[Darkcloud]

This eternal debate of mesh vs textile is too tempting to not give my views! The choice, I believe, ultimately rests on the rider. To each his own.

I used to tour in mesh jackets in the past but now do so only in textiles. My reasons for doing so was that in dry and hot climates, like that found in Central India, the mesh jackets made me feel uncomfortable due to the constant entry of hot air through the mesh pores. There is no way to regulate the entry of air into a mesh jacket. A textile jacket prevents the hot air from rushing in and overheating the body and with the vents you do get a decent quantity of air coming in.

I also felt the exposure of hot air at all times when riding in mesh made me more dehydrated despite consuming adequate amounts of water through a hydration bladder. Dehydration cannot be overcome only by drinking lots of water. You have to control exposure to the heat too. The hot air entering a mesh jacket does not prevent the body from cooling down, especially in dry hot climates, as it evaporates body sweat before it even has a chance to bring down the body temperature by cooling the skin. And in such dry climates, due to the low humidity one doesn't even sweat enough thus exacerbating the heating effect of the hot dry air entering the jacket.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

This is why in the hot sahara, the bedouins wear a thick layer of clothing to protect themselves from the blast of hot wind from scorching their skin and evaporating any moisture off their skin.

I agree with you. Who better to learn from than the people living in extremely hot climates? Even in the hotter parts of our country, people cover themselves up from head to toe, while riding a two wheeler, to prevent direct exposure to the hot air and sunrays.

In the end it all boils down to what you're comfortable with. Neither the amount of riding experience that others have nor their opinions matter as much as trying out (if possible) both mesh and textile and then choosing what keeps you happy riding in any kind of climate.

Cheers!

[Pferdestarke]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Mesh does cause faster dehydration. Wind hits your body on a motorcycle at speeds, any sweat that tends to form will evaporate quickly even before moisture builds up by this wind.

Dear friend, that's not how the temperature regulation works in a human body. Sweating happens when the internal temperature gets higher than the threshold levels.

Sweating is a process of evaporative heat dissipation. For it to happen on an optimal scale, the sweat secreted over the skin surface needs to be evaporated.

Also, sweat evaporated doesn't make the body secrete more sweat, it's the internal temperature that does.

In this regard, I feel mesh helps us lose heat in the best manner possible. But one has to maintain proper hydration to avoid ill effects of excessive sweating.

On the other hand, a human body gains heat energy from the external environment either through direct radiation from sun or through convective heat gain from hot air. Mesh jackets can be detrimental in the latter case.

The choice boils down to individual's preferences and the climatic conditions to which he/she is frequently exposed.

Sharing this without using any medical lingo/technical terms for a better understanding of the physiological processes involved.

[Abh1nav]

Im planning to go on a a long trip next week and everything except the boots is sorted on the gear front. I simply cant decide if I should be getting proper riding boots or not. I’m simply unable to convince myself to get those.


Im thinking high ankle hiking boots - Columbia expeditionist https://dl.flipkart.com/s/LgUZgIuuuN for the trip as an alternative.

Any suggestions if this would be a decent alternative? Or are the riding boots an absolute absolute must?

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by Abh1nav

Im planning to go on a a long trip next week and everything except the boots is sorted on the gear front. I simply cant decide if I should be getting proper riding boots or not. I’m simply unable to convince myself to get those.


Im thinking high ankle hiking boots - Columbia expeditionist https://dl.flipkart.com/s/LgUZgIuuuN for the trip as an alternative.

Any suggestions if this would be a decent alternative? Or are the riding boots an absolute absolute must?

Hiking boots are great if you do not want to invest in a eiding boot for whatever reason. Not everyone wants to spend 7-10k on boots. In fact I've been trying to convince my son to wash his Decathlon high ankle hiking boots and use them as his dedicated riding shoes for his 10 km commute. And keep his office shoes in his office. Reall sturdy, reasonably tall and well padded, with a toe box of sorts, great heel and ankle support, and a superb sole. A tad cumbersome, but I'm a persuasive dad. Lol

Better than these I would suggest the army DMS boots. I'm a great old school diehard believer in them, even though I have broken my foot in them once. But looking at the incident, I'm not convinced anything short of a full blown MX boot would have saved my foot.

