Carharts with CE approved Armor

[slybonesjesse]

There was a thread on here a while back where a few were talking about Carhart Double Front Jeans and had a link to a website study where it claimed the Carharts were as abraision resistant as those expensive jeans with Kevlar that many shops sell. This is because they use a heavy 15oz denim material versus a light denim and weaving in Kevlar. Compared to the jeans I wear to work most days these feel twice as heavy. And double fronts too. So they are just as abraision resistant as the $90 kevlar jeans ( ?? ), but only cost me $36 at Work'n More. In some ways they are probably as good as my HT Overpants. Not on the lower section where the HT Overpants have the tough, thick material. Probably a tie at the double front section. And in the butt and thighs the HT Overpants are a thin nylon shell and a liner. I think the Carharts are very close here too, to regular jeans and overpants. Honorable mention to leather riding pants which whips them both in abraision resistance. Why the interest? Because the HT overpants over jeans in the hot weather are just too hot. Even with the overpants unzipped some on the side for ventilation. So much so that I have often wore shorts under the overpants in hot weather. Here I think the carharts will win in abraision resistance, where the shorts allow exposed skin right under the riding pants. The biggest thing I see is the HT Overpants have armor. And so do the Carharts. The armor is the same stuff, right out of my First Gear HT Overpants. I simply remove it and installed it into the Carharts. Of course this took a little bit of customizing. Cut the hem where the double front goes across the top. Then redo the hem in them so they dont unravel. This will allow the CE approved armor from the HT Overpants to slip right in. And they sat in about the same spot too. So no other customizing was needed. The second step was to get some black nylon material and make a pocket for the hip armor to fit it. Then sow the pocket in place inside the pants. Now slip the hip armor into the pocket. In the HT overpants the armor fits into a pocket that velcro's in place. Here we just take the whole pocket off and slip that into the new pocket. This way I dont have to fuss with removing and reinstalling the hip armor into the different pants. Its slip in and out on the one pair and velcro in and out on the other pair. Also note that I did one size larger than normal to allow room for the hip pads. We mounted them right at the bottom of the waste band, where the belt would go. Pretty much the same as the HT Overpants. With the way these fit, I am not sure I needed the extra size. Normal might have worked. http://home.comcast.net/~slybones/Concours/images/IMGP3719.JPG http://home.comcast.net/~slybones/Concours/images/IMGP3722.JPG http://home.comcast.net/~slybones/Concours/images/IMGP3723.JPG http://home.comcast.net/~slybones/Concours/images/IMGP3725.JPG http://home.comcast.net/~slybones/Concours/images/IMGP3727.JPG 2003 Concours, 54K COG #6953 IBA 28004 http://home.comcast.net/~slybones/Concours/connieMain.htm

 

[slybonesjesse]

Wife and I went for a ride today. First time wearing these. Overall they worked nice. Cooler than wearing the HT overpants even with just shorts. Less sweating in the crotch. Being blue not black I assume attract a bit less heat as well. Still pretty warm in the double fronts. On the flip side they were warm enough when cool out this morning. I liked having pockets that worked. I also liked not having to walk around riding pants when eat lunch at Wendys. Or the hastle of removing and storing them. Same armor as if I was wearing my overpants. So as long as the abraision resistnace is still there, these will work nice for the hot weather days. 2003 Concours, 54K COG #6953 IBA 28004 http://home.comcast.net/~slybones/Concours/connieMain.htm

 

[oldsawfiler]

I was wearing a pair of the Diamond Gusset jeans when I dropped my bike on the coast ramble. Kevlar with no pads. I drew blood on both knees without leaving a mark on the outside of the jeans. I think it was from "rug burn" on the exposed Kevlar patches on the inside of the knees. Since then I too have added armor by sewing pockets inside of the knee section and inserting shoulder armor out of a old jacket. If you are wearing unlined pants of any kind, I would recommend a lining of some smooth material in the "contact" areas. My right knee still has a big lump on it from the fall in early June. COG # 8062 AMA # 1084053 ROMA or Scarlet harlot acording to my wife

 

[Brett0769]

I haven't been down at speed yet (knocking furiously on wood) but I do wear armor religiously. Check out this Wikipedia article, it's got a nice table on the relative strength of different fabrics with their tear points and abrasion points. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_safety_clothing

