Riding jeans
(Page 2 of 3)
July/August 2009
By Motorcycle Classics Staff
5. These aren’t jeans in the purest sense. They’re canvas, but the idea remains the same — they’re casual pants with more protection than regular jeans. Made of 12-ounce canvas and featuring a gusseted crotch and double-layered panel from knee to mid-thigh, these Arborwear Gusseted Canvas pants from Aerostich were originally designed for tree climbing. Aerostich has them made with a hook-and-loop closure at the bottom of the double-panels, creating pockets for holding a set of knee pads. An extra $20 nets you a set of TF3 knee pads, the same pads Aerostich uses in its great Roadcrafter and Darien suits, but housed in a bag that’s unique to these pants. Once the pads were in, the pants were still surprisingly comfortable as the outer layer of the pads is fairly soft. That said, we doubt we’d want to wear these all day at the office with the pads in, but since the pads are easy to pop in and out (thanks to the pockets being on the exterior) these are especially good as commuter pants. After just one washing the slightly-stiff canvas is already breaking in nicely. Charcoal in color. Price: $97 (with pads) or $77 (without pads). More info: www.Aerostich.com
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6. The Relaxed Draggin’ Jeans have the same Kevlar protection as the Classic Draggin’ Jeans we’ve featured before, but with a little more room in the legs and seat. We love the fit of the Relaxed Draggin’ Jeans and found them to fit true-to-size. They feature a traditional five-pocket design, except the change pocket is on the left side. Made of 14.5-ounce denim, they feature a 13.5-ounce Kevlar lining in the seat and also in each leg, wrapping all the way around the knees and shins. Each pair of Draggin’ Jeans is handmade in the USA. We ordered our pair with the available SaS-Tec Knee Armor Kit ($23.95) that attaches by Velcro to the Kevlar knee lining to provide a customizable fit. Without the pads, the jeans are comfortable and require no break-in, and while the pads are a little intrusive, we like the protection they provide. Available in dark blue or black. Price: $109.95. More info: www.DragginJeans.com
7. Triumph Kep Jeans are made of ring-spun denim with a dark indigo wash. They have a relaxed fit with large Keprotec-reinforced panels in the knee, thigh and seat with hook-and-loop attached pockets perfect for holding a set of knee pads (not included). They feature a cool Union Flag patch on the change pocket and a small Triumph patch on the corner of the right- side back pocket, along with a leather Triumph logo on the back waistband. Editor Backus wore these for a few days during a recent Triumph test, and found them to be both comfortable and stylish, though the knee pad pockets quickly came out because they rubbed uncomfortably. Price: $149.99. More info: www.Triumph.co.uk/usa