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?

[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!

[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.

[Salted_Peanut]

Has RST quality increased, unlike Dainese? I tried an RST base layer on spec and was surprised at how great the quality was—infinitely better than the old RST. The British brand comes out well in MotoCAP tests, too.

Exasperated said:

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.

I would expect Dainese Custom Works to be of high quality! However, sadly, your experience with Dainese textiles and gloves matches their poor results in MotoCAP tests.

[Salted_Peanut]

Far Cough said:

Had an Antartica jacket ....... Absolutely super until the zip gave way and no way of a repair.

Couldn’t Hideout or Hill4Leather repair it? Hideout’s fixed jacket zips for me—a routine job for them.