Auto Racing Suit Brands

Today, I will be reviewing some of the name brand Racing Suits, Race Suits, FireSuits, etc.
By my guesstimation, there are currently around 25 companies that are vendors of auto racing suits. The more popular American based labels are Simpson, Impact, RaceQuip, Crow, Ultra Shield and more. K1 Race Gear is one of the newer U.S. based companies to introduce a product line.
The European based vendors, Sparco, OMP, Alpinestars, etc., have recently gained a foothold with their sales in the U.S market. You will tend to spot more of the European race suits on the Sunday afternoon professional drivers, as the costs of these suits can be excessive to the weekend warriors.
Don't be surprised, when purchasing either an American or European racing suit, to find that it has been manufactured in China or Pakistan. Like most of the clothing we wear, production costs are controlled by outsourcing to other countries. You may also find similarities among certain suits with different brand labels. It is not uncommon for different companies to use the same template and factories for their products. The SFI foundation has even started to inspect and approve certain factories in China, Taiwan and Pakistan, for private label production. To verify SFI approval, simply visit their website and view the list of compliant vendors and production companies.
Other current auto racing suit vendors include: Bell, Pyrotect, G-Force, Oakley, ProFox and a few more that I'm sure I failed to mention.
Truly, all involved in race suit production, seem to make a decent product. Obviously, the more expensive suits, will have lighter weight materials, more features and typically better construction. We have seen no issues or heard negative feedback on the lower priced suits as well.
I think there are 2 main factors to consider before purchasing a new racing suit. Protection is definitely the first factor. Budget is the second factor. Protect yourself with the highest rated racing suit you can afford, there are plenty of multi-layer suit options on the market which will leave some money in your pocket for other equipment.