what gear should I wear?

[DealsGap]

What gear you wear is determined by the level of acceptable risk. For me, nothing short of leathers, gloves, boots, spine protector, and helmet is sufficient. I've crashed in street clothes and I've crashed in leathers, and I can tell you first hand that you do NOT want to crash without leathers on.

I see a lot of people riding around in either a mesh or leather jacket with jeans on, and I strongly recommend not doing this. Leather is designed to slide and jeans do not. Because of this, not only will you have the impact damage to your lower body and the roadrash as the jeans immediately burn through to bare flesh, but it will cause you to twist at the midsection which commonly results in broken ribs from even minor lowsides. This also promotes tumbling, which is the main cause of injury in a crash.

Mesh gear doesn't have anywhere near the impact or abrasion protection that leather has, and you will rarely get more than 1 crash out of a mesh jacket before it's shredded. It is better than nothing, however. If I were going to commute on a motorcycle (which I never will), I would probably look into some of the armored mesh overpants that zip together with a mesh jacket, and I would use my race boots and gloves along with that. Or, I would just bite the bullet and wear my leathers and change when I get there. It really depends on the situation, and neither scenario is ideal.

As for brands, you typically get what you pay for, but there are values out there. From what I've seen, Icon is typically bottom of the barrel when it comes to quality. Much of it is flashy and cheap, which typically appeals to the poser crowd. The benchmarks in the leather industry are brands like Alpinestars, Dianese, Teknic, and AGV. Some of the best leathers are made by custom shops like Syed, Vanson, and Barnacle Bill. I think one of the best bang for the buck deals is the Joe Rocket line. I've crashed in my GPX suit numerous times and it has protected and held up extremely well. For an affordable 2 piece suit, I couldn't ask for more.