Highway Examined: The brand new Saint Engineered armored bike denims

Many motorcyclists don’t prioritize protecting driving pants practically as a lot as they need to. It’s not unusual to see riders kitted out in high-end helmets and leather-based jackets, however common informal denims. Or worse… shorts.

We get it—driving pants aren’t at all times as comfy, or as reasonably priced, as a pair of Levis. However the irony is that your legs are sometimes the very first thing to hit the asphalt when issues go sideways. That’s why a very good pair of abrasion- and impact-resistant motorcycle pants is simply as important as the remainder of your gear.

The Australian gear firm Saint is all about this. Their schtick is single-layer protecting driving denims that rating so excessive on consolation and magnificence, that they might simply deal with date evening responsibility. However that mixture of operate and kind comes at a worth.

Saint’s flagship Unbreakable denims use denim woven with an ultra-strong high-tech fiber referred to as Dyneema, which isn’t low cost to supply or work with. I’ve examined a number of iterations of their Unbreakable denims and gushed over each single pair—however at $350 [AU$499 in Australia] a pop, I’ve bother recommending them to my buddies. The model understands this, so that they’ve hit again with the brand new, and extra reasonably priced Saint Engineered motorcycle jeans.

As an alternative of utilizing Dyneema, the Saint Engineered material makes use of a mixture of cotton and nylon, with somewhat elastomultiester and elastane added for stretch. In line with Saint’s e-commerce supervisor, Michael Baxter, this denim has a sixth of the Unbreakable material’s abrasion resistance, however continues to be a minimum of 20% extra abrasion resistant than common denim.

In additional tangible phrases, the Engineered denims, which ship with armor, rating a CE class AA ranking. And at $199 [AU$299 Down Under] they’re additionally considerably extra reasonably priced.

The Engineered denims are available in slim and straight choices, in both black or black, and there’s a ladies’s match too. I normally desire slimmer denims, however when Saint supplied to ship a pair of Engineered denims over to evaluate, I selected the straight match for the sake of science.

As with all my earlier Saint denims, these run true to my traditional jean dimension. The straight match is a boxy reduce with zero taper within the leg, so it has a relaxed really feel to it. It’s comfortable across the waist, with the correct quantity of rise within the seat to make it comfortable on and off the bike.

The general model is stylish and subdued; a standard five-pocket affair with an embossed leather-based Saint tab behind the waist, and the model’s wing emblem stitched onto the again pocket in a reflective thread. The one extra particulars are the knee armor pocket seams that sit above and beneath the knees, however they’re barely seen towards the black end.

The denim itself has a implausible hand to it, with a comfortable, brushed really feel. And when you’re a denim head, I can testify that each pair of Saints that I’ve owned has pale superbly over time—so I’m anticipating the identical right here. (Textual content on the within of the denims even encourages you to put on them so long as attainable with out washing them.)

Though this specific match is a bit more relaxed than I’m used to, it does make the Engineered denims all-day-comfortable on the bike. And the truth that the denim has a measure of stretch to it helps too.

My one gripe is that Saint cuts their denims very lengthy, with a hard and fast inseam size for every dimension. I usually put on a dimension 38/32—however the dimension 38 Engineered has a 35” inseam, so chunky turned-up cuffs are obligatory. On the plus aspect, Saint has added reflective strips on the within, which reveal themselves when you fold them over.

The Engineered denims additionally come pre-fitted with CE Stage 2 hip and knee protectors. They’re ultra-thin, which makes them barely noticeable whereas driving—but it surely additionally signifies that the hip protectors are inclined to fold over while you’re placing the denims on or off. The last time I reviewed a pair of Saint driving denims, the knee armor wasn’t fairly sitting in the precise spot—however these are a marked enchancment, with velcro that can assist you fine-tune the match.

Add all of these concerns up, and the Saint Engineered denims rating high marks on consolation and magnificence. And at a extra palatable worth level, I can now advocate them with a straight face.

Saint Engineered jeans | Pictures by Devin Paisley