The boot has a lot going for it for riding duties. A solid toe box and heel cup. A near indestructible stole that will not be burnt or rubbed away or chemically destroyed or penetrated. The army marches on these. Great tread and grip too, even on wet rock. I've trekked almost all Maratha forts in these in the monsoons. Thick full grain leather, one piece. Laced all the way to the top. About 3+ inches above your ankle. Yes no ankle armour for impact or torsional stress. No shin armour either. But in comparison to your hiking boot, many many degrees better. And I am not even getting into the price.

Cheers, Doc

[anilupadhya]

Originally Posted by Abh1nav

Any suggestions if this would be a decent alternative? Or are the riding boots an absolute absolute must?

Was in the same space a month or two ago. Bought the below.

https://shop.tvsmotor.com/products/t...ual-shoe-denim

It's got decent protection. Handled Goa rains pretty well. Still sturdy.

Not conducive for walking long distance. A gel inner sole may help. Haven't experimented yet.

Not sure you will get it by end of next week. It took 2 days for it to reach my house which is 50km from the warehouse.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by Abh1nav

Any suggestions if this would be a decent alternative? Or are the riding boots an absolute absolute must?

I recently got the Royal Enfield Cabo boots based on advice in this forum. Offers the basic protection and at the same time comfortable enough as a regular wear. Of course will not be an alternative to full fledged riding boots.

Link

[2wheelsvaga]

Originally Posted by ebonho

This is India. A hot and oftentimes humid country. Mesh rules. Yes a textile jacket will give you better abrasion resistance if a mesh jacket is full mesh holding the armour together. But no mesh jacket is made like that. The places that count are the same reinforced hogh denier cordura panels (even leather) as textile jackets. A zippered vent, no matter the placement, will never flow as much air as a mesh panel. If you are like me and thousands of other riders and overheat easily, a good well designed mesh jacket is a no brainer for India. Round the year. Any part of India. Including the mountains. I will never ride textile for anything other than short high speed inherently risky and aggressive riding. Touring has got to be mesh. Textile for the pants. But jacket will be mesh. Just thought I'd give a counterview to the popular view here that mesh over circulates (no such thing in a tropical country) or is less protective.

Cheers, Doc

That makes for an interesting view. You're saying that it's the armour that will protect and it doesn't matter if the rest of it is mesh as it really doesn't have much role in protection?
Which brands do you recommend for a mesh jacket?
Also, why do you advice going with textile fabric pants? Any brands you recommend?
To add to your point about the the need to be comfortable, there is always the likelihood that you'll incorrectly use a jacket if you're overheating. e.g. by unzipping/half zipping, or just loosing concentration because you're not uncomfortable.
I would rather go with something that may be lower on the protection front, but that I will wear diligently.

Originally Posted by hikozaru

I wouldn't write off textile jackets so easily. Now, I haven't tried on any textile jackets myself but I sweat even in mesh jackets in Bangalore (arguably the coolest of all metro cities) that I just unzip the top fourth or so every time I come to a stop. I've done the same thing when I get stuck in my rain jacket with just enough slow moving traffic to make it a hassle to remove it and I was more or less fine. So yes, if I have to unzip both rain and mesh jackets all the time, then I might as well feel safer in a textile jacket.

Gawd, is all riding gear really about a choice between bad and horrible? ;p)

Originally Posted by Red Liner

I am not saying mesh is good or bad.

So, which ones would you go with in typically Indian conditions of heat and humidity, or both? Mesh or textile?

Originally Posted by Darkcloud

This eternal debate of mesh vs textile is too tempting to not give my views! The choice, I believe, ultimately rests on the rider. To each his own.

Thanks, that's an interesting view again. Can you recommend brands or models of textile jackets and pants?

Originally Posted by Pferdestarke

Sharing this without using any medical lingo/technical terms for a better understanding of the physiological processes involved.

In other words, use textile gear in Rajasthan, and mesh in the mountains (with layers)?

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by 2wheelsvaga

That makes for an interesting view. You're saying that it's the armour that will protect and it doesn't matter if the rest of it is mesh as it really doesn't have much role in protection?

That's not what I am saying. At all. Or I would be relling you to wear an impact rig MX style. You might need to read my posts again.

