Riding Pants
One thing I will admit is that I always wear protective gear while riding a motorcycle (a few limited exceptions). Even when it is 95 outside, I still wear my full face helmet, gloves, jacket, boots, and pants. I have always believed in safety geat and that you do not ride a motorcycle for comfort (you do it because you love to ride). Now this article is not a comprehesive comparison of 10 different types of jeans. Why? I cannot afford to buy 10 pairs but I can review the two pairs that I own.
When I first got back into riding, I got an adventure bike so I purchased a pair of adventure pants (and jacket). They were water proof, armored, and did a great job. The issue was if I was going to work or to a friends house, I had to remove the pants. Not a huge deal but figured there had to be a better solution.
I then started to research riding pants (jeans in particular). I did quite a bit of research to figure out what was crap and what was pretty good. I decided to get a pair of jeans from Saint. I got a black pair (they were out of the blue when I ordered).
I will admit they look really nice just like any other pair of jeans. And when I put them on, theyare comfortable. I have worn this pair for over a year. After owning and wearing these for over a year, I have noticed things I liked and things I don't.
Number one, they get warm on hot days. This is true for any jeans BUT I will say they are a lot better than my adventure pants. The jeans are NOT waterproof (they do repel light rain) so they do breathe better but they still get warm. The good news is that in winter, they are warmer. These have been a great pair of jeans.
I am not going to get into the CE ratings and how abrasion resistent they are (I have not wrecked with these on - I can only hope that what they say is true). I like the pants. They are comfortable and they are better than wearing a pair of wranglers. From what I read, they do a good job in the case of a fall but hopefully I will never find that out.
What I do not like about them is that I think the leg lengths are too short. I need a 34 but they are a short 34. I could tell when standing up that they seemed a bit short. Not a big deal but when riding, they always come up over my boots. I compared to my wrangler jeans and the Saint pants did seem to be a bit shorter. I think it is due to the shorter crotch. Again, not a big deal but just something I noticed.
The other thing I noticed (and I find irritating) is the pockets are not deep at all. In fact, they are quite shallow. Not that I carry a lot in my pockets but it feels like things could fall out. Nothing ever did but if felt like it. The other annoyance is the short zipper. It is really short and that kind of makes sense since the leg length feels short. I think the crotch is higher than most pants limiting the zipper length (and possibly the front pocket depth).
These pants seem to be quite durable. I have only worn these pants riding for over a year. They have held up very well. The black color is starting to wear but not unlike a normal pair of jeans. These are a very good pair of riding pants and they are quite comfortable.
For fathers day this year, I asked for a new pair of riding pants. The Saints are starting to show some wear so I thought a new pair was in order. Again, did more research and decided to go with Street Brawl Clothing. This time I got the blue color vs black. I have only been wearing these about a month but the first thing I noticed is the leg lenght is much longer, the zipper is normal length, and it has really deep front pockets. So all the things I did not like about the Saints pants have been remedied.
Like the Saints, the pants are warm in hot weather. The comfort is about the same as the Saints. One thing I did notice is the belt loop placements. I wear a knife on my belt loop on my hip. The loop placement is such that I can put the knife just in front of the loop. Now this may seem silly talking about loop placement but when you remove your pants, the loop prevents the weight of the knife from always pulling the belt out of the loops. Not that important but just a nice feature (not sure if this was done intentionally or just luck).
Another feature I love about the Street Brawl pants is the range of armor placement for the knees. The Saints pants were a bit limited. With Street Brawl, I was able to put the pad so it covers my knee completely when my leg is bent. Just another nice thing about these pants.
Overall, I do like the Street Brawl pants more than Saint. I am not saying the Saint pants are bad but for my size, the Street Brawl seems to be more comfortable. I cannot attest about durability since I have only had them about a month. It is nice now to have two pairs to choose from. So that is my non-technical review about these two pairs of pants. With clothes, fitment really depends on your body size and type. I find the Street Brawl a better fit for me.