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RST ST1 One-Piece leather suit – Kevin Turner picks up a bargain set of one-piece leathers. Eighteen months of wear later, how are they holding up?

Despite vowing never to bother with a one-piece - too impractical, too pricey etc – these RST ST1 leathers caught my eye at the 2009 Ally Pally show and at £299, I decided to give them a go. I normally struggle terribly getting into these things but the RST leathers slipped on easily and comfortably; they looked good and with armour in all the right places (and a wannabe MotoGP speed bump on the back), they ticked all the right boxes, so I decided to go for it.

Eighteen months, three track days and a trip to the ‘Ring later, I’m glad I did. I don’t know why, but RST seem to create leathers that really fit my body shape (five foot eleven, 12 stone, bit skinny); no other manufacturers, even the more expensive ones, seem to aim for this standard shape and as such, they’re as comfy as one-piece leathers can be. A 10 hour ride to Nurburg was done in something approaching comfort, while on track they let me move around my bike and stick my knee etc out with ease.

They’re also very well vented so when on the more, the wind really helps cool you down.

So far so good, but now to the downside:

It’s easy to forget that, in the grand scheme of things, these are fairly budget leathers, and while they don’t feel it, this price-pinching may explain the absence of any pockets, which is slightly annoying.

More worryingly, after a fairly cumbersome knee-down experience at the ‘Ring, the Velcro stitching on the knee (which your knee slider sticks on to) actually ripped away slightly from the leather. Not a huge problem, as the leather itself didn’t tear, but it was only going to get worse and needed fixing. As I’d bought these from a trade show, I didn’t have the luxury of returning them to the store, and to be honest, RST weren’t overly helpful (“you can send them back to us and we’ll see what we can do”; can you imagine the postage on a set of leathers!)

In the end I took them to a local shoe repair shop which did a great job of stitching and gluing them and they’re held firm ever since (the knee sliders have now worn down and there’s no-sign of a repeat problem). Not the end of the world then, but equally, it probably shouldn’t have happened in the first place.

Verdict: Anyway, other than that, I’d happily recommend these. Yes, they’re made on a budget but - other than the Velcro problem, for which I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt as being an unfortunate one-off - these leathers look and feel as good as much more expensive ones. They’re as comfortable as a one-piece is going to get (bit tight on the crotch, but that’s largely because they’re worn over a back-protector which pulls the shoulders up) and most importantly, the front zip extends far enough down that you can go to the loo in them without having to undress!

They look and feel excellent, are well vented and great value for money, but the absence of any inside pocket, and that slight issue with the Velcro, highlights their made-to-a-budget origins.

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