Are Kevlar jeans effective??

[TampaJim]

I just got a pair from Diamond Gusset and they seem much more substantial than regular jeans. Patches cover the knees and butt.

 

Kevlar jeans have been around a while, and I was wondering if anybody had or knew somebody who had the misfortune to test the effectiveness of them ?

 

Obviously they are not going to be as protective a special purpose riding pants, but are they worth the extra $$$ if you are one of those who prefer jeans ?

[EffBee]

Kevlar has incredible shear strength, but not any particularly exceptional abrasion resistance. As such, when applied as a second layer to the denim, the strength of the denim is not increased, although the strength of the overall garment is increased.

 

For maximum effectiveness, Kevlar should be interwoven WITH the denim, serving to enhance its shear strength and, in so doing, increase its abrasion resistance simply by making it more difficult for the denim to come apart. This is how BMW does it with their Ino-Tex Denim Jacket and Pants, and the abrasion test results are very impressive.

[siclmn]

If you think that when you fall you will only scrape your knee or butt on the asphalt then they will be slightly better then regular jeans. If the jeans are not skin tight what will keep the leg from riding up and giving no protection at all? Here is a picture of someone who should have had his legs wrapped in padded leather. What good would some jeans with a piece of Kevlar have done for him?

[Jerry_75_Guy]

Ditto on what Fernando said. I have a couple of pairs of 'Draggin' Jeans', and I like them, but the first thing I think of when I put them on is that no matter how effective they are(or arn't!) in protecting my skin, they'll do next to nothing to protect my bones and joints (awright, so I'm a wuss!). You can get CE rated armor to go with kevlar lined jeans.

 

I'd think good pads alone, under any kind of pants or jeans, would serve you better than just something with kevlar, and probably wouldn't cost a whole lot more either.

 

Also bear in mind that having the rough 'waffley' texture of kevlar just a 'Fruit of the Loom' layer away from your butt on longer rides can leave you with a rather 'raw' impression