whats everyones thought on kevlar jeans

In my lowside both of my knee caps were totally saved due to my racing leathers. Leather or nothing for me :D. I nowadays commute in draggin jeans with icon field armor but I still keep questioning this decision from time to time. I have Tourmaster venture air overpants but I don't like how baggy they look and how the knee armor will not stay in place. IMO those overpants and the jeans with armor give the same function and I may end up selling those overpants.
 
Kevler is useless. Sure it'll save most gravel rash but the burn from friction is just as ba(besides loose stones imbeded in skin) also your skin will split pretty nasty just from impact.

There is plenty of good textile pants, then id suggest somthing like the icon knee armour underneath.
 
I've heard no mention of Joe Rocket Ballistic wear. I just bought pants and jacket that are rated for touring. They look and feel fairly robust with CE rated armoring. They do make you look like something from outer space though. Hopefully they will do what they are supposed to if I ever need them to.
 
You can buy armor to wear like a set of long underwear, then it wouldn't make a lot of difference whether you had Kevlar jeans or textile riding pants over top. I agree with what the guys are saying about impact and friction. I went down on gravel at at least 70 kph and got up and carried on, not so much as a scrape. I was wearing a two piece armored REV-It Suit and it to was fine. There is no substitute for proper gear. "I would rather sweat than bleed", I repeat the line and believe in the sentiment.

I just bought a pressure suit for a trip to Moab in June. Even then I will be wearing my MX boots and Rev-it Pants, with a long sleeved T under my Pressure suit top. I may even wear a Leatt Neck brace. Enduro | Leatt® - Engineered for Performance. Protective Sports Gear
 
I purchased some AGV Cargo Pants lined with kevlar. I plan to wear them under my Alpinestars Air-Flo over pants during my 2-up rides when it's hot out. I prefer my Alpinestars BAT leather pants most of the time.
 
Carrhartt and Duluth Trading Co.(fire hose pants)make crazy strong heavy duty pants ...very suitible for motorcycle riding at a reasonable price.
I can not say enough about them. I have crashed in both. The double fronts,(some with Cordura), tripple stitching, rivets, materials/mixed materials, are outstanding.
I refuse to pay for "motorcyle brand" type jeans at 2x's the price.
The pants I've mentioned are for serious abrasion protection, (chainsaw bump, etc).
Granted, not advertised for "draggin" behind a truck, but this is what I wear if i am not wearing full leathers. Plus, there is space in the pants for knee protection, and/or wearing armor underneath.
I have full confidence in these pants, have recommended them with happy results, and have tested them myself.
YMMV...my 2 cents
 
Last edited:
A friend of mine crashed in Carhartt heavy duty pants with the double-reinforced knees and what-not. He still has the scars from the road rash and friction burns he got.

The rest of him was in leather and didn't have a scratch.

$0.02
 
Hail said:
Any crash reports on kevlar jeans?
Click to expand...

You wanted a crash report???

Check out this test.......they are very famous in europe but their price is crazy, they star from 150 Euros to 300 Euros......The brand? ESQUAD JEANS!

Just watch the video and you'll understand why are they so expensive!!!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-6CJPKh3Xs&feature=related]Prova esclusiva Oram : Jeans Esquad - YouTube[/ame]
 
Hail said:
Any crash reports on kevlar jeans?
Click to expand...

I had a high side at about 50mph on a trip visiting some twistys in the area of the Dragon.
I usually wear textile/mesh on my rides, but seeing it was the first day out and going just to check out the area, had mesh on top and Draggin jeans.

Leather gloves went through, but just ended up with bruised palms.
Landed on the textile, padded sections of the Joe rocket mesh jacket, no bruising or rash, and jacket stayed intact. My favorite Arai took a beating.

Kevlar jeans show no sign of a down, no tearing or scraping, but my butt, and hip had huge bruising marks, and my knee had
A huge raspberry...
Friction burn that went down to to white under the skin.
I wore full armor the rest of the week.
I wore mesh and padding the rest of the week.
 
Those jeans were tested using a very benign test environment. That being a flat, smooth surface drag. True, they didn't wear through and are good for that. But the test didn't subject the "rider" to any "non-smooth" collision. Meaning smashing elbows and knees and thighs. That is where you need padding/armor. The kevlar won't help you there.
 
Dustin said:
They say they did the test at 100km/h but I didn't see any evidence of that in the video at all

:(
Click to expand...

there are other videos of them in youtube just search for them.

These jeans have proven that they are light & resistant to abrasions, they would be ideal for City usage, since I doubt that anyone drives within city limits more than 80 - 100 km/h. They are good if you happend to slide down from the bike @ that speed, however if you happend to hit a car or wall you are SCREWED!!!!

If you want real protection use leather pants with protections and you will be more safer that in any other piece of material.
 
Kevlar jeans offer abrasion resistance ONLY!
Having crashed in Kevlar jeans and cargos I can honestly say they are disposable abrasion resistors. Both(Aussie Draggins) had holes/tears and the cargos were structurally finished. I thought the world of them for saving my skin and as I was wearing underarmour, came away from the crashes in fairly good shape.
Just last weekend, had an off wearing Rev'it Turbine pants and they held up amazingly! Only a tiny hole in the knee accordian. But the heavy duty Cordura underneath looked untouched. The side that took the slide and the knee that took the hit looked almost fine. Only problem was the flimsy excuse for a belt and the crap button. Both let go and the hip slid down just low enough to let some road in. So, I got a palm sized plastic impregnated abrasion burn courtesy of the antibacterial underwear :-( Belt upgrade has already been implemented.
D30 in the knees and hips did its job keeping the bruisng to a minimum but there really is no substitute for full length hard knee to shin cups when tangling with guard rails. It found a gap between the Sidis and the D30 :-(

So, in conclusion. In a serious off, kevlars will most likely save your skin where they have kevlar, ONCE! But they're cheap so you may judge them disposable. Higher tech heavy duty gear is heavy duty on the wallet and will most likely go several rounds and offer a much more complete package while doing it. Which is best for you is up to you.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top