Kevlar trousers vs Leather

I had a fairly hefty off with the wife on board, she was wearing kevlar jeans with knee and hip armour. She ended up doing a 50mph superman impression over a car, the jeans protected her very well, she had no gravel rash and the armour saved her from a broken knee.

 

I've not tried Kevlar jeans, but about 8 years ago I had an off coming off J5 of the M25 at Sevenoaks. I know the slip road very well so was at full tilt and very happy - until I hit some gravel in the road. I was wearing a full set of Wolff 2-piece leathers. If it hadn't been for them, I would have had a nasty skin rash. As it was, I got away with a few broken bones and a written off bike. I also had an off around Clearways at Brands Hatch probably a couple of years before that - no Armco's to slow my progress, but a lot more tarmac to slow one's body down on! Kevlar jeans? NO! and that's official! I always wear leathers - OK, I wear a Frank Thomas material jacket thingy when I'm riding Trevor (my Speed Triple), but ALWAYS a full cow hide set when I'm on Veronica! I don't have a one piece though! I have a zip together two piece - my old Wolff trousers (which are still serviceable now - and I'd rather bump along the tarmac wearing them) and a custom made jacket made by Hideout that zips to the jeans. Leather is best. Always. No contest.

 

I wear both, leathers on the R1, but the Duc and Beemer I wear jeans or textile. The jeans are comfy, cool (as in not hot). I've not come off in the kevlar and am hoping it's as good as the manufacturer says.

 

That's the rub (excuse the pun) thou isn't it. You only know if they're good enough once you've gone bouncing down the road. Now Ive got the Monster, I'll probably be looking at Kevlar Jeans for summer as I ride in and out of the city. Only really ridden in leather thou

 

Moved to clothing :smile:

 

Kevlar jeans, bit better than normal jeans but nothing like leather for protection. My mate,nicknamed "suicide bomber" found this out.

 

Crashing at say 30mph hurts just as much if you have come off a push bike as a motorbike and crashing at say 80mph hurts the same regardless of if you were on a monster or an 848. Are you more likely to crash in hot weather because you overheat in leathers, are you less likely to crash in Kevlar because you are more cautious ?
There was a guy on the news last week talking about his son who was gradually coming out of a coma following a head injury caused by a cycling accident. His son did not wear a helmet as he did not want to mess up his hair.
Choices huh.

 

I have crashed in Jeans and a tee shirt when I was a kid riding in a field...That fuckin hurt.

 

Hi, There is a massive variation between the abrasion resistance of different brands of Kevlar jeans.... Draggin seem to always outscore the others, and even then there are different 'levels' including CE versions.

All of the Textile jeans, even premium ones have less abrasion resistance (often measured in seconds) than even cheap leather but it's your call. My reason for not wearing them this season was that on a sportsbike my textile jacket will ride up leaving the small of my back exposed, it doesn't matter how protective your trousers or jacket are if when you come off they split and your back rubs along the road.

Sorry, the hard facts are that if you want to wear 'kevlar' jeans you need to factor your safety level in and take risks accordingly. Some of the Rukka (for example) high end Textile stuff has very good strength and abrasion resistance but again, it's simply not going to protect like leather.

 

Is it worth considering where you ride too ? On the track I`m sure leather is best as you are more likely to slide but on the road I would have thought body armour is more important than outer fabric as you are unlikely to skid too far without hitting a lamppost, kerb , car or whatever.

 

I always wear a two piece zip together leather jacket and trousers, don't fancy the jacket riding up my back, I am led to believe that the textile jeans can make you tumble as they don't slide like leathers increasing the likelihood on more injuries.
Steve

 

Leather only for me. Wouldnt even entertain the idea of anything other than leather. Good fitting leather too. I wear two piece with full zip.

The day you just 'nip to the shop' in jeans and t shirt is the day when shit happens as my mates knee found out when someone opened the passenger door onto him.

But its a matter of personal choice. I'm too pretty to be scarred by gravel rash....

 

I bought a pair of Hein Gericke western jeans.
They're leather, but are cut like ordinary jeans so they're not as cumbersome to walk around all day in as a pair of normal bike jeans.
They also have normal pockets without zips, which are much handier.
And they have a full zip to connect to a jacket.
They have no armour, but this could be retro-fitted to the lining.
And the seams are "safe-stitched".
Had them for 3 or 4 yrs now and they seem to do the business as a reasonably safe but easy to wear alternative to the full kit.
I've even done a trackday in them.

 

I alternate - for normal commuting I wear Rukka textile kit. I realise textile kit is less protective than leather but I got sick of looking out the window, seeing no rain, not putting waterproofs on over leathers, and then getting soaked by a black cloud waiting for me 3 miles up the road.

For weekend bimbling, and touring if it's not too too cold, I've got a pair of old Belstaff leather trousers purchased shortly after I did my CBT over 16 years ago, which fit me so well that I don't want to replace them, and a relatively cheap and cheerful but well fitting leather jacket, and had zips put in to attach them for trackdays.

For my World Ducati Week trip last year I bought some Draggin kevlar jeans, which were far less unbearably hot for riding when daytime temperatures were above 40 degrees Celsius. For me they were a good compromise - a degree of protection with less danger of overheating. At WDW you'd see plenty of people riding in just shorts and sandals, but I have too strong a sense of self preservation to want to do that.

Have not crashed in the Draggins (yet) to be able to comment on their abrasion resistance.

 

Leathers, vented, for me. In winter high quality textiles. Sweated like a pig in Devon this summer on a weeks hols. Sweat is not nice but gravel rash can kill you, sceptic shock etc. During my week away came across a rider in the middle of the road with his mates doing traffic control and other people working on him. Road was dry, clear and straight. No other vehicles evident (I stopped to help). the rider had a cut off denim top and jeans. Was on a custom type bike, the poor guy wasn't responding! Just lying there in the road.
It's a personal choice but I know what I chose.

 

Oh I agree with you on that. Its extremely rare that I ride without my leathers on. Im lucky to have two suits. A two piece and a one piece for track use. There was a good article in RiDE magazine either end of last year, or earlier this year which looked at the difference. Some armoured jeans are pretty good, but still nowhere near as good as proper leather

 

What really baffles me is the number of people I see riding bikes (especially scooters), or even bicycles, who are not wearing gloves.

You can crash without a helmet and be lucky enough not to hit your head, but I can't see any way in which you can land without your hands hitting something. I've been lucky enough over the years to have fallen off small bikes only, at speeds of 30 or less; that was in my youth when I would have been wearing denim or waterproof trousers (waxed cotton - no armour!). I don't recall any really severe knee grazes, but I certainly remember the one time when I was messing around doing wheelies with no gloves! Perhaps as a result, I don't worry too much if the weather is cold/damp enough for me to wear my two-piece textile suit rather than my leathers - it's so much better than the old Barbour gear I once used, especially with armour and a full-width zip to hold it together in the middle (an important consideration as others have highlighted).

 

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The first thing to hit the deck is likely your hand. Over the years ive dislocated and broken several fingers. Both my wrists, twice. Gloves are a must.

I used to ride scoots in no more than a flight jacket, ripped jeans and maybe some monkey boots. But then I was travelling a lot slower and my 'offs' were usually into a hedge or at slow speed. But I was young and I bounced. I dont bounce so well these days.