Opinions on summer riding pants with armor

[RonKMiller]

I've finally decided to ditch the kevlar jeans for something with more protection, anyone have any favorites with some light armor? For me AND the missus..

I've kind of ruled out any thing with mostly mesh 'cause I'm not so sure they can stand up in a get off and want something beefier...

THANKS! :)

[Jerrod Maguire]

The new "venting machine" by BMW Motorrad for summer riding is my recommendation. Expensive... but so is crashing without it. I have it now, use it now... and find it cools very well without sacrificing protection. It has a lot of vents; more than the old Motorrad Air Flow II version. Goodluck

[jsciullo]

Venting Machine is the way to go. Had it over 100 degress for a all day ride on slab. It was bad but bearable. Under 90 its great.
Jim

[DaveDragon]

Ron, I use First Gear Mesh pants and Jacket in the heat.
The Armor is flexible and comfortable and air flow is good as well.

[gulfxray]

I have the FirstGear stuff as well although I have only just started wearing the pants.

The air flow though both is good and they are comfortable like Dragon said...

I think when Grif had his 'get off' he was wearing mesh gear.

I got my pants from NewEnough.com (no affiliation)...

[graydude]

I use the Cycleport Kevlar mesh in the summertime. http://motoport.com/ The kevlar is the best on the market as far as protection is concerned. Reasonalby priced for what you get. Order now for the summer as these custom made articles can take two months to get.

[fuel007one]

I have the Summer pants which seem to work great for me. Can turn them into shorts too. The venting machine pants were very comfortable when I tried them on however I liked the fact I could unzip 1/2 of the Summer Pants.

[mantan]

Rukka Airpower is the best but it is not cheap.

[RonKMiller]

Thanks guys for all the suggestions, I'll do some more investigating...

[zaphod]

I'll second the Cycleport Kevlar mesh. Lots of armor and airflow.

[drmajor]

I had JR Pheonix. They were marginal. On a hot sunny day, the black soaked up the heat.

On a 95 degree day, I was in a BMW dealer and tried on their tan colored Summer pants that have the legs that zip off. WOW. Even though they don't have vents, they are WAY cooler than the JR, and look very nice.

Only thing I can figure is that the light color reflects a lot of the heat. Wife & I both have been very happy with them.

[RonKMiller]

I had JR Pheonix. They were marginal. On a hot sunny day, the black soaked up the heat.

On a 95 degree day, I was in a BMW dealer and tried on their tan colored Summer pants that have the legs that zip off. WOW. Even though they don't have vents, they are WAY cooler than the JR, and look very nice.

Only thing I can figure is that the light color reflects a lot of the heat. Wife & I both have been very happy with them.

Thanks!

[simongs]

I think the color is a big factor. I've been wearing blk darien pants since 2001.

I hit heat in Oky city, OK one year that was beyond belief, maybe the hottest I've ever seen on the road. Was heading back north from a job in TX in august :)

However..the venting is huge when it comes to keeping cool, the zipped pants can be adjusted to let air in near the boots and right at the top of the pants..not too much in case you crash but just enuff.

I recently switched to the Savannah II jacket, which seems real versatile but I've not tryed it in real bad heat yet.

I want the matching savannah pants, but not the black ones for said reasons. Unfortunately, I can't find anything but blk since they have been discontinued so I'll keep using the dariens for now.

good luck on your search....geo

[wcarter]

I wear black Darien pants year-round and find them generally bearable in the summer with shorts underneath. Aerostich advises long pants but I find that to be a little too warm.

I would heed Mr. Major's advice to consider a color other than black. It gets very hot in Charleston so he speaks from experience.

The Darien Light pants had tan as a color choice when I ordered my gear. My most recent Aerostich catalog shows that the standard Darien pants are now available in black, gray, or Hi-Viz; Darien Lights have all those colors plus tan.

I really like the armor in the Aerostich gear. Hard shell on top of very comfy high tech foam. I have GP armor in my Vanson pants (which are fully perfed so they ventilate) that make my knees hurt after a few hours in the saddle.

[DBHutchins]

We've had the Hein Gericke "air" pants & jackets for a couple years now, and swear by 'em. Insulated gore-tex liner turn's 'em into decent cooler weather gear too.

I think there are probably a LOT of choices in this kind of gear now. Ain't it great!

Don

[RonKMiller]

I went with the BMW Venting Machine jacket. Two things convinced me: I thought the armor was superior to any other "mesh" type jackets and it was extremely comfortable. Oh yeah, that fact that the mesh material will not melt into your skin in a get off was appealing too. :D I guess you DO get what you pay for.:(

I passed on the pants and am still searching...;)

[desrt2]

I have a set of FieldSheer mesh pants. They are thickly padded in the seat, knees, hips and shins. Very comfortable.
The mesh is very breathable. If you are wearing shorts, you can see your skin thru them. They don't look stupid though.
I think I paid around $100 for them.

[TomMoss]

You may want to look at Olympia Motorsports and their Airglide 2 line. I opted for the black pants and the silver jacket. I did 1,200 miles in the NC mountains this past weekend and was very pleased. It did very well below 90 degrees and was bearable above 90. Comes with a waterproof/thermal liner for those cool mornings. Full length zippers on the pants make for easy on/off.

The quality seems to rival the Venting Machine from BMW, but is priced around $450 as compared to $825 for the BMW line. They use name brand materials in the manufacturing.

See: http://www.olympiamotosports.com/

[oldschool78]

I'll second the Cycleport Kevlar mesh. Lots of armor and airflow.
Ditto!

[DaFlake]

Wear something like this:

http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=1633036&memberId=12500226

.... underneath ANY mesh type riding pants and I'll guaranty that it'll be the most comfortable outfit you'll ever experience for hot weather. Makes it easy to take the pants off too since they don't stick to your skin. Try it.