They took a weighted sled with a patch of test material on the bottom, and dropped it off the back of a pickup and dragged it, travelling at a fixed speed. IIRC the weight was to simulate a rider landing on his butt and sliding. they would measure the distance somehow before the material was worn through or shredded, I don't remember how.
The 3 feet has always stuck in my mind as amazingly bad though. They tested several materials, but denim was the worst and full-grain leather used in leathers was almost as good as Kevlar at the top. Interestingly the "fashion grade" leather that is very thin provided surprisingly little protection, but I don't remember exact numbers for it.
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