Quite a few of them on the mesh versus textile topic. Surely that's not all you got out of them?

Cheers, Doc

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by 2wheelsvaga

So, which ones would you go with in typically Indian conditions of heat and humidity, or both? Mesh or textile?

Mesh everywhere all the time. Used Goretex earlier. Now i layer.

[prakash_ajp]

Hello all, I am looking for a pair of riding pants. A significant portion of my rides will be in rainy hills. Now, I ride with a non-waterproof pants and carry a decathlon rain pants. But the gymnast in me (or the lack thereof) just dreads the idea of putting on the rain pants by the roadside.

My main requirement (apart from safety) is, they should look understated, as close to regular trousers as possible (but not jeans), for e.g the Kelshi riding trousers from RE. But that one lacks waterproofing. I see the Tso Kar being recommended here for its waterproof qualities. Except the contrasting white RE branding at the bottom, I like the latter.

Is there anything else comparable in this price range, i.e. around 10K? TIA!

[Darkcloud]

Originally Posted by 2wheelsvaga

Thanks, that's an interesting view again. Can you recommend brands or models of textile jackets and pants?

I use a Held jacket and pants with removable liners. I haven't got much idea of other brands. Even my mesh gear is from Held.

[Megamind]

Originally Posted by Megamind

It's been too long and I've been held up with work travel.
I've bought the RS Taichi explorer jacket after trying out several brands during my work travel and now stuck in deciding on the boots.

After rallying through a lot of reviews, narrowed down to the following;
1. Ryo Trex boots
2. solace speed tech v2
3. xpd sp3-s

Have a budget of 16 to 18K if the boots are really worth it.

Most probably will rule out solace since several comments about them were poor finish.

Is there a better option in this price range?
Not keen on getting adv boots as well considering they won't suit my riding position and they won't be comfortable for long hours of riding.

Can anyone shed some light on how good are the sp3-s?
I see they are in production for more than a decade now.

Unfortunately, I don't have the option to try any of the boots before buying.

By the way I ride a z800 and it's never gonna see track days, touring & weekend rides only.

Guys, any suggestions and thoughts would be appreciated.
First pair of riding boots, hence need to analyse a lot.

[hikozaru]

If you won't do trackdays, get a touring boot. Track boots, at least the ones I've seen, including the Dainese Axial D1, TCX RT race, don't have level 2 crush protection. They are designed to solve a different threat profile which assumes run off areas, where safety means sliding off the track (which is not always possible when touring when lets say it slides you off into a river or a lake), so it focuses more on abrasion resistance than slow speed drops on bad or city roads. Another thing to consider is I've heard plastics on track boots are very squeaky and silicone grease fixes it (although I have no idea by about how much).

If you cannot try these boots out, also consider importing high end boots from Europe for about the same money.

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by Abh1nav

I simply cant decide if I should be getting proper riding boots or not. I’m simply unable to convince myself to get those.

Or are the riding boots an absolute absolute must?

Abh1nav, if you are going on a long trip proper riding boots are an absolute, absolute must! This is one of the most ignored but vital part for our protection. Buy yourself the best riding boots you can, trust me, once you get used to proper riding boots, you will never use anything else, especially for long rides.

[WhiskeyTangoFox]

Originally Posted by Abh1nav

Im planning to go on a a long trip next week and everything except the boots is sorted on the gear front. I simply cant decide if I should be getting proper riding boots or not. I’m simply unable to convince myself to get those. Any suggestions if this would be a decent alternative? Or are the riding boots an absolute absolute must?

If you are planning on going on the highways, then boots are a must. The protection that they offer is on a different level as compared to any of the other types of footwear that are present. The Columbia shoes you've provided the link to cost a little over 10k. There are a few touring spec boots from Falco and Tarmac at the price which you can look at. While certain alternatives mentioned here have a hard-toe box, dedicated riding boots also offer ankle protection and heel protection and prevent you from twisting your ankle as well due to their rigidity.

Each boot is designed for a purpose; hiking boots wouldn't make great riding boots just because of rigidity, and riding boots may not be great for wandering on foot, but these are the sacrifices you have to bear if you ar motorcycling because a leg or foot injury is way worse than spending a little moolah on a pair of proper boots.

Ride Safe