Dropped my bike off at dealers today for service. Feking hot and sticky walking around in Halvarssons kit...so it set me thinking about denim biking jeans again. Never been totally convinced by them in the past, but these guys (Bull it) seem to have a near perfect product? So the question is, does anyone on here actually have a pair of Voloce jeans and what do you think of them? I want a bit comfort and to be honest a bit more style when off the bike. Also thinking about part of my Alps trip, St Moritz to Bourge st Maurice via a potentially very hot Italy. I'm guesing they will still be warm, but maybe not uncomfortably hot and sticky. User reviews and thoughts welcome.
I'm think something similar for my trip to Misano in September. That said i'm not paying £200+ for denim jeans however many tests they may have passed.
Only get them if you are 100% sure you are not going to come off! The kevlar will hold the cotton fibres together, but you are relying on the cotton fibres for abrasion resistance. It's not very good. I did a great deal of work in the early 90's with various compounds of kevlar and cordura, testing against cow hide. No matter what the fabric manufacturers did in terms of compounds there was never anything that beat a good old 1.5mm cow hide. Kevlar/Cotton will be significantly worse. Around town at low speed, fine if you have to. I would never wear anything but leather having witnessed the results.
they are very thick(had to get the next size up from my usual) but do let a bit of fresh air through and very comfortable. As you say not so hot and sticky I found a belt is not enough to keep them up so I use braces and then I can ease off the belt tension. I have thought of getting the other half of my long zip from my jacket sewn to the top of them so they are a bit more secure. BTW Nigel the covec (Aramid)they are made of is full length and is not dependant on cotton outer layer for anything but looks (its a double layer of knitted fabric).
NigelM - not sure what you mean about the kevlar holding the cotton fibres together - it implies you think the kevlar biker jeans are woven from thread which includes kevlar and cotton fibres together. Don't know if you've inspected any biker jeans more recently than the early 90s, but all the ones I've seen or tried on have normal denim on the outside and then a separate layer of kevlar/aramid/covec fabric inside as a lining stitched to the denim. Where they vary is how extensive the abrasion resistant fabric lining is (butt & hips, knees and strips along the outside of the thights being the minimum for e.g. basic Draggins, or fully lined at least to below the knee, or even in some cases with double layers of the abrasion resistent fabric (which might leave them as hot and heavy as leathers). Obviously questions might be asked about the actual thread holding everything together - whether it is normal cotton or anything stronger.
Fair point, my research was early 90's, but the fibres have not changed. Kevlar is good for tensile strength, holding things together. Abrasion resistance isn't bad, but it's not as good as something like Cordura which was designed specifically for the purpose. Schoeller (Swiss fabric mill) make the best kevlar/cordura composite fabrics in the world. These were what we were testing. Testing consisted of both lab tests for abrasion and shock loading, and testing various compounds of fabric as knee sliders on Jamie Whitham as he went round Cadwell, Mallory and a few other tracks. We never made a race suit for Jamie as we all concluded that the fabric was not as good as cow hide and he would rather get hot and sweaty than get road rash. Knowing that the aramids have not changed in 20 years (kevlar now is what kevlar was then, the chemical composition hasn't changed), I'm happy that the research still stands and will not be buying any. They are not leather jeans, no matter how much the marketing men try to tell you they are.
I don't think anyone is claiming they are leather jeans, but when the air temperature is over 40 degrees Celsius (as it was in Italy for WDW 2012) boil-in-the-bag leathers lose their appeal (and to the extent that being way too hot starts to mess with your ability to concentrate, perhaps start to increase the risk that something will go wrong, even if they might marginally reduce the consequences of something going wrong). NigelM makes the comparison with 1.5mm cowhide, but how many sets of leathers, even well known brands, use 1.5mm thickness as opposed to thinner leather? Personally, I have not tried the Bullit Voloce jeans, but have some normal Draggins for riding when it is very hot. I'd tried on a couple of other pairs of Bullit jeans (the ones lower down the range - the laser 4 or +7) and compared with a lot of ladies' kevlar jeans, the fit wasn't too bad and they didn't have a ridiculously low hipster waistband (which is a serious failing on some other brands - the huge gap between the top of the jeans and the bottom of your jacket). As good as leathers were I to come off - almost certainly not, but (a) better than denim jeans without any abrasion resistant lining and (b) bearable on and off the bike when temperatures are so high. There are plenty of threads on this forum about differing riders different attitudes to protective gear - some, like NigelM, are not happy with anything other than full leathers at all times on the bike, others (like vast numbers at WDW) will ride in shorts, T shirt and trainers. Those in the former camp regard anyone who doesn't do the same as taking an unacceptable risk, but then some non-riders think all us bikers must have a death wish for riding a motorbike in the first place, so I think it's a question of what you as an individual are comfortable with.
Hey Mrs C, I'm not judging anyone, I'm just trying to make sure people understand the limitations. You read a lot of bull from the makers of these jeans and I would rather people didn't buy them in the belief that they will be as protective as leather. Understand their limitations and buy them if you're happy with the risk.
