OK, so you’re saying that in the event of a major off the paramedic can have a problem cutting through leather ? Surely that’s going to be the same for a 2 piece suit too.
2 piece has a rolled double layer of leather at the top, some fabric and a zip to cut through first, a 1 piece has just a single layer of leather.
It does sound as though you’re ignoring the various other benefits of a 1 piece suit such as improved ventilation, improved flexibility, improved protection from back and stomach gravel rash if the 2 piece zip breaks etc, compared to the remote possibility that the leather may need to be cut immediately and the Paramedic doesn’t have the right tool there and then.
Do you have any statistics to show that this is a problem in general or just a few isdolated cases ?
I do have a lot of statistics in my case files which I am not prepared to disclose on a public forum, and, it is not a one off, I have many cases on record where a 1 piece has played a contributory factor into increasing the severity of injuries.
Zips don’t burst as a general rule. In the last approximately 12,000 accidents where the rider was wearing two piece leathers, it has happened once, and that was freak circumstances. The double layer of leather where the zip is attached does not pose a problem as access is still quite easy to cut the material to which the zip is attached if required, but in most cases the zip still operates OK and it is simply a case of operating the zip normally.
2 piece are usually just as well ventilated as 1 piece, and I can vouch for this as someone who feels the heat big time, but even well ventilated leathers will not stop the rider overheating if the weight of the leather is too much.
I could go into detail about the different leather and which countries produce the best skins, the differences in thickness, armour, stitching and a whole host of other details as I am not only involved in a long ongoing study, but I also work very closely with various leather manufacturers from around the world.
To be honest, there is little point in trying to convince someone who is so set in their ways. Many riders are brainwashed by the retailer and will buy expensive branded garments because they see it being used in racing or the retailer has no concept of what happens in a crash, subsequently the buying public becomes blinkered rather than thinking outside the box, but that is another topic all together.
Is there any truth in the notion that a one piece can potentially help in a scenario where a rider has serious haemorrhaging, as it would be better at making a compress to quell the bleeding?
My girlfriend used to work in an orthopaedic and fracture unit, and found that in the paramedics wouldn’t make a distinction in what type of clothing an injured patient was wearing. They would simply have the tools to cut any material off.
Me personally, I use a one piece on track as it provides me the best comfort on the bike whilst performance riding, but I’d be interested to learn more about your studies if they have been published anywhere…
OK, but the Internet is covered with pics of people who have come off and a 2 piece suit has burst at the waist, there was a chap only at the start of this year who ended up having a skin graft and all softs of nice treatment to his back because of this.Not having a go at you but I often find when people say “I have lots of stats but I’m not going to show you” . . . they invariably have very little to back up their argument. Maybe you have but I doubt it :)I also don’t believe that cutting through a 2 piece suit is easier than a 1 piece - a sharp knife will cut through 1 layer of leather and a thin fabric membrane inside like the majority of 1 piece suits have at the waist. (I have cut leather with a knife myself) The back protector might cause a problem as might the hip protection but that’s similar for both 1 pc and 2 pc.“set in their ways” . . . I’m not exactly an expert in clothing so am more than happy to listen to any facts which might make me safer, I’m too old to believe I’ll bounce and just get up again, if I come off it’s likely to hurt. But you’ve not given any facts and I can see with my own two eyes, comparing my Dainese 2 pc with my Alpinestars 1 pc that the 1 pc will be easier for a Paramedic to cut off. Also, race grids are full of 1 pc suits, not all from fancy manufacturers. If I saw some 2 pc suits there then I mignt feel differently.Do you work for a 2 pc suit manufacturer who doesn’t make a 1 pc suit because of the limited sales ?
