mesh textile pants. how safe?

[lonesoldier84]

i have a pair of mesh pants that are classified as "overpants". i dont use them as overpants, i use them as stand-alone pants. up until now i hadnt questioned it. but when i got to thinking about it i dont think theyd be very good for crashing and sliding at highway speeds.

should i buy new pants as stand-alone pants?

these are my pants:



they are all mesh you can see thru the pants pretty well everywhere on the pants. it is all a textile mesh.

[andrewclaycomb]

Nothing will be as protective as leather. If I owned the pants you have I would always ride with jeans underneath.

[lonesoldier84]

NON-mesh textile pants? would they be a good option for highway speed sliding?

[stevesnj]

Originally Posted by andrewclaycomb

Nothing will be as protective as leather. If I owned the pants you have I would always ride with jeans underneath.

Hmm these jeans seem to be much more abraision resistant to leather..so says this company

About Us

Play the video on the right.

[Jake]

Listing the actual manufacturer/model pants would be more helpful than a picture... hard to see the specs just from a pic.

But, with that said, I don't trust my Fieldsheer Titanium Air mesh pants by themselves. The mesh portions are just too thin for me to be confident they will hold up under a crash at speed. The solid textile portions of the pants are fine but the mesh is always the weakest link. Air flow is great and they have armor so they have something better than jeans. Yea, I'd love to wear them with just a pair of shorts underneath but if I go down like that my ass may be hamburger.

My solution was to buy some kevlar mesh liners to wear under mesh pants (liners are made by Draggin Jeans). This way I have airflow, armor and abrasion protection. Downside is that the liners are an extra $160. Total cost for this "package" is $260. Here's a link to the liners I have: Draggin Liners They are mesh and they allow plenty of air to flow. Just to clarify, I wear these mesh kevlar liners underneath mesh armored pants.... mesh, armor, mesh-kevlar.... yea I think I'm covered and comfortable. I've worn them the past couple months and they're comfortable. I'm happy with my purchase.

MOTORCYCLE RIDE: Triple Digit Twisties
FLORIDA SUMMER: 95 degrees and 95% humidity
$260 OF PROTECTIVE GEAR THAT WORKS AND IS COMFORTABLE: Priceless!

Say what you will. I'd rather spend cash on gear than spend the same amount on bling. 260 for protection or 260 for bling??? You make the choice.

[JohnP]

This company claims they make the only textile clothing that can be safely worn over bare skin: Motoport - Cycleport The Motorcycle Supplies Provider

According to the website, normal textile will melt into unprotected bare skin during a prolonged slide. "Cycleport's Air Mesh Kevlar Pant is the only Air Mesh Pant that is safe to wear shorts underneath in hot weather. (No Polyurethane coating to melt into legs!)"

Their stuff looks pretty good, but very expensive.

-John

[Jake]

JohnP... thanks for the link. That's about the same price I paid for my mesh pants + kevlar liners. The one-garment option is definitely more convenient... wish I would have seen this company earlier.

Expensive pants yes. Skin grafts and knee surgery is expensive too.

Jake

[VEGASRIDER]

Up until now, after I read this thread, I never thought about the mesh/plastic melting during a slide and going into my bear skin. It's consistently close to 110 degrees here in Vegas these days and I've been wearing my mesh textile pants over my shorts, leaving parts of my thighs, knees and shins exposed. Even though my Motoboss textile mesh pants have some padding, no armour, I still feel that I'm better off than just wearing jeans or jeans made out of Kevlar. It's a tough call, as I have even created a poll asking what other members thought. Those kevlar mesh pants look great and I may consider those as the weather begins to cool off or perhaps winter. They appear that they would be awfuly hot in any hot climate, Florida, TX, AZ, Vegas.

http://www.fz6-forum.com/forum/safet...reme-heat.html (Riding pants extreme heat)

[Hellgate]

I ride to work with jeans, kahkis or dress pants under my textile Buell pants. In hot weather I wear long shorts under the textiles.

I need to get my butt down to Cycle Gear and get a pair of the First Gear mesh pants. Austin had the hottest June on record, and my textile pants, which have removeable panels, that expose mesh, are still too damn hot.

[craig007]

I wear running tights under mesh over pants. My Olympia Airglide II's have knee armor and hip pads. The butt and knees are solid 500D Cordura and the mesh is nylon. Cordura is more abrasion resistant than polyester (and nylon mesh is likewise tougher than polyester mesh). The purpose of the mesh gear is to hold the armor in place. So, ideally you would fall on your knee, then either slide on your knee or on you butt. If you end up sliding on the mesh, then you may have a problem.

You can read a lot about Aerostich wearers surviving long slides (Aerostich is made from solid 500 D Courdura with Gortex). I think that "rug burns" are common. IMO they are caused when the outside fabric or armor hits the ground and stops, but your knee/leg keeps moving. Most of the summer time mesh stuff is not polyurathane coated (because it is not waterproof). Anyway, I think if you land on the armor, you should be OK (that is if it is CE armor, not the fake stuff).

If you plan to slide down the highway @ 80 mph, then leather or kevlar with armor would be the choice. However, if you are not made of money (Kevlar) or it is really hot, then mesh would be the choice. That kevlar mesh underpants is an interesting concept. It seems like it would not have to worry about the asphalt reaching your skin, regardless of what part was sliding. However, I suspect that the "rug burns" would still be in play.