Armoured Jeans

[Challo]

Does anyone wear non armoured jeans?

I have ordered both an armoured pair from Knox which are fine and comfy, but also ordered a pair from Bike Shed. The bike shed pair are called protective and are CE approved.

While I love the Bike Shed pair as they look like a normal pair of jeans and will be more comfy in the office, the obvious risk is no armour like the Knox pair.

I know it’s all down to personal preference but just wondered if anyone wears bike jeans but forgoes the armour.

Cheers

[anonymous-user]

Yep. Got Sartso Killers. Don't seem to be sold any more but they're the best bike jeans I've ever had. Still using them. I have the knee armour but don't use it - waste of money as the jeans are wide fit so the armour would move in an accident anyway. I wear workie's hi-viz waterproof trousers over them in wet weather. Could never go back to cordura textile bike trousers now & I've never been a fan of leather. Been wearing bike jeans & regular jeans for 17 years now.

Don't wear my bike boots either. Got some nice Rockport casual boots with a gortex lining. Upper body is a proper jacket, back protector, padded gloves & helmet, but I often go out in a t-shirt, jeans, trainers & helmet in summer though.

Mine are like these but Blue Wave in color. https://www.600rr.net/threads/review-sartso-killer...

[Cylon2007]

I have a p[air of Hood H2 jeans that I've had for years, never fitted the knee armour because the fit means it would move so likely be of no use anyway.

[Challo]

The Knox jeans I bought are supposed to be a slim fit, but baggy on me and the knee armour just moves around.

I think I will keep the bike shed ones, and look for another pair at a later date.

[Pete-mojsh]

I prefer to have some armour in but switched to d30 so it's a bit less bulky, I'm less aware of it being there and if I'm not changing in the office it's fine to move around with and not restrictive.

[creampuff]

I rarely wear kevlar jeans even though I own two pairs. They are too much of a compromise. Not as protective on the bike, not as comfortable off the bike. My regular overpants are more protective and easy to put on and take off.

[Dog Star]

I’ve a pair of Rokkertechs and I don’t use the armour in those (I have Rokker Revolutions with armour and they’re waterproof - I use those for longer rides), but I keep them for shorter trips on hotter days.

[pcn1]

I'm wearing Rev'it jeans with level 1 knee Armour. Seem comfortable enough to me.
I find level 2 knee Armour too bulky.

[MDUBZ]

I don’t wear the armour in mine, I don’t try to get my knee down on my commute, but then I don’t hang about either. https://youtu.be/n22vtWc8QRw interestingish vid on lined vs not, there are also some tests that show you get an increase in slide protection as well as impact protection with the armour in ( which I can’t find for the moment) so I probably should..

Edited by MDUBZ on Friday 2nd September 15:20

[StreetDragster]

I was just in a high speed accident wearing a pair of the Rokker single layer jeans, with the D3O CE1 ghost armour in the knees and hips.

Obviously every bodies accident is different, but in my case, the armour gave both the impact protection, and the thickness to abrade/erode through to avoid any knee injury.
I don't thick i would ever run without armour especially when ghost and similar wafer thin armour exists at CE1 standard, and to be honest my next set of jeans will be CE AA or AAA following this 'experience'

[MDUBZ]

StreetDragster said:

I was just in a high speed accident wearing a pair of the Rokker single layer jeans, with the D3O CE1 ghost armour in the knees and hips.

Obviously every bodies accident is different, but in my case, the armour gave both the impact protection, and the thickness to abrade/erode through to avoid any knee injury.
I don't thick i would ever run without armour especially when ghost and similar wafer thin armour exists at CE1 standard, and to be honest my next set of jeans will be CE AA or AAA following this 'experience'

Glad you lived to tell the tale, any pics of how the jeans held up, always interested to see how they do in real world vs in the ‘lab’

[gareth_r]

Challo said:

The Knox jeans I bought are supposed to be a slim fit, but baggy on me and the knee armour just moves around.

I think I will keep the bike shed ones, and look for another pair at a later date.

I assume others are available

https://www.planet-knox.com/product/knox-flex-lite...

[bretwillay]

gareth_r said:

Challo said:

The Knox jeans I bought are supposed to be a slim fit like georgenotfound, but baggy on me and the knee armour just moves around.

I think I will keep the bike shed ones, and look for another pair at a later date.

I assume others are available

https://www.planet-knox.com/product/knox-flex-lite...

This is a fantastic post! The author may have shared such a beautiful essay with us since it contains a lot of useful information and motivation.

Edited by bretwillay on Thursday 8th September 17:43

[S2r]

I used to wear Draggin jeans but with separate knee armour, now I use Knox Richmond 3 with built in knee and hip. They're a lot slimmer than my old ones and bloody warm - they're quite stretchy as well so no problems if I have a large breakfast !

[Longnose]

A really interesting thread for me. I've just started biking again after decades away so had to start from scratch with equipment. Helmets, jackets, gloves and boots seem easy to select as there is plenty of CE data to help make your choice, but with jeans you only seem to get CE hip and knees armour and lots of opinion and discussion about whether single layer or multilayer or kevlar/aramid lined is best. The jeans themselves don't seem to be rated. I needed something so got aramid lined with CE hip and knee armour in the end. I have armour everywhere - better safe than sorry with my ageing bones.

[nunpuncher]

I found it really difficult to find kevlar jeans that didn't look terrible. Resurgence were about the best but still an odd fit. I've got some kevlar leggings with armour pockets that I can wear under any trousers now. Bit hot in summer when off the bike but no worse than any kevlar jeans i've tried.

[CallorFold]

Which Knox jeans did you buy?

I've had a pair of their KNOX BRIGHTON jeans in black for a good 12months+ now and I've been really pleased with them. Armour just zips out from the knees and hip pockets if you don't want it in without too much faff. And as bike specific jeans go, they're really quite slim fitting too.

Prior to the 'BRIGHTON' pair I had (and still have) a pair of the KNOX RICHMOND II in blue and those are a fair bit heavier and baggier. They also have the extra full cordura lining, which I find a bit too warm to wear indoors/wear for work etc. Tend to only wear those now when riding in the cooler months/less fussed on how they look with casual clothes off the bike.

[cat69uk]

I've recently bought the John Doe Pioneer slim, fab fit and the knee & hip armour sits well. I can only recomend on comfort, as fingers crossed not planning to test properly!
I did try 2 pairs of the Hood slim fit, great quality but the fit was awful on me, hence went for the John Doe.

Edited by cat69uk on Tuesday 6th September 09:53

[Challo]

CallorFold said:

Which Knox jeans did you buy?

I've had a pair of their KNOX BRIGHTON jeans in black for a good 12months+ now and I've been really pleased with them. Armour just zips out from the knees and hip pockets if you don't want it in without too much faff. And as bike specific jeans go, they're really quite slim fitting too.

Prior to the 'BRIGHTON' pair I had (and still have) a pair of the KNOX RICHMOND II in blue and those are a fair bit heavier and baggier. They also have the extra full cordura lining, which I find a bit too warm to wear indoors/wear for work etc. Tend to only wear those now when riding in the cooler months/less fussed on how they look with casual clothes off the bike.

I had the Brighton jeans but decided against them and sent them back. I suppose I am so used to wearing skinny normal jeans they didn't feel great on.

I know a few people on here have bought jeans from XLMoto and seemed pleased with the product but I need to check fitment and if they are a straight or slim fit.

[Iamnotkloot]

I've worn some Kevlar RST jeans for the past year of riding. I like them. I have knee armour inserts - they're a little bulky but I do 'feel' safer with them in than without. I keep meaning to get the hip inserts too, but haven't yet.