I think we all accept that the Kevlar jeans can never be as good as a set of leathers! On the other hand I appreciate having some protection ie more than normal jeans, but still looking like a normal human being when I get to the end of my journey ie not like a big oaf biker in full leathers
The Bull-it jeans are not kevlar Link to their site. Homepage - Bull-it Jeans At the moment I am using Halvarssons Halvarssons Safir leather trousers black trousers which are part textile and part leather, matched to Halvarssons leather jacket. They look and feel substantial, but are bloody hot, especially with the waterproof liner in place. Everything is a compromise at some point though. I would be happy with safety to the same standard as the Halvarssons. Full leather trousers are just ridiculously hot for touring. Been there, peeled them off, don't want to do it again.
The best compromise is perforated leather or a mixture of mesh (in the right places) and leather. That said there are times when its very warm and humid that leather doesn't make any sense at all as it compromises safety by reducing the concentration levels. Riders have to make up their own mind on what level of risk as acceptable to them.
1st let me just say, I don’t work for any clothing manufacturer or have any association with any, I’m a construction Project Manager that’s a little Anal about researching stuff before I buy it! I’ve done a considerable amount of it on the whole ”Riding jeans” thing over the past 6 months, I ride most times with Hein Gericke jeans (Kevlar & Denim), then Joe rocket over trousers on the back of the bike for when it gets rainy. And have been looking change now that I have the SFS. So we have DuPont™ Kevlar® aramid used in these jeans, but the fibre wasn’t originally intended to be used as a conventional fabric. It was developed to replace the nylon belts reinforcing tyres. When the Kevlar cloth doesn’t have the benefit of being sealed in resin, it turns out to be especially susceptible to water & sweat, this has been found out on the battlefield (Kevlar Bulletproof vest) a far harsher environment that our average Sunday ride out, the fibres slip & offer less & less protection, add to that washing, detergent, bleaches etc And your £150 jeans are only really good for a season or 2 at most. The other problem is that DuPont have written to a number of manufactures & asked them to stop using the Trade Mark, Kevlar is a brand,. Aramid fibres are the working material in Kevlar and is manufactured by many companies and marketed as many different names Draggin Jeans are the only company that is licensed to use Kevlar for Motorcycle clothing. Next we have the issue of CE clothing, take a look next time at your preferred riding jeans, there are very few CE approved leather jeans on the market, if any and far fewer Textile riding apparel, Especially at Level 2! There’s a big difference between the tag that says CE approved armour & CE approved Garment, the manufactures craftily stick a tag on stuff making us believe the leather jeans/Jacket are CE approved but on deeper inspection its only the armour that’s Approved, fat use it would be if the seams burst & the armour scoots off on the opposite direction to the jeans your wearing. I’m not going to go into the whole CE approval stuff you can find a good article here from the BMF if you’re interested http://www.bmf.co.uk/pages/briefing_room_archive.php?fullstory=435 Back to the matter in hand Bull-it Voloce Jeans they are CE LEVEL 2, found here http://www.bull-it.com/products/voloce-jeans/ & tech stuff here http://www.bull-it.com/technical-testing/ce/ They don’t use Kevlar/aramid Graggin Jeans are the only other CE Level 2 approved, found here http://www.draggin.co.uk/draggin_c_evo_jeans.html & tech stuff here https://www.dragginjeans.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49&Itemid=30 , but they use Kevlar I’ve picked the Bull-it jeans for 2 reasons, No Kevlar & they are short in the leg & fit me just fine, try them on 1st, I’m a 32” waist for trousers & the ones that fit me are a 36”. But there not like the Levi you’d ware they're very thick & heavy so might not be the “cool” as you’d like them to be. Just waiting for them to arrive now, they’re a birthday prezzy from the wifey!! .
Got two pairs of these now, very impressed, look at the test reports Motorcycle Jeans from Hood Jeans UK
I`m surprised nobody has mentioned the other textile fabrics available in addition to denim/kevlar. There are some really good products around that have decent armour and lots of ventilation so nice and cool when riding and more comfy than leather or thick jeans when you are off the bike. On a different note, many people comment on how far you would slide in leather and I can see the sense in that on a track but on the road there are so many things to hit, lamp posts, verges, cars etc, isn`t good armour more valuable than the ability to slide ? In my experience of 4 crashes in 30 odd years only 1 involved any sliding with the other 3 being more impact incidents. I `ll be interested to read what other members road accident experiences are.
When I was in Italy last year and it was over 40c I wore my draggin jeans the ones with lining inside, and forcefield body armour leggings, I was thinking of buying a pr of the Bull it jeans, but very heavy, thick, and expensive
The simple answer to that would be No, my Bull-it Voloce jeans are just as warm as Leather but in my humble opinion a load comfier. I'm not sure about the other Bull-it jeans while riding, but in the shop there not as thick as the Voloce My cheaper Hein Gericke jeans are like wearing a really thick pair of ordinary jeans, but far less protection, horses for courses.