 

[branded0844]

I finally bought a pair of Carharts and took the knee armor out of my Fieldsheer pants and put them in the double fronts. Very easy to do. I have ordered a pair of Alpinestars compression shorts to wear under them for more protection in the hips,thighs and tailbone area. Also read this review, and they seem to like the pants, but made a good point about the knee armor possibly moving around too much in a crash so they like the knee armor that straps on the leg.I'm going to try my combo and then I may try Alpinestars Reflex knee guards. http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-jeans/cortech-dsx-jeans/

 

[slybonesjesse]

I think if I was trying to feed armor up that little whole in the bottom, I would worry more. Since I cut the tops and added good CE approved armor with the pads underneath, I am less concerned. Even though they do not quite fit completely from side to side to stop all movement. Its a worthy point. I do like them compression shorts for wearing underneath and forget about the hip crap I did. Use the Carharts with CE Armor in the knees and compression shorts. That looks like a bit better setup. Oh, oh, I got a birthday coming up. Guess what I just asked for. 2003 Concours, 54K COG #6953 IBA 28004 http://home.comcast.net/~slybones/Concours/connieMain.htm

 

[branded0844]

Since I cut the tops and added good CE approved armor with the pads underneath

I did the same with mine. Rode the ZX9 with them and they feel good will get the Connie out tomorrow they should feel even better with the difference in seating position. Can't wait to get the shorts and try that combo.

 

[oldsawfiler]

Sly and or Branded Have you tried the compression shorts yet. If so, how did it affect the fit of the carharts? Being horizontally challenged this is a concern for me. It looks like a good way to go. COG # 8062 AMA # 1084053 ROMA or Scarlet harlot acording to my wife

 

[branded0844]

I have used reg. compression shorts without padding and they are fine. The Alpinestars with the padding in them I have not received yet. But from what I have read the padding is only 1/4" or so thick,it should not make to much difference. These are not armored shorts they are simply padded shorts to lessen the impact in a fall. Also was thinking of going to ****'s Sporting goods and looking at a pair of baseball sliding shorts. I will post as soon as I have used them.

 

[slybonesjesse]

Looking at motorcycle super store website. That I can see looking at the pictures of the shorts under the 'protection' category, a good majority of them appear to be padded and not contain 'armor'. Only one pair really looked 'armor'. -- All in this category have padding. http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/6/11/20861/ITEM/EVS-PP05-Ultimate-Shorts.aspx Then I got looking at the 'riding underware' category and found these EVS model. They claim high impact padding for hips, thighs and tailbone. But not listed as compression shorts. Any advantage to the 'compression' part for a street bike rider? -- Only pair in this category to contain padding. The rest are really underware. W/O knowing that anwser, I am thinking I am less interested in compression and more interested in padding. The alpinestar did not list a 40" waste and many in the review talk about running small. The EVS list a 40" waste. I am wondering if fit would be better for street use, for non compression shorts, with padding that list my size. 2003 Concours, 55K COG #6953 IBA 28004 http://home.comcast.net/~slybones/Concours/connieMain.htm

 

[slybonesjesse]

I do see NewEnough lists Alpinestar with a XXL that fits the 40 waste in the description. So I guess thats still an option too. 2003 Concours, 55K COG #6953 IBA 28004 http://home.comcast.net/~slybones/Concours/connieMain.htm

 

[branded0844]

I just received my Alpinestars compression shorts. I wear a 35/36 pant and ordered the large and they fit good/snug. You must be careful putting them on as they do not have much give in the waist. Below is a link to a youtube video about the shorts. I bought mine on ebay from PCM Supply / Performance Cycle and Marine Supply for 49.95 with free shipping. These are nor armored shorts the are just padded and should work well with the Carharts in the event of a fall. One of the features I like about the shorts is the access in the front. I will post more when I use them. http://stores.sportbiketrackgear.com/Detail.bok?no=4260

 

[slybonesjesse]

