Textile Vs Kevlar Denim Pant

[jdbutler13]

The snow and ice has finally started to melt up here in Canada and I am getting really eager to get the bike out. Me and my buddies have already started planning a few trips. I wanted to open the discussion to the forum and see what everyone has to say.
Most of my riding is in the city and a few cottage trips throughout the summer, but I am considering a nice 2 week trip around the East Coast.
In truth I think I'll only wear them during the longer rides (no track and i won't be doing anything too crazy) and my main concerns are comfort for the long rides (don't want to get too hot) and knock on wood if I do ever spill will it help minimize the damage.
WHICH PANTS SHOULD I GET? Textile Vs Kevlar Denim Pant?
THANKS

[Anaconda]

I have no experience with kevlar denim pants, but the part i still don't trust is "denim".  They are usually reinforced on the butt and knees, but what about the other parts of your leg?  I have textile gear (both jacket and overpants) from TourMaster and have crashed with my jacket before.  The textile took no damage when it met the concrete and neither did my backpack (which is normal textile as well).  My backpack was on my back while i rolled a few times and not a string shredded.  This is just from my experience and to be honest, kevlar jeans may look cool, but they cost just as much as my overpants.

[fraze11]

For me, my riding gear consists of the following; I basically have 2 sets of gear.  A Bellstaff textile jacket (it has some light armour in the elbows) which I wear on long trips 1+ days and I have an Alpinestars leather jacket that I wear on day and shorter rides.  The textile breathes very well and withstands the water, leather gets a little on the warm side for me and they are typically more form fitting so not as comfy on a longer ride I find.  As for pants, I always wear my "riding jeans" regardless of the ride (Joe Rocket denim I picked up at Royal Distributing) mainly because they provide decent protection, their comfortable and on day and longer trips they double as jeans which means 1 less pair of pants to pack  

Dont know where you are headed out East but if you can work it into your trip try and get to Cape Breton - specifically North Sydney (Bras d'ors, base of the Kelly mountains) and of course Cabot.  Louisbourg is a nice town too.  The riding out there is some of the best I've ever done!

[Twisted]

The kevlar denim jeans are very comfortable. I wear them all the time and have 3 pairs, all different brands. I found the draggin jeans have the best protection in them. I have come off while wearing a pair and the only damage was a tear at the bottom of the jeans and a little fabric burn on one knee. The material did not wear through.

[mister]

The kevlar denim jeans are very comfortable. I wear them all the time

+1

[Mart3y]

The kevlar denim jeans are very comfortable. I wear them all the time

+1

I have a set of Kevlar denim jeans, they have the Kevlar lining through the Jeans but they have a sorta mesh in-between you and the Kevlar though, they are the most comfortable jeans I have.

http://www.dragginjeans.net/product/next%20gen%20for%20men

However, if you want more protection, you can get Kevlar jeans with armor in them too from the same company 

[tt_four]

the kevlar jeans sound like a better option for daily riding when you're going to get off the bike and want to be wearing something that looks normal. if you're mostly just gonna be using them for rides and trips I think some textile pants might be just as easy. I wouldn't mind having a pair of both.

[redhawkdancing]

I wear carharts canvas work pants all the time. Comfortable, cheap, and decent protection. These guys put me on to them.

http://www.canyonchasers.net/reviews/clothing/carhartt.php

The Sarto Jeans are the most up to date in fashionable jeans, and have the second best kevlar coverage that I have seen.  I think they are CE certified too, so it's not a cheap grade of kevlar.

http://www.sartso.com/index.php

Neither of these options come with armor. I opted for armored shorts. Great customer service from Knox USA, and CE approved. The coccyx protector is really comfortable.

http://stores.knoxarmorusa.com/-strse-14/Knox-Cross-Shorts%2C-KNOX/Detail.bok

knee pads are probably a good idea too. Sarto has some that will slip into the jeans, and the double front Carharts have cut outs that you can slip some armor into. I opted for the type that straps directly to the knee. Less of a chance of it rotating off the knee during an emergency.   

[burning1]

I've done some motorcycle safety seminars. Be very careful when purchasing Denim riding pants - the quality of the pants and the kevlar reinforcement varies wildly. We had a pair of relatively high end Dainese Kevlar jeans that shredded in a 30MPH crash and left the rider limping months later.

Even high quality jeans like the Draggin' jeans carry risks. My suggestion would be to insist on minimally, knee padding and ideally knee and hip padding. In my experience, when a rider low-sides the hip and outside of the thigh take a lot of the force of the crash. Extra padding and abrasion resistance goes a long way there.

I started a thread over on BARF looking into the experiences of riders who have crashed wearing Jeans with MX knee/shin armor. Results suggested a significant improvement in crash protection over denim jeans alone.

[DoD#i]

In truth I think I'll only wear them during the longer rides (no track and i won't be doing anything too crazy)

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt!!!

You can't pre-plan which trip you'll crash on. In practice, it's far more likely that you'll get crashed (without you needing to do anything crazy) on a short trip around town, if that's what you are doing more of - more exposure and more traffic = more risk. Idiots in cars at intersections are far thicker on the ground in a short city ride than a long highway ride. The fact that you are doing 25 in a 30 zone does nothing much for you when a car just pulls out like you are not there, after you saw it stop and the driver look right at you, so you thought it was going to wait. Or blow through a red light, or not stop at a stop sign, or merge through you...

All (the) Gear All The Time is a philosophy that tends to be spouted disproportionately by those of us that Have, as opposed to those of you that Will, or the occasional statistical freak that Will Never - that being, end up unexpectedly on the asphalt. Except for those times when you knowingly go out to ride the hairy edge and fall over it all by your own fault, YOU WILL NOT KNOW WHICH RIDE IT WILL BE ON. If you choose to wear less protection when you are more exposed through time and traffic, you will probably end up regretting that, eventually.

Between those two choices, textile, preferably with (operable) vents and padding.

[burning1]

Different rides call for different kinds of gear.

If you're commuting on your bike, a pair of zip-up overpants or a one piece suit is ideal. Easy to put on, easy to take off when you get where you're going.
If you're doing sporty riding, a set of comfortable textile or leather riding pants is nice. Comfortable for sitting around in, good protection for riding.
If you're at a trackday, a 2 piece leather suit is perfect. Wear the leather pants around the paddoc, and unzip the jacket.
For racing, 1 piece will provide the best protection.

It's good to have cold and hot weather gear.

[jdbutler13]

So I think I decided on getting a pair of proper jeans...Thanks for all the great links
But I am also thinking about getting a pair of over pants... dress pants on the bike are not the safest gear.
Any recommendations??? I've seen a few but reviews differ so greatly and I want to make sure they fit nicely.

[Anaconda]

So I think I decided on getting a pair of proper jeans...Thanks for all the great links
But I am also thinking about getting a pair of over pants... dress pants on the bike are not the safest gear.
Any recommendations??? I've seen a few but reviews differ so greatly and I want to make sure they fit nicely.

I got my tourmaster venture overpants for $123 at motorcyclegear.com and i wear it over my dress clothes all the time.  It's nice that it's loose enough to not wrinkle your dress pants yet protection pads are held in place.

[burning1]

Rev'it just released their new overpants, theAxis pants. For the money, they are one of the best pants on the market.