Stay hip and safer with super riding jeans
Three brands offering super riding jeans that prevent road rash in a crash
If you have come off your bike while wearing jeans, chances are you're familiar with road rash.
Unless you've got on leather pants or experience a slow-speed fall, you could suffer abrasions and lacerations.
In a crash, denim simply disintegrates when it hits the tarmac.
But it does not have to be that way.
Almost two decades after Draggin' Jeans of Australia introduced Kevlar-lined jeans, more manufacturers are launching their own performance jeans for bikers.
The use of aramid fibres forms a protective inner shell in critical areas, giving precious seconds before a hole forms in your jeans and your skin is introduced to the tarmac.
We highlight three brands - Resurgence Gear, Alpinestars and PMJ - offering riding jeans.
RESURGENCE GEAR SL JEANS
Price & weight: $190 (without D3O kneepads) and 1.2kg.
These are possibly the stretchiest riding jeans available in the market. They come in a regular fit with tiny reflector strips at the bottom of the pants.
A protective layer of Pekev, a super aramid which touts it can handle eight seconds of abuse, lines the buttocks, front pocket areas, all the way down to the knees.
The jeans' stretchiness makes it comfortable during rides. The familiar chafing when your knee rubs against hard rubber knee pads is eliminated with the use of the optional D3O knee pads.
The D3O pads, which cost an additional $35, mould naturally to your knees. They may be soft and flexible, but these pads are special.
On impact, the molecules inside the pads lock up and harden to dissipate the energy.
The Resurgence Gear SL jeans are available at Ban Hock Hin.
PMJ TITANIUM
Price & weight: $499 and 1.4kg.
Also known as Promo Jeans, the Italian-made PMJ Titanium is top-shelf protective equipment.
These jeans boast designer looks and an anatomically correct knee construction.
But what you don't see inside is the proprietary 100 per cent Twaron ballistic fibre inner liner that can survive close to eight seconds of abuse.
Understandably, the waist-to-ankle full coverage gives those jeans noticeable weight.
Some features include easily removable, side-mounted knee pads and velcro at the bottom of the jeans. PMJ's are available at JR.
ALPINESTARS OSCAR CHARLIE JEANS
Price & weight: $191.50 (after a 50 per cent discount) and 1kg.
The Oscar Charlie, the lightest of the three riding jeans, looks like a trendy pair of jeans given its slim fit.
Stylish touches include a small key ring attached to a leather strap, unique pocket stitching and a tie-dye effect on one of its rear pockets.
Sadly, the fit will not allow bulkier, technical riding boots to be worn with the jeans.
Hidden stitching is used to accommodate sleeves for soft knee pads similar in feel to the D3O pads.
Despite having less stretch, the knee pads do not "ride up" when on your bike.
Critical areas around the buttocks and knees are lined with Kevlar touting close to three seconds of abrasion resistance.
The Oscar Charlie comes in two colours - blue and a darker raw indigo - and is available at Singapore Racing World.
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