Opinions on Pants with Full-Length Side-Zip

[RVertigo]

Here's the deal...  My friend is trying to find some moto-pants...  He's skinny and has REALLY DAMN LONG legs, so most pants don't fit him.  The Alpinestar Bats are WAAAAAY too short for him...  They are about two inches above his Sidi "Way" boots...

So, I've been looking around for some pants that have a long inseam...  I found these FirstGear Leather Overpants.  They have a 36" inseam , which would probably be long enough...  The problem is that they have Full-length, 2-way leg zippers.  I've heard that this style of zipper doesn't hold up in a crash (he has heard this as well)...  And the whole reason he wants moto-pants is for protection.

Anyone have firsthand (or even second) knowledge of Full-Length Side-Zip pants like these?  Crash-worthiness?  Durability?



Since he's probably going to be a mostly dry/warm rider (from what he says... But, we'll see when winter comes) and doesn't want something that's going to be hot as hell like my pants (that I only wear in the rain and cold).  He's been thinking about the FirstGear FirstGear Mesh-Tex 2.0 or HT Air 2.0, but the inseam is still only 34 (which will still be a little short).

Any ideas on the "protection" of these pants?

[AprilIan]

A big money (but big value ) is the Aerostitch darrien pants.  I swear by them .  They do custom lengths for an additional fee but they last so well that they are a good deal.  My pair is 4 years old and I wear them almost every day.  They would not have a zipper in their design if it were not crash worthy.  lots of posts on other boards by people that have crashed in the 'stitch gear.  only complaint I can remember is one guy that had not done the jacket up.

Think of it this way... One commercial here featured a lady saying she was too poor to not buy quality.  What she meant is that quality lasts so you don't have to replace it as frequently.

good luck