Affordable Fire suit - no excuse not to have one now

[wicked68]

I have been seeing a lot of guys in the advanced classes at NASA over the last few years wearing what appeared to be flight suits from the air force. I finally got up the nerve and asked one of them about it. He told me it was indeed a nomex flight suit that he bought surplus for 39$

He explained that nomex does not lose its fire retardant quality over time so you can buy them used and they are good to go. It also offers the most fire protection for the least amount of material which equals cool and light.

I did some research on this and did indeed confirm this. While its not SFI rated - it has its own rating and it gives you time till burn like sfi does - the standard nomex flight suit is good for 10 seconds. this equates to sfi 3-2/a5.

I just ordered one and will let you know how it fits. They look pretty cool and for 39$ its a lot better protection than surgical scrubs or blue jeans and short sleeved shirts.

Here are the some reference sites:

http://www.northstarmotorsports.com/tech.tips explains sfi levels

http://www.aasurplus.com/Products/105-cwu-27p-nomex-usf-flight-coverall-used.aspx

is where I ordered mine from.

There is a big difference between treated cotton and nomex - I have a g-force 3 layer cotton suit that is bulky and heavy and was still 300.00 I got too fat for it and hence had to research.

[Yelcamino]

To run at the Maxton Mile I had to have a 3 layer, SFI 3-2A/5 suit. I bought a Lico (http://www.ogracing.com/catalog/1-Driver/27-Nomex-Suits/304-Lico/item-1760-LICO-PLATINUM-RACING-SUIT) from OG Racing. For the money, it fits good and is pretty comfortable. It's obviously not in the same price range as the flight suit, but it's an alternative.

[wicked68]

To run at the Maxton Mile I had to have a 3 layer, SFI 3-2A/5 suit. I bought a Lico (http://www.ogracing.com/catalog/1-Driver/27-Nomex-Suits/304-Lico/item-1760-LICO-PLATINUM-RACING-SUIT) from OG Racing. For the money, it fits good and is pretty comfortable. It's obviously not in the same price range as the flight suit, but it's an alternative.


yeah -that is a nice one. I had a cotton treated one that is more bulky. If you are running in something sanctioned you may have to have one but for nasa and other protouring events in general you dont have to have a formally rated one. your suit looks like the same basic nomex one and they are the cats meow. as you can see they are 450 or more for them. This is a super low cost alternative for 39 if you dont need the sfi rating - much better than simply wearing jeans and a tee shirt

[Yelcamino]

yeah -that is a nice one. I had a cotton treated one that is more bulky. If you are running in something sanctioned you may have to have one but for nasa and other protouring events in general you dont have to have a formally rated one. your suit looks like the same basic nomex one and they are the cats meow. as you can see they are 450 or more for them. This is a super low cost alternative for 39 if you dont need the sfi rating - much better than simply wearing jeans and a tee shirt

Yes, definately, the nomex flight suit is much better than jeans and a t-shirt!

I would caution people, these suits (whether you buy the flight suit or SFI rated suit) all fit differently. You may have 3 or more of the same size, but maybe only 1 of them actually fits your particular body. I probably tried on 5 different suits until I settled on the one I bought. My wife must have tried 10 different suits until she found one that comfortably fit her curves. This is something to consider when you're at an event and might wear your suit all day long!

[SicMonte]

I have an older Sparco suit that I used when I raced a spec rx7 in the SCCA. Do firesuits have a "shelf life" like harness's do?

[wicked68]

I have an older Sparco suit that I used when I raced a spec rx7 in the SCCA. Do firesuits have a "shelf life" like harness's do?

If its treated cotton then yes. if its nomex then no.

[Ron@JJCustomInterior]

If its treated cotton then yes. if its nomex then no.

exactly

Try contacting 425motorsports, ask for Ian and tell him Ron refereed you. He might be able to get you set up with an affordable suit and he should know exactly what you would need.

[wicked68]

got the flight suit in the mail. it did not fit in the gut area. it was a 44r. it was also small in the torso length wise. I went to the local surplus store and tried one on. there are definitly different cuts and for sure you will want to buy one locally. make sure you look at the tag - make sure its 95% aramid consctruction.

there are some that are 80% cotton and 20% aramid (nomex) - but these are not what you want.

I tried on a used one that was 44r and it fit great. nice and loose and comfortable. I also tried on a 42r in another cut and it was like the one that was sent to me so be careful as one other poster said. It cost me another 30$ to get it locally but I think its worth it to not worry about messing with buying and shipping back. I like mine a lot!! highly recommended.