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Riding pants, what do you wear?

I recently started wearing a pair of sartso Kevlar pants, I know its not the protection you would get from leather but it was an improvement over regular blue jeans while still looking casual. So far I have been happy with them they seemed to have more coverage than other brands, hopefully they can hold together in a crash but I hope not to test that
 
A friend of mine had a slide out low side accident the other day wearing some levi riding style pants with padding and he came through it just fine. Ripped the pants so they will have to be replaced but for the most part skin is all there.
 
I wear Draggin Jeans Drayko Drift. I get compliments on how good they look (like designer jeans), and they get much better slide protection than regular jeans. With the armor inserts, protection only gets better. I wear these because of one important factor: the best gear you will buy is the gear you actually wear.

I rarely wore my mesh or leather pants when I had them because they are SO uncomfortable (hot... hot... hot), and about 50% of my riding is because I am going out somewhere (I totally ditch my cage in the summer). So it was incredibly tedious to me to have 19 different items of gear I have to both remove and then find some place to store, or face the punishment of lugging them around with me all day. That said, I will still wear 19 pieces of protection if I am doing a very long or hard/twisty ride. But for city travel and nights out to the pub, my trusty Drayko Drift, gloves, boots, Joe Rocket mesh jacket, and helmet all do the trick.

My Joe Rocket jacket has clips on the back that can be attached through belt loops or an actual belt. I'm not sure they would survive a huge impact but it is better than nothing. Most important of all: it spends less time in my closet than my other gear. I love my kevlar jeans! They are very cool when they need to be and yet warm enough to keep my testicles intact on those nippy 4am rides to work! Highly recommended. So much so that I bought 2 more pairs.
 
Criminal Pilot said:
I wear these because of one important factor: the best gear you will buy is the gear you actually wear.
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^ Best advise so far, Thank you!

Thank you all for the detail in what, when, and why you wear what you do. Its good to have different views to compare on this topic. I hope others will keep posting, especially if they try a brand new product. This thread will be very useful to many new and experienced riders alike. Please keep the reviews and advice coming.
 
This is what I wear, I use to wear leather but Kevlar mesh is the s&@*. You can wear shorts under the over pants that are mesh. The mesh is better than leather because it doesn't lose the abrasion resistance as it ages or gets wet, not to mention the armor, second to none. I really think this stuff is the best I've seen, including BMW's stuff and full on leathers. I use to wear Kevlar jeans too, but when I realized that they had no armor and that even though they were stronger than regular jeans, they would still disintegrate I switched.

Motoport
 
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This won't be a very logical reply, but if I am going on a short ride, say 45 mins. or less, I just wear sturdy jeans along with the heavy leather jacket, gloves, boots and full-face lid. On longer rides, I have very good leather pants that attach via zipper to my leather riding coats. Vanson on the pants and coats.

Not sure what it is, laziness I suppose, but getting buttoned up in heavy leather riding pants is just too much effort to me for a short ride. But even heavy jeans probably won't cut it should I ever have a get-off on the bike.

So, yeah, just not very logical on my part.

Jeff
 
I've been considering the same question for the last year.

Outside of daily commuting I wear my off road EVS body armor. It is easy zip on zip off deal and provides chest, spine, elbow and shoulder protection and had a kidney belt strap which gives you that chiseled V shape look for bar time after the ride. :) If cold, I can layer up over the top. If warm, I can go all the way down to a synthetic T shirt underneath the armor which breaths very well. On a slide or bump crash you would be very well protected and it is comfortable to ride in.

Since I am either commuting (40 mile round trip) or on a multi-day distance ride (where I will camp off the bike) I'm looking for something (ideally one solution) that serves more than one purpose. I have a pair of Tourtech armored overpants. These are great for long stretches on the bike but a tad bulky when off and don't pack well on a road trip. I read a comparison of kevlar jeans vs heavy duty work pants (Carhartts) recently and am leaning toward the Carhartts. I may wear knee pads underneath and will pack a light pair of rain pants to throw over the top in case of cold, wind or rain. Layers rule. I tend to follow the off road riding rule to "dress like a hiker, not a biker."

I agree that there is not much that will stand up to a slide like leather. If my riding was more oriented to twisty carving day rides only I would probably lean toward leathers.
 
I can't say enough good things about the Aerostich Roadcrafter. The one piece suit is the best piece of riding gear I've ever used, and I've had a lot of different types of gear over the years. It's a bloody clever design and made in the USA so you Americans can salute the flag while you wear it or whatever ;)

Prior to getting the 'stich, I was commuting and daily riding in two-piece leathers. It was a bit unpleasant for nasty weather and cold in the winter. Off the bike, it was even more of a pain. I was willing to sacrifice some convenience for safety until I found something better. I used to spend hours at college in my leather pants because it was too much of a pain to pack jeans all the time along with my books and things. If it rained, my leathers got soggy. Eww.

I found something better in my one piece 'stich. Other than apparently not being as abrasion resistant as leathers, I have found no negatives to it. I've worn it while it's 40C (105F) out, I've worn it while it's -15C (5F) out. I can ride through a downpour, step out of the suit and be in a perfectly dry tux underneath. Not that I'd ever wear a tux. It rolls into a reasonable size to pack away or just hangs up like any other coat.

:sport12:

The only downside is that you look like a dork but I am a dork so it works out perfectly :woot:
 
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