The future of gear material?

[memper]

Leather may take the back seat in ten years...
http://www.schoeller-textiles.com/en/technologies/ceraspace.html

[Slide Panda]

Oh yeah leather will become obsolete at some point. Regardless tanning methods the core of leather, is well, leather. Engineered materials are the way for the future.

Right now, leather offers a lot of protection for the cost making it attractive. But at some point the ratios will slide in the favor of engineered materials. Gotta say, a 3 pound race suit, that offers more protection vs a 15-20 pound suit offering less will be awesome when it comes (at a consumer friendly price point).