This has been somewhat discussed in other topics but is still without great info, hoping to correct that here.
I’m looking for some sort of general weight for some popular kart suits in pursuit of light weight with relatively little consideration for cost / value.
My current jeans and jacket getup are pretty darn light but I feel it’s time to move to a proper suit. Being a bigger guy who’s always working to make class min weight, weight of a suit is an important variable.
The only real data I’ve found is for Sparco suits. Their Grove KS-3. Being listed as 500-540 g/m2 al the way to their lightest, the x-light KS-7 being 380/400 g/m2.
I tried on some suits this past weekend but all they had was the entry level stuff from each manufacturer. My impressions.
K1 - super light, super cheap, could be as light as jeans / jacket in my opinion, but the lack of any stretch / flex material in the lower body was a no-go. As a short / fat guy that lifts weights a good bit I couldn’t get but about half way to a squat position before I felt like the suit was going to explode at the seams in the legs.
Aplinestars KMX 9 - Heavy in my opinion, not horrible but not light. Great flexibility / room in the lower body, flex panels really made the difference. Would love to know how much lighter their more expensive suits may or may not be.
Sparco Grove KS-3. This thing could anchor the titanic. Maybe you 140 lb dudes can wear this thing but I could never wear it on weight alone…not to mention I broke out in a sweat just trying this thing on its soo hot. Had good stretch / flexibility in the lower body that was acceptable but not as good as the alpine star. That said the rest of this suit fit me better.
I would have loved to look at an OMP but they didn’t have anything in my size to try on (54 or 56).
So my take away was that currently the sparco x-light seems like it could be the best / lightest option out there, but I’m curious if anyone knows how the top end OMP KS-1R and other suits compare in weight.
The purpose of a suit is to protect your body in the case that you take a slid across the track. Make that your first concern, then breathability and then weight.
Dom…good call on the indoor suits, you are correct they are super light, but if I’m going through the effort of getting into a proper suit I do want to make sure it has the appropriate protection as well.
Spoke with AlpineStar today and they advised that their KMX-9 suit that I tried on was the lightest one they make. They had no solid g/m2 info for their products nor approx weights…just that the one I tried on was lightest.
Still trying to find info on OMP , Torq, MIR or others.
I stopped distributing them because I had another kid.
But I did go ahead and ask. They don’t have anything like a gsm for kart suits. I could weigh my Torq Kart 1 (or Elite) which is a size 56 if that’d help? I’d be surprised if its heavier then jeans and a jacket (jeans are susceptibility heavy).
The Torq Kart 2 (or Club) is lighter.
With any of the suits, lighter typically also means doesn’t last as long. Both in car and kart suits. There’s only so much they can do to make a suit lighter and its almost always thinner material.
Is the weight a problem, or the breathability of the suit?
In my experience, i’m pretty sure that I would prefer a heavier suit if it kept me cooler on the hot days; assuming that is without sacrificing its abrasion resistance.
For me, weight is the primary concern while trying not to be the guy out there in jeans and tennis shoes any longer… Jeans and a Jacket and tennis shoes offer a great, light solution but I’m looking to step up the safety aspect a bit this season. I’ve always been a “big” guy…I went from 235 to 195 last year to get to competitive weight for masters and it paid off, I’m trying to get to 180-185 to get to Sr. weight this year because I want to run KA and our club doesn’t have a KA masters class.
I literally weighed every kart jacket at my retailer before purchase, and every pair of jeans i could find and every pair of shoes in my closet last year to make sure I had the lightest possible attire on.
…I haven’t been 185 since the 5th grade if that gives you a picture of how big I was as a young adult (300lbs my jr. year in HS).
As follow up and a data point here, I went with the Sparco x-light KS-7 which came in right at 3.5 lbs in a size 56. It’s actually a touch heavier than jeans and jacket but worth it for added safety.
Anyone got a line on the Sparco X-Light GX-8? Partspro USA had them online, but when I went to order one they said the manufacturer stopped making them.
I hate it when someone advertises a product they cannot get
