- This topic has 11 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 8 months ago by eon.
Shopping for pants…
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August 12, 2009 at 1:43 pm #3284nok610Participant
I’ve been thinking about buying some riding pants that look decent but provide the protection I need without breaking the bank. I’ve been riding in a pair of Shift LoDown jeans, but when I went to go put them on Monday night, I noticed that the jeans were falling apart behind the knees and other places. WTF, its’ supposed to be super sturdy, but instead, I can literally rip them with my bare hands. I’m a little pissed about that but at least I didn’t pay full retail on them. Anyways, since my crappy Shift jeans are no longer appropriate to wear in the general publics eye, I’ve been wearing regular Gap jeans. I don’t have a problem wearing jeans, I actually prefer it, but I don’t think my knee caps will enjoy the asphalt in the event of an accident. Just last night, I did buy some Fieldsheer Armadillo Knee Protectors that I can wear under pair of pants to provide the protection I need. Also, I decided to get myself a kidney belt for more support since my wife insisted.
So now I will feel a little better when I ride with the added protection, but I still feel that proper pants are in order. Especially during the colder weather that is coming right around the corner.
My question to everyone is, should I just rock the jeans with the knee protectors or should I opt for a pair of riding pants?
August 12, 2009 at 3:18 pm #21537briderdtParticipantI’ve got some Rigg’s Wear pants, both the Ranger pants (cordura — the same stuff that the textile riding pants are made of — double layer front, and cargo pockets) and the Tradesman jeans (heavy denim, double layered knee), and wear Fox knee/shin guards under them (with short riding boots). So far I haven’t had to pavement test them, but they seem as sturdy as any riding pants I’ve seen. I got them from http://www.denimexpress.com for great prices ($33 on the Rangers, $24 on the Tradesmans).
August 12, 2009 at 3:30 pm #21538CandiceParticipantI bought a pair of textile motorcycle pants with a liner that is removable. They go right over my jeans so I can just take them off and stick them in my saddle bags. Lately I have been bad and just riding in jeans because it’s been hot but I am looking forward to wearing them in the mornings soon when it starts to get cool. I did wear them to the gym the other Saturday morning, it was awesome because I wore my workout pants under the motorcycle pants and it was so easy to slip them off and voila – time to workout, no changing.
August 12, 2009 at 3:31 pm #21539megaspazParticipanthttp://www.forcefieldbodyarmour.co.uk/pro_pants.asp
from one of the best armor makers. Goes under your jeans and offers moisture wicking cool. And if you ever need to save the day, it’s very super hero looking…
August 12, 2009 at 8:12 pm #21551SafetyFirstParticipantTo be honest, I wish I went with those. For a few more bucks than my Textile pants, I could have had those and worn any pants I wanted to over them, without looking like a power-ranger.
August 12, 2009 at 10:44 pm #21556JackTradeParticipant…and got 1 size up so they fit over my jeans. Fieldsheer Titanium Air. Love ’em. Have adjustable CE armor in the knees, memory foam pads on the hips. Also the legs are designed to be worn over boots, not tucked in like racing pants.
A really good pant for street wear. I’ve used them from 40 degrees up to around 90 and they work great. Not too Power Ranger-ish in style either (the Fieldsheer logo is nicely subdued).
August 13, 2009 at 12:30 am #21559eonParticipantYou might want to have a look at this thread where someone is not too happy about their First Gear pants.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=488246I’m thinking a lot of the cheaper stuff out there will do this. Has me wondering about my Tourmaster Flex pants
August 14, 2009 at 12:09 am #21580eonParticipantI’m going to disagree with you guys here. I don’t think something disintegrating after 20 feet is acceptable. I would be fine with it if it was advertised or branded as such but its not. It’s all a bit of a crap shoot how much protection any piece of clothing gives you as far as I can tell. Yes, we all know mesh is not going to give you as much protection as leather but how much less is it? And just how good is a cheap pair of leather pants? My expensive RevIt textile is claimed to be more abrasion resistant than leather. And the Motoport stuff is claimed to be the best.
I guess it comes down to how fast to you have to be going to slide 20ft? Lots of variables in there but my pulled-out-of-my-ass estimate would be 30 ~ 40mph. I would be pissed if my pants melted onto my ass at that speed.
August 14, 2009 at 2:16 pm #21593JackTradeParticipantEsp. on the variables part.
I think the hardest part is that most of us are wearing stuff we’ve not (yet?) crashed in.
So we base our judgements on relative knowledge of the universe of materials, manufacturer’s claims, other’s reviews, etc., but at the end of the day, it’s hard to know what’s really going to happen until it does.
With cars, seatbelts are seatbelts, and airbags are airbags (though how many does make a difference)…with bikes, there’s always the question of “is Fieldsheer = Alpinestars = Icon = etc.?”
On mesh specifically, I’d read about the melting and that’s why I always, no matter how much I’m tempted by the heat, wear jeans underneath. Also usually wear a long sleeve shirt under my mesh jacket, though as the temperatures rise, I sometimes wear just a t-shirt.
August 14, 2009 at 2:28 pm #21594nok610ParticipantThis is tougher than I thought it would be. For the time being, I ordered the knee/shin protector just to have a little something than nothing. i’m still looking for some pants and I’ve come across the Icon Arc Mesh Overpants, the Alpinestars Air-flo textile pants, and the Fieldsheer Mercury Pants.
August 14, 2009 at 2:57 pm #21598Zig308ParticipantMy new Olympia jacket is made of this: “Outer shell constructed in 500 denier Dupont Cordura® with ballistic airflow mesh panels”
Anyone know anything about Cordura and how durable it is?
August 14, 2009 at 4:28 pm #21604eonParticipantCannot tell you how durable Cordura is but it is used in just about every textile jacket out there (at least the decent ones). From looking at the Cordura website it appears there are different types for different uses so I dunno if all motorcycle apparel uses the same type.
The 500 denier part is the thickness of the thread used to stitch it together. The bigger the number the better. 500 is the most common size though some jackets use 1000 and I’ve even seen 300 on some.
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