Back to the carharts with armor. Got a chance yesterday for a 466mi ride with these. Started off nice in the morning in Everett. Only wore the liner under my mesh jacket. Got cloudy and cool as I got to Portland OR. The coast added some wind. Had to add a sweater on with that liner. And I found some rain squalls on the way back too. As I got back to Puget Sound it was hot and sunny. Had to stop and remove both the liner and sweather. My comment is about how warm I found the carharts in the cooler weather. Probably not as nice as jeans with the HT Overpants, but much better than regular jeans alone would have been. With the double fronts, knee armor and good weather protection of the Connie, the carharts worked pretty good in the cooler spots. Still comfortable when I got back to the warmer weather. So given these are for hot weather riding, it was nice to see they can squeek by if it gets cool on you while your out. No need to stop and put on the overpants. Of course for moderate and colder weather I will pretty much always plan on the HT Overpants. Anyways my observation for this one ride. Still dont have any compression / padded shorts yet. 2003 Concours, 55K COG #6953 IBA 28004 http://home.comcast.net/~slybones/Concours/connieMain.htm

 

[branded0844]

Well I went for a 250 mile ride in the mountains of NC and Va. today and wore the catharts and the alpinestars compression shorts. The pants are great I really like them. The shorts not so much. I have a day long seat so I don't know if the seat shape has anything to do with the comfort of the shorts. My backside was sore when I got home. I believe it is a combo of the tail bone pads, seams and the material they are made out of. Plus they are tight. I went by the sizing chart and they do fit but if I had it to do over I would go a size larger.

 

[slybonesjesse]

From what I read, the aplinestars do fit tight. And the Xl are only listed as 36-38. Once website listed a 2XL in the description as 40-42 but didnt have it in the dropdown as a size to select. No other website lists a 2LX, not even alpinestar. So I dont think they come in my size. 2003 Concours, 56K COG #6953 IBA 28004 http://home.comcast.net/~slybones/Concours/connieMain.htm

 

[slybonesjesse]

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/6/11/20861/ITEM/EVS-PP05-Ultimate-Shorts.aspx So I went ahead and ordered a pair of those EVS-PPO5 Ultimate shorts. Not too sure how ultimate they are. They do have the padded thighs, tailbone and hits. The pads are a thin, closed cell foam. Probably better than nothing on the thighs where the overpants and jeans offer nothing. But not sure they beat the CE stuff in the hips I have now. If you like padded bicycle shorts, you might like these. They advertise a Synthetic chamois crotch pad to stop chafing. Its not too thick, similar to the padded bicycle shorts I bought a few years ago recommended here. But covers a quite large area. They were thinking MC seats not bicycle seats. Too much in the front area. I might have the wife customize them for me. Dont think they heard of the concept of no seams. But does not seem overly bad. I am going to try them tomorrow, on a hot day, 300+ miles, with the carharts. Sitting on the Connie I am wondering about the tailbone pad. Kinda borderline on weather it interferes or not. If I slouch I can just barely feel it. If I sit up stragith with my back straight it seems to lift the tailbones just enough for me. I might take that pad out and trim it 1-2 inches. Hell I have customized everything else. I better do that now. Wouldnt want to ride with them stock tomorrow. Stock sucks. 2003 Concours, 56K COG #6953 IBA 28004 http://home.comcast.net/~slybones/Concours/connieMain.htm

 

[slybonesjesse]

Well I am not that impressed. About 80 here and 90+ in eastern WA. They were a bit warm. Comfort was ok in the pad area where the lower pads are on the tights. The pads in the hip area had me sweating in that spot all day. Even when I was at work this morning before taking off. Sitting at my desk in air cond building I felt sweaty in the section where the hit pads are. Not sure I like that material in the crotch either. Tried them padded bicycle shorts some last summer and didnt really like it their either. Makes the area sweat too much as well. Overall a bit warmer that I expected. Warmer than Carharts with regular underwear and the CE armor in the hips from the HT Overpants. For a day like today I would order them: HT Overpants with jeans -- Too dang hot HT Overpants with shorts -- Pretty hot Carharts with these POS's -- Only a little better Carharts with reg undies and all CE armor moved over -- best so far in the hot days. 2003 Concours, 56K COG #6953 IBA 28004 http://home.comcast.net/~slybones/Concours/connieMain.htm

 

[branded0844]

Well had looked at those shorts also, so I guess I can mark them off my list. Like you I really like the Carharts. I'm going to try the Alpinestars again with some exercise compression shorts under them to see if that helps with comfort. I have used the exercise shorts on rides and they are comfortable and do wick sweat away. I got them at walmart they do not have seams in the contact/seated area.