Leather Jackets, Leather Vests & Chaps

Leather Jackets, Leather Vests & Chaps

Nowhere else can you choose from:

• 20 different men’s styles
• 16 ladies styles
• 14 styles of chaps and leather pants
• 20 men’s leather vests
• Several styles of denim vests (black, blue)
• 20 ladies vests
• Chaps and reinforced jeans

Renegade Classics Modesto also carries textile multi-season jackets from Olympia, Scorpion Exo, Highway 21. These brands are well-known for manufacturing reliable biker gear.

We offer extra small, big and tall sizes. Need 9X or 10X vests or jackets? We have them! Sure, we sell some budget leather motorcycle jackets, but most of what we sell is ‘premium milled’ and ‘naked premium’ biker leathers at affordable prices.

Nearly all our leather jackets have price tags in the $200-$300 range — NOT the $400 or even $500 price tags found at dealerships.

We save you up to 40% over bike dealerships for the same quality. Check out the photos below.

Leather Motorcycle Jackets vs. Textile Jackets (Ballistic Nylon)

Both choices of motorcycle jackets are valid. Why choose textile over leather, or leather over textile? Is it preferable to own the two types?

Each type of motorcycle jackets has its own advantage. Harley riders tend traditionally to opt for leathers, whereas metric cruiser/tourer and adventure riders tend to favor ballistic nylon. But there is no right or wrong here, and many bikers today will crossover. In our opinion, each material has its own pros and cons, and there is some overlap in characteristics. Here are the details:

The Comfort of Leather

Leather is generally more comfortable to wear than textile. This is because leather breathes better than ballistic nylon. When it’s hot outside, textile garments become sweat gear (unless your jacket has mesh in the front – but then it can’t be used in fall and winter). By comparison, leather keeps a relatively stable temperature inside, and it can actually be warmer outside a leather jacket than inside it. In moderately cold weather, leather jackets are perfect. Textile jackets also tend to be more bulky than leather jackets, but it’s not a rule.

Cold and Rain

In very cold weather, both textile and leather jackets need liners. They both protect from windchill, with however a bit of an advantage to ballistic nylon which insulates the body better than leather. This is especially the case if your leather jacket does not have an elastic band at the waist to stop the wind from flowing back up your spine when you ride on a chilly December morning.

When it rains, textile gains the upper hand, as leather tends to sponge up the rain whereas textile repels it.

Depending on the construction of the collar, both types of jackets can either be good at protecting your neck from rain and chill… or be very bad at it. In any case, experienced bikers know they need a balaclava or a neck scarf in winter.

Pockets

Textile jackets have way more nooks and crannies than leather jackets. They are more ‘engineered’ than typical leathers. So if you stuff a lot of things in your pockets to have everything handy on the road, on and off the bike, a textile jacket will give you the extra space you need.

Abrasion protection

Both leather and ballistic nylon do well at protecting your skin from abrasion in case of a fall. Leather will finds its limits a bit sooner than textile though, so if you are riding the highway, you may want the extra level of protection offered by ballistic nylon.

Armor

Some motorcycle leathers come with armor protection around the elbows but it’s not often the case. Good quality ballistic nylon generally offers this additional protection. But not everyone likes to wear medieval armor.

Cool looks

Although textile jackets have become better at making you look good, they haven’t won the battle yet against good ol’ leathers. Bombers, Perfectos, Pilot jackets… They make you look badass since Marlon Brando.

Durability and upkeep

Leather requires some upkeep: it takes a beating from the weather and needs to be lathed with conditioner or the hide will crack. By comparison, ballistic nylon requires zero upkeep, except re-stitching weak seams from time to time.

Overall though, a well-maintained leather can be passed unto the next gen as a family heirloom. Whereas you will more often donate your textile jacket to a local thrift store or sold it on eBay when you are old enough you can’t ride no more.

Bottom line

Both are valid choices, depending how you ride, and where you live. If you call the northern States home, you may be better off with a solid Olympia textile jacket most of the year. Leather is great for the summer however.

If you live in the Sunbelt, leather will be your go-to jacket.

In Modesto, our riding season of 330+ days per year makes it justifiable to own both. If you ride mostly in town however, and are on a tight budget, you might be better off with leather. If you do a lot of highway miles, textile might become a great option.