Cut protective clothing underneath protective gear

[VersysVsWhat]

I often wear the below underneath more traditional protective motorcycle gear. A nice side benefit (at least when it's warm) is that every piece of clothing below is highly thermally conductive (especially compared to regular fabrics) and thus helps to keep you a bit cooler (the best temp range for these is between 70 and 87 degrees F., significantly hotter or colder, you'll need to supplement/adjust).

The tops and bottom I got from Aliexpress-doesn't list exact fiber content, but I suspect due to their weight and thermal conductivity, they are primarily a blend of fiberglass, steel, and some UHMWPE/HPPE (both refer to the same thing, a very high tensile strength form of polyethylene fiber). Maybe some polyester or nylon mixed in as well.

The white and black, partial socks were budget hockey socks from the jungle place, and I hot knife cut off the bottom of the sock since it was just nylon or the like. The white part is a blend of UHMWPE/HPPE with nylon. You could also use a sharp pair of scissors or a box cutter to cut it off and then use a lighter to lightly melt the edges. I would leave some of the black nylon fabric on the edge to do this, as higher heat greatly reduces the tensile strength of UHMWPE.

The toe socks are a high blend of UHWMPE/HPPE with nylon or polyester, also from the jungle place.

I forgot to put it in the picture, but I also wear some thin, A4 cut protective Armor Guys Kyorene Pro gloves below a pair of padded mechanics gloves, also from the jungle place. I chose those ones because allegedly the graphene oxide that is mixed in with the nylon (during the melting process), gives it anti microbial properties, besides increasing UV resistance and tensile strength some (fiber content isn't listed, but I assume it is blended with some UHMWPE/HPPE as well, and higher you go up the cut protection, the more of that there is. Judging by the feel of the thermal conductivity, these don't have a lot, just a bit).

(The clothing is nice also in a knife/knifing+robbing prone areas, but I try to avoid those anyways. And if there is ever a collapse of the current civilization, then one would expect the clothes to last a particularly long time compared to other, regular clothing. Ok, now am just looking for reasons to justify somewhat expensive clothing...)

 

[Kira]

Road Rash Resistant Clothing...is is listed as such or do you look under "UHMWPE/HTTP"?

So the white things essentially lengthen the toe socks (go up your legs more)? What's the benefit of that?

The 'knife resistance' is a nice bonus.

 

[VersysVsWhat]

Road Rash Resistant Clothing...is is listed as such or do you look under "UHMWPE/HTTP"?

So the white things essentially lengthen the toe socks (go up your legs more)? What's the benefit of that?

The 'knife resistance' is a nice bonus.

I've used the following various searches to find this stuff. Cut protective clothing, UHMWPE clothing, and HPPE clothing. Ime, some of the companies selling this stuff on Aliexpress and the jungle place straight up lie about the fiber content. For example, the shirt and pants in the above pic are often marketed or implied as pure UHMWPE fabric, but there is no way that is true, in the case of these particular garments, as these are far too heavy to be pure UHMWPE fabric. UHMWPE material has a low density (about .93 g/cm3), and fabrics/garments made solely out of them are lighter than other garments and fabrics (whose densities typically range from 1.14 to 1.4 or so g/cm3). These garments are even heavier than regular clothing, which strongly implies significant content of steel and/or fiberglass (but all these materials: steel, UHMWPE, and fiberglass have a higher thermal conductivity than regularly fibers/fabrics).

Probably not a lot releastically speaking, just that I suspect that knees and below tend to sustain more injury (especially abrasion and cutting) in crashes as a tendency than upper legs. But if there is research that says otherwise, obviously go with the research.

Yeah, it's pretty crazy that you can take a box cutter and just swipe it against your leg or arm and nada happens to either the fabric or your skin. (Small pointy things like tacks are a different thing when pressed against the fabrics, because these fabrics are not tightly woven enough to protect against stuff like that. So if someone did try to stab you with a knife, you would definitely feel and get cut by the very tip, but unless they used a ton of force and/or speed, it would tend to prevent or at least majorly slow down deeper wounds).

 

[Kira]

Oh yeah, lower leg injuries. Scraping against vertical surfaces (sides of cars, road debris)
Thanks for the education. I heard of bikers' safety gear, sure, but never in the form of underwear.
Why do you need the toe socks if you're wearing appropriate boots? Another layer of goodness can't hurt?

 

[VersysVsWhat]

...Why do you need the toe socks if you're wearing appropriate boots? Another layer of goodness can't hurt?

Yeah, that's what I figure. Also, occasionally I will wear more regular sneakers, instead of leather boots. I don't have a pair of higher quality, high protection, motorcycle specific footwear yet (as they tend to be quite expensive).

I may make some by layering and adhering some basalt and/or S glass cloth* over some new leather boots. But I need to do some tests with different adhesives on leather first. I have a toughened epoxy that might work well. I also plan on getting some D30 sheets and fortifying the gear that I do have.

*(I suspect carbon fiber cloth probably wouldn't work well in combo with leather, since carbon contracts a bit when it gets warmer, while most materials tend to expand with heat and/or moisture absorption. I looked into this previously when trying to design a composite of bamboo+fiber reinforcements+epoxy for bicycle stuff. The carbon fiber and bamboo were not compatible with each other based on different rates of expansion-contraction in relation to temps and moisture. That difference can lead to delamination of the composite layers).

 

[Kira]

Woah! You sound very 'hands on'....a real 'materials guy'.

As you go, add the costs of basalt a/o S glass cloth, new leather boots, D30 sheets, bamboo + fiber + epoxy...then compare them to the cost of motorcycle specific footwear.
Add in your time and you might find out it's cheaper.

