helmet and gloves.

I think alot of good things have already been said. If you want good gear, the best bet is to find a place in the states or the Western World that will ship to Thailand. When I was in Thailand, it was hard to find good gear domestically. And even if I found stuff, I never knew if it was real or fake. This isn't like buying a fake Luis Vuitton purse; I don't care if it makes me look cool, I just want to make sure it works in the event of a crash. If you are looking for gear also check out Thaivisa's classified section. People do put up stuff occasionally. I know I listed a Joe Rocket mesh jacket that is now with Netfan. (Hope you are happy with it, Gus!).

As for the leather versus "anything else" debate, that has been going on for some time. Some reports show that synthetic materials are more durable than leather. As for me, if I know I will be crashing I would prefer to be wearing leather. However, the mesh jacket that I am wearing will provide more protection than the leather jacket that is sitting in my closet because it is too hot to wear leather.

I also think that for the type of riding I do in Thailand, leather versus mesh won't be a big issue. For those of you in Chiang Mai, or out in the middle of farm land, there's a greater chance of being able to do a long slide. And a long slide is actually a good thing because it gives more time and distance to dissipate energy, as opposed to hitting a curb or pole and coming to an abrupt stop. When you hit something there's a greater likelihood of breaking bones and suffering a fatality. If you hit an obstacle, it really won't matter much if you are wearing leather or mesh, it's the impact that's going to cause injury. In Bangkok, if I am riding at speed it's very unlikely that I will have a lot of distance to slide. It's more likely I'm going to hit one of those 2 foot tall curbs, or a pole, or run into a car. Leather just isn't going to help in that kind of situation. With that said, I would rather at least be comfortable, rather than be uncomfortable and protected for a crash situation that I am just not going to encounter.

[skipvice]

T shirt,shorts, tennis shoes, helmet. what els do you need to ride a small motorcycle in Thailand

[submaniac]

what els do you need to ride a small motorcycle in Thailand

Three more passengers on the bike.

[saorsa]

In town, I wear tshirt, trainers and long combat trousers or jeans (shorts and Harley exhausts dont go together). On a longer run out of town, I wear a mesh jacket and safety boots, but still just normal trousers.

[nikster]

I haven't bought anything from either of these shops yet, but they do have good selection and prices and they ship to Thailand - rider superstore or extreme supply, both on ebay. Be aware anything in a big box from a shop almost guarantees getting grabbed by customs and they can charge whatever they feel like in duty best if you have someone coming over with room in their bag, or get it shipped domestic first to a friend and have them repack/label it as "used" and a gift.

For customs tea money evasion, use _only_ standard post ground shipping. They will open anything sent with FedEx or UPS, but post gets in no problems. Have had lots of computer hardware shipped this way, they never opened the box, there was never any customs fee.

[JSixpack]

Around town: jeans jacket (unbuttoned), jeans, leather shorty gloves, hiking boots or motorcycle boots, half-face imported helmet. I'd wear the mesh jacket, but it's hot when you're stuck in traffic and bulky to carry around when you're off the bike; and for a spill at low speed, the jeans jacket will likely be enough (have had the experience already when I turned a corner and hit a patch of sand).

On the road: mesh armored jacket (cool enough if you're moving), jeans, leather full gloves, motorcycle boots, flip-lid imported helmet

Knee pads would be a great idea in both cases but I don't have any.

[johnwills]

The shops here for stuff are:

www.Paddock.co.th

www.pandarider.com

and a few other places I can't remember off the top of my head.

They're all expensive though. Your best bet might actually be to take a 2 day trip to Singapore and buy stuff there to bring back.

Thanks, I'll check these out.

[Zzinged]

A two day trip to Singapore, jeeze, that's pushing it, or do you mean travelling in a flying sausage?

Yep, 5000baht for return tickets on a budget airline, 2000-3000 baht for one night's stay at a decent hotel, and up to 50% savings on motorcycling apparel (helmets excepted).

