I was thinking about buying some Kevlar reinforced jeans, and was wondering if anyone had any experience or info on either of these brand of jeans.?
The Starider stretch denim kevlar jeans aren't bad, worth taking a gander. (Fully Lined)
www.starider.com.au/
Can't speak for other brands, but I bought a pair of Draggin jeans (Classic Black) almost a year ago. Great fit, very comfortable and look good. Unfortunately, while sliding down the F3 Freeway on them 3 weeks ago I discovered the shortcomings of not only the Draggins, but possibly all of these types of protective jeans/pants. And that is that as you are sliding down the road, the jeans/pants get pulled up and twisted around your legs so that the Kevlar areas are no longer protecting your knees or other parts of your lower body. In my case, I lost a considerable amount of flesh from both knees as well as other parts of my legs including my upper right thigh area which is not protected by kevlar in Draggin jeans. Mind you, where the kevlar ended up it did its job and saved a lot of further damage. While licking my wounds (so to speak) and unable to work over the last 3 weeks, I've had time to reflect upon the incident and think about any improvements that could be made to protective motorcycle apparel. One of the first things that came into my mind was that these jeans/pants would work more efficiently if they were restricted from moving up and twisting around the leg, and that incorporating a stirrup idea to keep the lower leg of the jeans locked to the sole of the boot would have to be a simple and major improvement. Obviously there could be many more improvements made, but then we would be riding around on our Harleys wearing motocross gear. Errrrr? Nah! So what's the answer? Aha! Voila! and Begorrah! Maybe they read my mind, but check out the latest issue of Heavy Duty mag (July/Aug 2010) page 13 and 16, where Draggin Jeans have introduced a new CE Approved jean which is not only fully lined with kevlar and dyneema, but Ullo, ullo, ullo, they also have a STIRRUP!!!!!!!!!!! It seems that they also have pockets for optional CE-approved armour. Only drawbacks are that they will cost $399 a pair without armour and they are not waterproof anyway.
All good, but after my recent experience, I think I'll be doing a lot more research DARKRIDER Some say "Keep it real!" I say "Keep it DARK!!!"
Tip!!! Don't stash your wallet in the back pocket of any so-called protective motorcycle jeans/apparel. Doing so will not only result in the grinding down and destruction of the contents of your wallet, but it will also not help in any way to protect your arse ...... DARKRIDER Some say "Keep it real!" I say "Keep it DARK!!!"
G'day y'all. While recovering from my wounds over the last 5 weeks as a result of some "Freeway Surfing!", I've had time to look further into this topic. So here are my thoughts. The question is "Where can you get a pair of riding pants that look like normal jeans, are kevlar lined, have knee and hip armour that won't move, are waterproof but also breathable for summer riding?" And the answer is "You can't! That's because they simply don't exist ....... yet." Therefore, obviously a compromise has to be made. After extensive research on the net and by checking out many Forums, I've come to believe that at the moment Draggins are still the best protective riding pants that look and feel like regular jeans. However, (apart from the new "way expensive" style mentioned previously which I can't speak for) they still have the same problem of possibly twisting and riding up the legs and exposing bare flesh. Even with the knee armour fitted, I believe the same problem can occur. Therefore I've figured out a good compromise. That is to buy a new pair of Draggins (without knee armour) and a pair of their Knox/Draggin Jeans branded knee guards. These guards are not attached to the jeans, but strap directly to the leg by elastic and velcro and so have a much better chance of staying in place. They are also CE approved for road use. Check them out at - http://www.dragginjeans.net/product/knee%20guard The hip armour would probably also be a good idea and as far as waterproofing goes, simply carry a pair of waterproof overpants, whether a lightweight nylon pair in the toolpouch for "Just in case", or a heavier duty cordura pair for winter or when you know you're really gunna cop it. The other thing is to never carry anything in the pants pockets because they are not protected by the kevlar. Now I realise that this might not be the answer for everyone, but it is the only solution that I can see for my needs at the moment. If anyone else out there has other or better ideas, please let us know. Cheers, DARKRIDER Some say "Keep it real", I say "Keep it DARK!!!!!!"
Well I went ot and bought some Shift Lowdown jeans.
They are a good looking jean and pretty comfortable.
They are a little on the large size. Normally I wear a size 34 but with this brand I have to wear a belt, or they end up around my knees.
Hopefully I will never have to test out the Kevlar.
I wonder what the possibility would be to buy a pair of jeans, get some kevlar material and find a tailor to sew it in. It looks to me that that is what dragin have done.....
The cost and availability of the kevlar material may be an issue.....
When I see the super bike guys sliding down the track at 300kmh and walk away virtualy unscathed, what they wear is not that silly.....Leather with armour from top to toe...
Bt
