Good leather is usually more protective than textile (posible exceptions like the Halvarrsons safety range)

Textile tends to be more versatile because it is already waterproof and usually has more vents in it to keep you cool.

If your getting "kevlar" jeans make sure the whole of the inside is covered, some jeans only have the aramid in patches so you are reling on denim to hold the armour and patches in place (unlikely IMO). I go for Hood jeans, full cover and use Twaron instead of Kevlar, good value because you buy from the manufacturer.

When I wear my textile jacket I usually have a Twaron liner I made underneath and an airbag vest over the top and hood jeans. It's heavy and can be sweaty but it saved my arse (literally)

Skip this next bit if you don't want to hear nerdy stuff about kevlar

Never ever allow sunlight on your kevlar, even to dry it- it breaks down rapidly in sunlight
A month of strong sun can reduce the tensile strength of para-aramids by 25% to 50%

Not all Kevlar jeans are equal, or even made of kevlar

Hood jeans look/feel more like woven Twaron to me; which should perform better than the more usual knitted kevlar. Hood also completely line their clothes rather than having small patches like most do. This protects a greater area but also stronger because it isn't relying on being held in place by denim.


Kevlar and Twaron are brand names for types of aramid, there other types and they all have slightly different properties, some are good against heat ( Nomex, used in fire suits and pilot's gear, technically a meta-aramid). Kevlar and Twaron are both different flavours of para-aramids. As far as I know Twaron is better for abrasion resistance, kevlar is good in multi layered "bullet proof" vests

I also think woven thread is better than knitted. It doesn't pull and unravel as easily and slides better due to its structure. The fibres are packed together more densely when woven so there is more material between you and anything nasty; on the downside, woven is less soft and flexible, heavier.....and more expensive.
All reasons I went for Hood jeans

Sorry for the nerdy post - did materials technology as part of my Uni education

Thanks for that, do you know how the hi-art compares in jeans like these?

http://www.jofama.se/mcsm/product_detai ... d=192&s=MC" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Looking at them again, they are only in vulnerable places rather than all over so maybe not so good.

I did like the idea of the all over coverage of hood but would have liked to be able to try them before I buy.

Weird you mentioned the safety range, I had been reading up on them here:

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthre ... alvarssons" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

but seems like they are not that popular ? I have been looking at the wolf titanium outlast range, the Halvarssons Prime(hi-art and outlast) and the Qurizo.
I also fancy a wolf leather jacket as my local store makes them.

But I'm finding there's just way too much choice it's difficult to get past the marketing sometimes..... kevlar...hi-art...outlast...etc.

i lived to tell the tale purely because i was wearing proper gear .

Beard wrote: But I'm finding there's just way too much choice it's difficult to get past the marketing sometimes..... kevlar...hi-art...outlast...etc.

Its very difficult, especially with Textile jackets as some people can be very cagey about what they are made of, and its difficult to know how good some of the fabrics are in protecting against abrasion - Cordura is supposed to be good, but then there are many other fabrics such as ballistic which may or may not be better than normal fabrics - but unless you are a specialist, its hard to know! And some of the abrasion results for normal textile 'biker' jackets I've seen are terrible! But textile jackets are so practical I tend to where them most of the time. I normally where Kevlar lined jeans (mostly Hood Jeans) which have lots of Kevlar and are well made. I do have a Kevlar shirt, which I sometimes where under a textile jacket. But when it gets hot, the temptation is to where something less protective.....

+1 for Hood, even then jean themselves survived my incident

Hi-art is very good and will out perform some leathers which is what it was designed to do.

The Halvarssons safety suit is completely made from hi-art. I think they may have different thicknesses of hi-art for gloves and jackets but I don't know that for sure

I think the safety suit is unpopular because it doesn't look sexy and people don't trust the technology or believe that textile can ever match leather and/or should be cheaper. It is also heavy and a bit bulky.

The technology is basically having lots of fibres standing out from the fabrics structure so that any abrasion has to wear through half a centimetre of material before it actually gets to the material holding the jacket together and then has to wear through that to get to you. The surface fibres are desperate to the weave of the fabric do the fabric doesn't break as the protective layers get damaged.

Cheers Bluebottle, have gone for the halvarssons Prime and prince.
I did like the wrap jeans as well. But I might invest in some hoods as they seem to be popular!
Got some proper boots as well

Cheers All.

Most of the police riders around here buy the prime and prince combination. Good protection and still looks good off duty.

Bluebottle wrote:Good leather is usually more protective than textile (posible exceptions like the Halvarrsons safety range)

Textile tends to be more versatile because it is already waterproof and usually has more vents in it to keep you cool.

If your getting "kevlar" jeans make sure the whole of the inside is covered, some jeans only have the aramid in patches so you are reling on denim to hold the armour and patches in place (unlikely IMO). I go for Hood jeans, full cover and use Twaron instead of Kevlar, good value because you buy from the manufacturer.

When I wear my textile jacket I usually have a Twaron liner I made underneath and an airbag vest over the top and hood jeans. It's heavy and can be sweaty but it saved my arse (literally)

Skip this next bit if you don't want to hear nerdy stuff about kevlar

Never ever allow sunlight on your kevlar, even to dry it- it breaks down rapidly in sunlight
A month of strong sun can reduce the tensile strength of para-aramids by 25% to 50%

Not all Kevlar jeans are equal, or even made of kevlar

Hood jeans look/feel more like woven Twaron to me; which should perform better than the more usual knitted kevlar. Hood also completely line their clothes rather than having small patches like most do. This protects a greater area but also stronger because it isn't relying on being held in place by denim.


Kevlar and Twaron are brand names for types of aramid, there other types and they all have slightly different properties, some are good against heat ( Nomex, used in fire suits and pilot's gear, technically a meta-aramid). Kevlar and Twaron are both different flavours of para-aramids. As far as I know Twaron is better for abrasion resistance, kevlar is good in multi layered "bullet proof" vests

I also think woven thread is better than knitted. It doesn't pull and unravel as easily and slides better due to its structure. The fibres are packed together more densely when woven so there is more material between you and anything nasty; on the downside, woven is less soft and flexible, heavier.....and more expensive.
All reasons I went for Hood jeans

Sorry for the nerdy post - did materials technology as part of my Uni education

Note to self: Don't Fall Off!

Isn't it directed at the guy that asked the questions?