Places I visited were:

http://www.partsforbike.com/index.php

http://www.chongaik.com.sg/contacts.html

Of course it helps if you know exactly what you want, so you can find out first if they stock it or not. I went to Singapore to buy rain gear and came away with unarmoured weather proof gloves (Sidi), 2 piece rain suit and boot covers (komine). All up was about 3800 baht. Granted, I went during the period of the Singapore Sale, so I would have gotten a better deal than if going other times.

[Netfan]

Onlycw,

I know I listed a Joe Rocket mesh jacket that is now with Netfan. (Hope you are happy with it, Gus!).

I'm lovin' it. I just slipped in some hard armor. And real important- it helps being seen, esp at night.

[Milo]

Loads of folk who come touring with us get their mesh armour from eBay. I'm often amazed at the prices they pick stuff up for. I used a place in the market over the border at Mae Sai; RJays armoured 3M Scotchlite jacket with zip-in waterproof liner 3,000b. Usually retails for around 7,000b in-country, Fast Corner Cm/Bkk. Sorry, I can't supply directions for this place, it was in fact the bikinis outside that caught the wife's (and mine!) eye, we were just wandering. I've been so impressed with the jacket this year will be popping back for the pants mid Oct, though admittedly it's never been 'tested'. Obviously it could well be a cheap Chinese copy, but the three layers of perforated material 'feel' tough enough, and I feel if they were going to copy a brand it would probably be something better known like Yellow Corn?

Speaking of which I went through three pairs of YC gloves from Fast Corner Chiang mai in quick time, one season, leading me to believe they were indeed overpriced copies. In fairness the guy there was very apologetic and sold me the next two pairs at cost, 30% of (not off) his usual retail prices. Still unhappy I used a little local cobbler here in Udorn to utilise the armour off the gloves and tailor me a pair, two years now and still going strong for only 800b!! With actual 1/16" boot leather on the heel of your hand, there'll be no going through that in the event of an off.

[PeaceBlondie]

Great advice for Aberdeen. It's a wee bit warmer here.

[thaicbr]

So Milo did you buy the jacket at fast corner or at the market?

[Newguy70]

Riding a Scooter. Picked up a helmet from Paddock, I read all the review on bike sites, and ThaiVisa as well for helmets (Thnx Guys.) Decided to go with the brand "HJC" DOT/Snell appr. Am a newnbie to biking, riding only 2months, but it seemed that Paddock had a good selection, somewhat biased as it is in close proximity. Hope to eventually move up to a bike , and eventually ride back/forth to Chiang Rai.

Helemt/Jeans/Sneakers (Frgg'n hot). Am looking to get a decent pair of gloves& shoes next. Reccomendations greatly appreciated. Thnx

[imaneggspurt]

Look at light moto x protective arm and leg covers, also for the back if you like,...ebay is best, prices in thailand are way too much ,.

[submaniac]

Onlycw,

I know I listed a Joe Rocket mesh jacket that is now with Netfan. (Hope you are happy with it, Gus!).

I'm lovin' it. I just slipped in some hard armor. And real important- it helps being seen, esp at night.

Well Gus I am really happy you like it. I was wearing one in Bangkok, and I was totally staying cool with it on. Good work with you managing to find hard armor for it in Thailand!

Riding a Scooter. Picked up a helmet from Paddock, I read all the review on bike sites, and ThaiVisa as well for helmets (Thnx Guys.) Decided to go with the brand "HJC" DOT/Snell appr. Am a newnbie to biking, riding only 2months, but it seemed that Paddock had a good selection, somewhat biased as it is in close proximity. Hope to eventually move up to a bike , and eventually ride back/forth to Chiang Rai.

Helemt/Jeans/Sneakers (Frgg'n hot). Am looking to get a decent pair of gloves& shoes next. Reccomendations greatly appreciated. Thnx

My recommendation for boots would be the Sidi Strada Air. I have them, and they are the most comfortable footwear I own. They have air vents in them that keep your feet cool, much cooler than if you were just wearing sneakers. Here's a review on them:

http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-boo...idi/strada-evo/

newenough.com has them for $220 and they will ship to Thailand. I snagged mine 'slightly used' off of Ebay for $58. I can't tell you how happy I am with them. Like other motorcycle boots are uncomfortable to walk in. These are so light and comfortable that I like them better than sneakers.