Dainese— has the quality plummeted?

[Salted_Peanut]

I was a Dainese aficionado. It was my Renaissance art—pretty pricey but striking and meticulously made. However, has Dainese’s contemporary art gone wrong?

Dainese textiles are among the most expensive, yet they’re among the least protective tested by MotoCAP. The latest airbag-equipped race suits have less airbag coverage than before. Has Dainese switched to cheaper materials? Their expensive gloves often have cheap synthetic suede (mamma mia!) for the palms, with predictably poor protection according to MotoCAP test results.

Has Dainese gone from artist to con artist?

[podman]

The subject does crop up now and again..

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

I had a poor experience with a Dainese jacket and 1 piece suit, IMHO the price hasnt reflected the quality for many years now.

[trickywoo]

If you go on the Sportsbikeshop website its impossible to buy a AAA rated Dainese jacket of any kind.

For comparison there are 18 AAA jacket options from RST.

Speaks for itself really.

[Salted_Peanut]

As customers like me drift away, how long will Dainese get away with increasingly cheap materials? I wonder if the company is trying to maximise short-term profits before its private equity owner sells it.

I’d forgotten the earlier discussion, but I was glove-hunting recently and shocked by the crap suede Dainese now uses for the palms on so many gloves. On a positive note, the latest Full Metal 7 gloves have been upgraded to CE Level 2. Unfortunately, Dainese’s less-crazy-priced gloves seem to have subpar protection. Alpinestars, Five, Oxford, Lindstrands, etc., all have Level 2 gloves in their ranges for less money than the Full Metal 7.

trickywoo said:

If you go on the Sportsbikeshop website its impossible to buy a AAA rated Dainese jacket of any kind.

For comparison there are 18 AAA jacket options from RST.

Speaks for itself really.

I spotted it, too. Even their top-end race suits have only an AA rating. Bonkers!

[MesoForm]

According to Wiki "the Dainese Group was acquired for €130 million by Investcorp in 2014", which in my experience often leads to a drop in quality as they chase profit to get a return on the investment.

[TheInternet]

Trying to find out their safety ratings or what materials are used is difficult and it would be easy to think they are a style over substance brand. My 5yr old textiles are doing well, but I'll be looking elsewhere next time (unless it's the only thing that fits well again).

[Mark_S1000RR_2010]

I’ve had 3 items of Dainese over the years. Every zip on every jacket has broken off at some point.

[Biker 1]

I've got a Dainese summer mesh jacket I bought around 10 years ago. I don't use it much, but it is very robust, zips are decent quality & fabric seems pretty good. I think it was about £200 at the time & is still going strong. Haven't tried any of their other stuff since, but I can well believe quality has plummeted just reading the above. Why do the vulture investors seem to wreck almost every decent company??

[HybridTheory]

I often look on vinted for bits and was delighted to see someone local to me selling a pair of winter dainese gloves but then shocked they had zero protection may aswell have been ski gloves

[Salted_Peanut]

LinkedIn suggests that Dainese’s CEO and Chair, Cristiano Silei, just left the company. Had he been reading this thread?

MesoForm said:

According to Wiki "the Dainese Group was acquired for €130 million by Investcorp in 2014", which in my experience often leads to a drop in quality as they chase profit to get a return on the investment.

Indeed, Dainese’s private equity ownership changes appear to be associated with the brand's use of ever-cheaper materials. In 2022, Investcorp sold Dainese to the Carlyle Group. Product quality often seems to tumble even more when a company is sold from one PE firm to another. Sadly, it appears to be a downward spiral, as previously repeat customers gradually switch to better-quality brands.

[Exasperated]

I guess some of it depends on what you buy. I have a CustomWorks suit, which is a few years old and the quality is absolutely top-notch. On the flipside, I've had gloves and a textile jacket which left a lot to be desired.