Warmer jacket: Textile or Leather?

[mellofelow]

It's time to replace my winter riding jacket. I have a tour textile jacket with liner and it's quite warm except when it's 50-ish, I feel my body temperature drop after 15 minutes or so on freeway speeds (70-80mph).

So, for this types of conditions, which jacket type would be warmer? Textile or heavy weight leather? Any experience and/or recommendation is much appreciated.

 

[Fz6Sa]

In my mind/experience, there is no doubt; TEXTILE!!

I use an IXS jacket which has an inner removable thermo lining for those sum 10C days.
I have no problems with getting cold, - even after 4 - 5 hours non stop driving (only stops for fuel) in -4C.

 

[xj750_Pete]

If money is not an issue than I would go with a nice high quality full grain leather jacket with liners included. Tourmaster has a nice affordable leather jacket called the Magnum that is reasonably priced compared to other jackets. If you are looking for value then a textile jacket with multiple liners would probably be best. I have a tourmaster Intake mesh jacket with two liners and I use it all year.

 

[Fz6Sa]

If money is not an issue than I would go with a nice high quality full grain leather jacket with liners included. Tourmaster has a nice affordable leather jacket called the Magnum that is reasonably priced compared to other jackets. If you are looking for value then a textile jacket with multiple liners would probably be best. I have a tourmaster Intake mesh jacket with two liners and I use it all year.

Textile is not always cheaper than leather .....,- i.e. my IXS jacket/pants set was 50% more than a medium priced Leather set .....

So the cost can't just be set on textile v. Leather.
Brands, inbuilt protection, durability, fit and so on always costs extra.

 

[agmom98]

Textile is warmer than leather. In my experience leather gets cold and stays cold, while textile doesn't. Plus a good textile jacket will be at least water resistant if not fully water-proof. I used to wear leather when I was a new rider and after a couple of years and talkiing to other riders, I switched to textile. I wear a lightweight fleece under my Olympia AST jacket with it's quilted liner. When temps get below 45-50, I wear a Gerbing electric liner instead of the Olympia quilted liner. I installed a portalet outlet on my FZ, wired direct to battery with fused harness. Now I can ride in sub freezing temps no problem.

 

[Red Wazp]

The key is to get a jacket that has a wind proof liner (not quilited). A trick I learned eons ago is put your hand inside the item you are looking to buy and put your mouth aginst the material and exhale real slow- if you can feel the warmth of your breath don't buy it. If your warm air can penatrate the material so can cold air.
Fleece is a good base layer to help keep warm.

 

[mellofelow]

Thanks for your inputs guys! Ok, I'll stick with Textile. Probably makes sense because it'll be used only 3-4 months out of the year.

OK... I found this on Yamaha's website. The Base Camp Jacket, supposedly for snowmobile and mountain riding. LOL, should be very toasty.

Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA - Riding Gear Base Camp Jacket (Black)

 

[Doorag]

One trick we use in the UK to battle the cold and wet is to wear a WindStopper jacket under your normal jacket. You can get them from North Face and sweveral others and they work great to block all the wind and keep you toasty.

 

[steveindenmark]

I have both leather and textile.

The problem with leather is that when it gets really wet, it stays really wet for days.

Steve

 

[steveindenmark]

Thanks for your inputs guys! Ok, I'll stick with Textile. Probably makes sense because it'll be used only 3-4 months out of the year.

OK... I found this on Yamaha's website. The Base Camp Jacket, supposedly for snowmobile and mountain riding. LOL, should be very toasty.

Yamaha Motor Corporation, USA - Riding Gear Base Camp Jacket (Black)

This jacket looks great but does not appear to have any protection in the shoulders, elbows and back.

Steve

 

[bmccrary]

Now I can ride in sub freezing temps no problem.

You one crazy lady! That or I am just wus... which is more the case. When it is in the lower 50's, the bike is parked.

-bryan

 

[Fz6Sa]

You one crazy lady! That or I am just wus... which is more the case. When it is in the lower 50's, the bike is parked.

-bryan

You are just a wus ,- I ride in sub Zero to :thumbup:

 

[dankatz]

Tourmaster textile with liner. As long as I wear a tutleneck it is good down to 25F. Agree with above comments. Textile warmer than leather (even with liner). Also, windproof liner makes a huge difference. The Tourmaster comes with two liners, windprrof/waterproof and one thermal. Most textile jackets come with it. The Yamaha jacket looks nice, but would not offer much protection. Check this out:
Teknic Chicane Textile Motorcycle Jacket :: New Enough, LTD
Something like that is both inexpensive and has both liners. I bought my Tourmaster from Newenough on clearance for around $100 and love it.

 

[bcityroller]

I'm another in the camp of textile with liner and then swap the liner for a heated vest if you want to go colder. I also find that the 3/4 jackets feel warmer because they cut down on drafts. Here's one the seems to be a good deal at the moment (i have no experience with this one though)
Teknic Stinger Textile Motorcycle Jacket :: New Enough, LTD

I'm currently wearing a Tour Master Transition which is warm enough with the heated vest for sub-freezing temperatures, but it's not as warm as the Fieldsheer Subzero jacket I had previously. Can't find a direct link but it looked similar to this one.

Incidentally - IMO fleece liners are nice and warm but it's much easier to slide your arm into a jacket where your street clothes are sliding against a smoother material. So fleece on the outside, nylon lining or nylon on both sides seems to be where I end up.

 

[mastakilla]

textile is warmer, no doubt about it.

Seriously, you don't have to buy a $1000 jacket to keep warm in the winter. It's all about layers baby. I wear the same jacket as I wear in the summer, but I wear about 5 layers underneath it. T-shirt, special mountainbikers thermo-underwear wind-stopper stuff, a fleece sweater, a regular sweatshirt... These layers are all pretty thin, so no discomfort, and they keep me very warm and cozy. Also under my textile pants, I wear leg warmers that also bicyclists and mountainbikers wear. No need to spend a lot of money on keeping warm fellas. The only thing you might need to buy specifically for the winter, are gloves.

 

[Nelly]

I am a new textile convert lol,
I use Spada trousers and Hein Gericke jacket. I now enjoy riding in the rain and don't have a problem in the cold weather. Doorag makes a great point about a wind stopper being worn underneath the actual jacket.

Nelly:thumbup: