Spada Predator Review - Suit, Jacket and Jeans.
Spada have always stood for great value for money and even when looking at the top of the range Spada Predator leather suit it's clear this ethos has been adhered to once again. It comes in both a one piece suit and a jacket and jeans two piece combo with little differences between the two, but we'll get to that, first lets look at what these leathers are all about.
Spada were looking for a suit that could be used for riders of both road and track, but more importantly would do both competently. As such the Spada Predator suit is fitted with safety features you would want in the event of an off both on road and track, but also some comfort features to make long term road use easy to bear.
The main construction of the Spada Predator suit is full grain cowhide at between 1.2mm and 1.4mm in thickness. A particular part of that to pay attention to is the full grain part, this means that at no point during the manufacturing process has the leather had layers removed, meaning it is as thick, fibrous and abrasion resistant as it can be for this grade of leather. In areas where the suit is more likely to come into contact with the road you have extra layers of leather to increase the wear rate. All this full grain leather is held together with double stitching across most of the suit and triple stitching in impact areas to maximise burst resistance.
Further protection on the Spada Predator comes in the way of CE approved armour in the shoulders, elbows and knees to protect against knocks. The back of the suit is fitted with dual density foam, but as your back and spine are the most important part of your torso to keep safe, I would highly recommend investing in a good quality back protector and I can't stress that enough. The suit is fitted with an aerodynamic race hump, but as I've said many times before this will not make any difference to us mere mortals in terms of lap times. It does however serve as extra protection for the nape of the spine which is an important area to be kept safe.
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Comfort features include perforated leather panels and Airtex lining to aid cooling, soft fleece lining inside the collar, cuff and ankle areas to take away the hardness of the leather, and a neoprene race collar that feels ever so soft on your supple skin. To help keep a nice tight fitting (an important safety aspect too) and further improve comfort, elasticated keprotec panels have been integrated into areas where a lot of movement takes place.
Spada Predator Jacket and Jeans
As said above the Spada Predator can be purchased in both a one piece suit and a jacket and trousers combination. The jacket and jeans offer pretty much all the same features that you find in the one piece, the only thing that is missing is the aerodynamic race hump, but I can tell you now for a large majority of us that won't be missed. To fasten the jacket and jeans together you have a zip around the waist. From a convenience point of you I would pick the two piece as I can't imagine it being fun having the top half of your one piece dangling down while walking around, but from a safety point of view I will always regard a one piece higher than a two piece because both halves are physically stitch together or in some place are one continuous piece of material where as on a two piece the only thing stopping the jacket riding up is the zip.
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Conclusion
The ethos of great leathers at great value has once again been held up with the Spada Predator leathers, and as a middle of the road option it is definitely one to consider for it's blend of high quality leather and mid to low pricing. If you cannot stretch to the 'big' brands then the Spada Predator suit is a worthy choice. And what's more? It's British!