 

[02SE]

My only advice is to not cheap-out on riding gear. Sure, top-of-the-line leathers, boots, gloves, and helmets aren't cheap. But neither are hospital bills, or pain and suffering. I've seen some nasty crashes that resulted in minor injuries, if any at all, due to the riders wearing really good motorcycle specific gear.

 

[VersysVsWhat]

The bamboo thing wasn't directly related.

It wouldn't cost me too much because I already have S glass and basalt cloth + epoxy left over from other projects. And I might be able to use a pair of older leather boots, would just have to clean them well.

 

[VersysVsWhat]

My only advice is to not cheap-out on riding gear. Sure, top-of-the-line leathers, boots, gloves, and helmets aren't cheap. But neither are hospital bills, or pain and suffering. I've seen some nasty crashes that resulted in minor injuries, if any at all, due to the riders wearing really good motorcycle specific gear.

Sure, but sewing, DIY'ing, materials knowledge, etc is already in my tool box. If you use the right materials in the right way, you can make stuff just as good, if not better than already made, very expensive products.

One thing I would not cheap out on is D30, as I can't make that at home*. But I certainly could put some Kevlar treated with silicone (to up the UV and moisture resistance) or UHMWPE fabric knee inserts on those cut resistant pants for the D30 to be held, for example. These things are not hard to do.

* (though, it is pretty easy and cheap to make non newtonian fluid at home, which then could be vacuumed packed [while frozen] and still provide a lot of impact protection, but it would have the downside of not being breathable and not as flexible, so I'm strongly leaning to D30.)

 

[Bonz]

A pair of Sliders jeans saved my azz, literally, and my knee with a 50 mph slide down the road. A set of gauntlet deerskin gloves protected my hands, with only a pinhole that rubbed through and gave me a tiny mark on one knuckle. Also, a Tourmaster Transition textile jacket took the damage and not my upper body. I currently have a couple pairs of Bullit Covec jeans for warm weather and a heavier pair of Bullit jeans that work well in colder weather that I trust to give the same protection and a new textile jacket.

I don't get wearing under layers when the outer layers can be the protection needed, instead of having the outer layers be sacrificial and little protection to get to the under layers.

 

[02SE]

Sure, but sewing, DIY'ing, materials knowledge, etc is already in my tool box. If you use the right materials in the right way, you can make stuff just as good, if not better than already made, very expensive products.

One thing I would not cheap out on is D30, as I can't make that at home*. But I certainly could put some Kevlar treated with silicone (to up the UV and moisture resistance) or UHMWPE fabric knee inserts on those cut resistant pants for the D30 to be held, for example. These things are not hard to do.

* (though, it is pretty easy and cheap to make non newtonian fluid at home, which then could be vacuumed packed [while frozen] and still provide a lot of impact protection, but it would have the downside of not being breathable and not as flexible, so I'm strongly leaning to D30.)

I wish you luck that it will do the job, if and when you need it. I've high-sided, low-sided and just generally crashed on-track and on the roads and off-road, over the years. Wearing gear that was designed AND TESTED to provide excellent protection, absolutely paid off.

This past Christmas, the wife and I had one-piece leather suits custom made for us, Including boots, and gloves, as our Christmas present to each other. The peace of mind in knowing the company has a long history in providing the best protection possible to world champion racers, and just regular everyday riders, is invaluable.

 

[VersysVsWhat]

...I don't get wearing under layers when the outer layers can be the protection needed, instead of having the outer layers be sacrificial and little protection to get to the under layers.

I'll explain a little more. I have a motorcycle specific jacket, but it is a rather vented one-uses a fair amount of mesh. My area's climate is often both quite humid and hot--I need it to be like that (I hiked the CT, and CO is like my dream climate except for the winter). But seeing as it does have a lot of mesh, I figure wearing that A5 cut resistant long sleeve shirt underneath is a good idea. The combo is still quite breathable, and again, the cut resistant material is highly thermally conductive, so it keeps conducting heat away from the skin (while the jacket keeps the sun off it). Not much will get through both the jacket and the l.s. shirt-that's the point. If I lived in your area, I would probably just have a jacket alone.

The pants-that one is a little different. They are the primary protective gear for my legs, minus some strap on knee protectors (for now). Sometimes I just wear shorts under them, but if it is very hot and sunny out, I may wear a pair of light colored, breathable linen pants over them to reflect more of the solar (being a somewhat darker color, they do get a bit hot in the sun, and again the material is pretty thermally conductive, and in this case when the sun is directly shining on them, is not a good thing).

I'm planning on updating/strengthening the pants with insert areas at the knees and hips for perforated D30 foam. I figure once I do that, they will be more than adequate.

I'm curious, can you slash hard at your Built Jeans with a new boxcutter blade and none of the fibers/fabric will be affected at all? If so, I will definitely consider them. I can do that with my pants, and I think that is impressive.

Also, the A4 cut resistant gloves with the padded gloves on top/over, I reckon will provide more protection than deerskin gloves, while being far more breathable (again, needed for this rather humid and hot climate). I have a pair of leather gloves with a kevlar insert, but I save those for more fall and spring type temps (or underneath mittens in winter temps).

I just need to update/improve my footwear. I've decided against modifying leather boots with S2 glass cloth+epoxy, only because if there is any oil retained in the leather, it will make for poor bonding even with specialized toughened epoxy. Instead, I'm going to get an inexpensive pair of faux leather boots and modify them-the bonding will be much more sure and stronger, and these tend to be cheaper. Not hard to find a pair in the range of $30 to $50.

Cheers

 

[Bonz]

It's really interesting what you're doing, it sounds like you're pretty happy with what it's going to do for protection.

Do a search for Bull-it riding jeans, you'll see some tests and data with respect to what they do.

I'm pretty convinced they'll do what I want them to should the need arise. I found mine on a great sale from Revzilla a number of years ago.