High-End Motorcycle Riding Jeans

Some designer jeans cost an arm and two legs, but your Calvins (remember those?) won’t save your hide in a crash. For that you need riding jeans, which combine comfort, style, and protection like no other riding pants. Here’s a round-up of high-end riding jeans designed to save your butt and look good doing it.

The Charlie pants from Alpinestars' OSCAR collection are made of a heavy denim material with built-in elasticity and twin-stitched seams for durability. Aramidic reinforcement in the seat and knees adds abrasion resistance, and internal knee compartments allow the adjustment of the CE armor for various leg lengths. A leather vintage-authentic belt patch and coin pocket are standard. (28-38, $259.95, www.alpinestars.com)

The D1 Evo jeans are made of a denim fabric with aramid yarn and internal Kevlar reinforcements. They come with either CE-rated armor or the ability to add Dainese's Kit J E1 composite knee guards. The relaxed fit and belt loops make them all-day comfortable. The protection is removable with zippers, and light-reflective inserts are included. (28-44, $229.95, www.dainese.com)

Made of 12.5-ounce Cordura denim completely lined with abrasion-resistant PWR, Rev'It's Rockefeller jeans also have a Coolmax element to wick moisture away. The triple-needle seams are made out of PWR, and both hip and knee protection are provided by flexible CE-rated armor. Stirrup loops make them connectable to any riding shoe. The Rockefeller comes with a loose fit for on-bike comfort. (28-38 in standard, long, and short, $329.95, www.revitsport.com)

Scorpion has taken their popular Covert jeans and made them even better, teaming up with Cordura to up the abrasion resistance by four times that of standard denim. Using Invista's T420 fiber the outer material of these jeans are engineered to resist abrasion and then a liner of 250g DuPont Kevlar material is added from waist to knees to resist tearing. Scorpion's Exo-Stitch safety stitching is utilized at all critical seams. Additional armor pockets in the knees have a Velcro adjustment system for the optional SAS-TEC armor for those who want additional protection (SAS-TEC armor can also be added to the hips). Nighttime visibility is helped by reflective material on the inside of the lower hem, which becomes visible when you roll the hem up. ($159.95, www.scorpionusa.com)

The Spidi Crew Denim jeans are made of 80 percent 17-ounce denim and 20 percent Cordura. They come with EN 1621-1 Multitech knee protectors that are adjustable for height, and preformed for riding comfort. Also included are five external pockets, a metal key ring, and a leather loop with reflective inserts. (28-34, $339.90, www.spidi.com)