Leather Or Synthetic?

About the best motorcycle garment materials

Leather

The most obvious (and the most impressive one) motorcycle garment material. Many people think that any leather cloth is suitable for motorcycle use. However, this is absolutely wrong. The right motorcycle clothing has nothing to do with fashion shops. It must be made from calf saddle (the strongest type of leather) and it must be as thick as possible. This way, it absorbs and diffuses impact energy and resists abrasion with ground.
Leather has another one benefit. It provides some sort of insulation while permitting for skin perspiration. It provides a small degree of water-tightness (however water enters easily through the sewing). It lasts much more than synthetic, if you treat it with care.
On the other hand, it's heavy, not practical and flexible. It can't be polymorphic because of two reasons: it must be wore tight and any additional zip decreases it's resistance to tearing. An additional disadvantage is that jackets made from leather leave neck and part of the arms uncovered.

Synthetic materials (Cordura, nylon, Kevlar)

Synthetic fabrics are way much more polymorphic, light and flexible in use, compared to leather. The greatest problem of synthetic materials is their poor insulation and moderate perspiration (the latter has a sense only under relatively high ambient temperatures). However, even leather is not suitable for high temperatures, unless it is thin. Synthetic materials are not so effective against abrasion, since their thickness is always smaller. Nylon (Tactel) is less abrasion resistant than Cordura. However, their thickness is not the same from brand to brand, "what you pay is what you get" applies here. My opinion is that Kevlar threads or even a whole layer, embedded in critical areas, pays significant role in increasing resistance to abrasion and tearing off. However, you can't find Kevlar on cheap clothes.

The real world

I have heard many times about a test that proved leather is 6 times more resistant to abrasion compared to Cordura and 20 times compared to denim and Tactel.However, I am not sure about the qualities and thickness of the materials under test. Polymer technology continuously improves. Anyway, even abrasion is not as dangerous in the large flat surfaces of the body. Race drivers, of course, use one-piece leather suits just because of the long dragging caused by the high speeds. In real world, however, abrasion can be proved harmful mainly on exposed portions like elbows, shoulders, backbone, knees, foots and palms. These portion are effectively protected against abrasion and impact energy just by using the suitable crash protectors (pads) embedded into clothing or placed directly on the body.

The (not so real) racing world

One could easily think (and he will be absolutely right), that superbike or grand-prix championship drivers use the ultimate protection garment and armour. Why couldn't we simply follow their choice? The answer is, at least in many cases, "no". Those drivers wear thick, very tight leather suits. This kind of suit is impractical for daily use. It's not warm in the cold winter days, it doesn't permit pockets and neck covering and it can't be made fully waterproof (zips are exposed). Despite of those disadvantages, many people wear whole leather suits when making long distance travels.

Conclusion

It is sure that Cordura doesn't resist abrasion in the manner leather does, because of the thickness of leather. Leather outperforms even Kevlar in that. However, I think Cordura is adequate when it is used in conjunction with crash protectors (even leather needs them).
Finally, flexibility in use, appearance and other factors affect selection of the clothing material. Perhaps a fine combination of maximum flexibility and protection consists of leather pants and Cordura (Kevlar reinforced) jacket.