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by geoelectric 3050 days ago
Have you checked out the Draggin' Jeans liners? They're basically full-coverage aramid long johns, much better coverage than their (and most other American) kevlar-lined jeans.

I wear them under regular jeans for casual riding (I always wear an armored jacket so no need to wear the upper liner) and would trust them in a low-to-freeway speed getoff about as much as any other mesh gear. You can stuff d3o armor into them pretty easily too.

It's not precisely what you're trying to achieve, but it's more versatile and generally looks better than full-coverage (Hood, etc.) riding jeans.

2 comments

I did not know about their new stuff. I had real issues getting anything from them that fit in the past which is wierd because most cruiser riders aren't well known for their trim figure.

Ugh, just looked, the same problem... they don't have a height option. The shirts are too short for my torso (and gut), and the pants are too tight in the thighs :(

So, I have the same problem as you buying moto jeans and shirts. I'm pretty apple-shaped and have a largish waist and short legs. Anything I found either didn't fit right (fitting my waist meant legs several inches too long) or was laughably inadequate (kevlar shorts inside thin denim jeans sorts of stuff) which is why I went for a separates solution. That way I could wear standard Levi jeans that I knew would fit over them.

The long john style liners are, well, long johns. They're stretchy, so they adapt well to body shape. The leg liners aren't cut particularly long--they have stirrups. You could choose to ignore or remove the stirrups and flip up the leg cuffs to make them a few inches shorter and they'd still work under boots. I haven't tried the shirt but it's the same material. My guess is if you match with the size you'd wear in standard long underwear it'd be fine.

The other respondent to me was correct, though--like all long johns these are fairly warm. I'm fine in them spring, fall and winter, but summer is a different story. It is an uninsulated open-weave mesh, so breathes well enough and it does a great job of creating air channels under your jeans, but I tend to just take my chances for a couple of months of the year rather than add more layers.

Edit: to make sure we're looking at the same thing, I mean the ones reviewed here, https://www.webbikeworld.com/draggin-liners-review/

My concern there is that they might pull up or down. I guess down is inevitible but up can be prevented with the stirriups. Same for the short shirt. But I guess that might be me being paranoid. I know from experience that denim doesn't hold up to even 40mph falls, where interestingly enough, Linen does.

I'll take a look again tho. I live in seattle where it's pretty cool most of the time.

It's a legit concern, and I had the same. I wouldn't rate these above ballistic motorcycle pants, but I think they'll compare well with most kevlar jeans short of something very full-coverage (and bulky) like Hood.
I like draggins, but like most other motorcycle clothing they are still quite heavyweight. In hot climates, you will overheat, or just opt for shorts. :(

It'd be great if new materials could be used to make protective wear that is thinner and more air permeable.

So it is then obvious that they need to stress test their material against Draggins to see how they compare....