Hideout's Manufacturing Quality

Official testing

The CE mark was introduced in 1994. It was a way in which to aid the consumer when he was choosing a leather suit to try and distinguish between the superior and inferior suits .They essentially broke the suit down into zones and stipulated the criteria of stitching, leather, and armour necessary within these zones.

High impact zones being shoulders, elbows, hips, knees and shins are going to take most of the force in a crash and therefore the testing necessary on these areas is measured in kilojoules of force. For normal performance 50 kilojoules is required, for high performance 75 kilojoules.

High abrasion zones including shoulders, elbows, forearm, hips, seat, knees and shins require an internal additional layer of leather, the testing necessary in these areas is measured in the amount of seconds before a hole appears in the leather.

Tear strength of the leather is measured in Newton meters squared, therefore force per area.

Burst resistance of seams has different requirements in high and low impact zones and again measured in Newton meters squared.

Most manufactures adhere to the CE testing however it is a mine field and I believe it has confused not helped the consumer. For instance one make of suit that I once worked on was CE marked yet once I actually pulled out the armour it was CE tested against stone chippings therefore it was going to save you if a stone hit you and not if you fell off. Many manufacturers put CE armour in the suits but the suit itself does not pass the testing, just to get the CE words somewhere on the label. Many manufacturers take the suits to easier test centres stationed abroad which have easier pass levels. The Cambridge standard for the CE marking is the highest in the world, some criticized Dr Woods , saying he was over the top, however when you are sliding down the road having fallen off at 120mph you may be thanking him.

Leather

The most important thing about your suit is the quality of the leather. The crust of leather from a cow is usually 5mm thick. The strength of the leather is in the corium which is three quarters of the way through the crust toward the outer skin; this is a layer of really tight fibres which lies under where the hair follicles sit. When the crust is split, the underside which is suede is very brittle and no good for motorcycle leather and goes to be used in fashion garments. The outer split is what we use this contains a high percentage of collagen which is a form of fat which gives the skin strength and elasticity this binds the fibres together to make them strong. It doesn’t matter how thick the leather is the important thing is that the tanning process does not dry the collagen out and keeps the corium layer in tact. The outer layer that you see is an outer coating which is put on top of the crust this covers some of the natural impurities that occur in the leather, then a print is rolled over the surface which gives it a leather look.

Brazil is the biggest exporters of leather in the world and the tanning processes they use pass all the World wide regulations. British importers have worked along side the Tanners to ensure that these regulations are adhered to and surpassed. We have more stringent regulations on imports of raw materials in this country.

British manufacturers insist on the best quality leather as this is the only way we can be competitive in today’s market. Over the passed ten years the tanning of the leather has got better and better and now metals are added in the tanning process to add further strength to the leather, this ensures that the leather we use is the best on the market. Countries such as Pakistan, China and India do not adhere to these strict guidelines and in some cases the tanning processes they are using entail using banned dyes which are carcinogenic and if you sweat you can absorb these into your blood stream, and for this reason their import in to this country is restricted.

Kangaroo is the strongest leather in the world because the fibres of the leather are tight and packed full of collagen, the original crust is only about 1.8mm thick because they are smaller animals. They mainly exist in the wild and are culled regularly as they are considered a pest in their native country. The skins tend to be more scarred than cow hides as they fight. The Australians like to keep manufacturing with in their country so put heavy duties on its export making it a very expensive medium which is why it is not widely used. For us it can add around £300 - £400 on to the cost of a suit.

Keprotec

Keprotec is the stretchy fabric that is used in non impact areas for stretch and comfort it contains between 19% and 27% Kevlar the rest is Lycra. It has a low abrasion threshold however it is used for its stretch and it is a trade off between comfort and safety. It is used in non impact areas that are in low risk zones. We back the keprotec with Kevlar which complies with the High Performance standard and ensures a greater degree of abrasion resistance. The Lycra content in keprotec is flammable but is slightly negated by its content of Kevlar and therefore putting this second layer of Kevlar underneath reduces further the risk of burning.

Kevlar

Kevlar is made from boiling sulphur particles and was developed for use in bullet proof garments and favoured for its fire resistant qualities. We use a knitted kevlar which allows a very high abrasion resistance but still moves and stretches in the way the leather does. We use a thicker form as our second layer in high impact and abrasion zones, being shoulders from the nape of the neck to the bicep, elbows from the top right down through the forearm, hips right through the seat, knees from the top right through to down the shin. Most good manufacturers use a second layer of leather in these zones we feel that putting a layer of kevlar inside offers better protection; it reduces the weight that double leather incurs and makes the suit suppler.

Linings

We use airtex lining in our suits this is favoured by many manufacturers for its strength and breathe ability. It is cooler than satin, more hard wearing than cotton and less flammable than most fabrics.

Our one-piece suits and jeans have removable linings as standard so you can take the lining out to wash it. You will produce a lot of energy so this will is invaluable.

The best thing to wear underneath your suit is an 'under-suit', many of them such as those manufactured by EDZ  keep you cool in the summer by wicking away the sweat from your body, and keep you warm in the winter by locking in the heat.(clever hey!)

For warmth we put a removable thermal waistcoat in our touring jacket however this is available as an option on any garment.

Thread / stitching

The strength of a seam is in the inside, any stitching you see on the outside should be viewed as decorative as it can be abraded in an accident. I have seen a number of suits that the seams have simply burst open on impact as many manufacturers only top stitch coloured panels of leather together to create their design.

For our suits to pass the High performance CE test all seams have to be double stitched in heavy 30 thread as apposed to 50 which most good manufacturers use, then top stitched using 50 thread.

The safest suits will have the fewest panels, and where possible will create the design on top of a base layer making it a lot stronger than the patchwork quilt effect.