10/18/12 Armoring Up

I've always known that in order to ride safely I needed to wear my gear. I've pretty much always (with a couple obvious exceptions) worn my gloves, armored leather jacket, and some sort of boot in addition to the required helmet. Unfortunately, this leaves a couple of notable gaps in my protective armor.

Firstly, I finally bit the bullet and upgraded from my trusty Doc Marten's to a pair of proper riding boots. The Icon Super Duty 4's should give me a bit more impact protection, especially at the ankle, than the single layer of leather in the Doc's. They don't look half bad either and should go unnoticed with jeans or khakis.

Second, the pair of summer short gloves I've been wearing for a few years are starting to show some signs of wear. Because I've looking at a well reviewed but somewhat sketchy site for a budget full leather suit, I figured that trying them out on something small like gloves would be a good idea. I picked up these pretty heavily armored gloves. If the quality turns out to be good, maybe a $200 suit is in my future...

The last and most difficult area is pants. While I plan on getting a full leather riding suit for the ultimate protection on long rides, I needed something in the middle for when I’m just riding around the city. As Wes at HFL has indicated, vanity can often get in the way of proper protection, but I’m convinced I can improve upon the current offerings in both style and safety.

Jeans, no matter how rugged, will never be as safe as a dedicated motorcycle pant. The problem is that dedicated motorcycle pants with abrasion resistant fabrics and integral armor tend to be very ugly. No one has ever brought a girl home from a bar while wearing these.

The new crop of 'riding jeans' typically add thicker denim and kevlar backing in certain areas, but with no armor and relatively loose-fitting styles. The added protection is marginal, so they somehow manage to still look stupid.

To get around this, I've decided to adapt a pair of Carhartt canvas pants. These are heavy grade construction and work pants. The 12oz canvas is much more abrasion resistant than denim, and all the seams are triple stitched for strength. Carhartt has a great reputation for durability and these are built to last forever. I opted for the double front pants for an additional layer of protection as well as the flannel lining for riding in the cold. I'll likely have to order an unlined pair for the summer months, but I'll deal with that later. A surprising side benefit is now that Carhartt has realized that hipsters are ironically wearing construction gear, they're actually in style.  

Another benefit of the double front pants is that a convenient pocket is created for knee armor. I ordered the Icon Field Armor knee armor to slip into the pocket. 

Overall I think this could be a great solution. The pants are simple, tough and even with the armor will be relatively discrete and comfortable on and off the bike. Even buying the pants and armor separately, they are cheaper than pretty much all of the current offerings, and I believe they will be a big step above kevlar jeans. Stay tuned for reviews of the boots, gloves and pants. 

-W.W. SBSS