Neither of these fibres were invented specifically for use in Motorcycle jeans yet high strength and abrasion resistance qualities lend themselves quite well to rider protection.
Kevlar Jeans have been around for decades. Australian brands like Draggin Jeans changed the game with Kevlar backed denim which are still the standard today.
In the context of riding jeans the 2 respective fibres and their construction offer 2 quite different outcomes.
Traditional Kevlar Jeans
The Kevlar in Motorcycle Jeans is typically a knitted fabric stitched to the inner side of a standard cotton denim jeans. Thicknesses of Kevlar as well as area coverage then become the variables for comfortability and performance. For example a light Kevlar fabric only hemmed to the more vulnerable impact areas (Knee’s, seat and hips) may offer some comfort and relief but not perform as well overall. On performance alone however, you would be hard pressed to find a higher performing motorcycle jean than a pair of thick layered full coverage Kevlar Jeans. Some are rated to slide for 7 or even 9 seconds without a failure.
However, the issue has never been just about performance. It has been the trade off other factors such as comfortability of the bike, practicality in the heat and simply the daggy look that’s typically been associated with these traditional protective jeans.
All of which results in a high number of riders opting for their Levi's rather than their 9 sec slide protective jeans.
UHMWPE / DYNEEMA
Enter UHMWPE. (Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene). Also known as brand names Dyneema or Spectra (Similar to how Kevlar is actually a brand name from Dupont and is actually an Aramid Fibre).
The UHMWPE fibre offers a relatively new solution compared with traditional layered Kevlar. The UHMWPE fibre is woven in with standard cotton yarn (and a bit of elastane and Lycra for comfort) then woven as normal to form a single layer blended denim fabric that produces abrasion resistant, protective motorcycle jeans not too dissimilar from a regular pair of denim jeans in look and feel.
How is this able to be done?
UHMWPE as a fibre is higher in strength and lower in weight compared with Kevlar. This allows a high level of abrasion resistance to be achieved with much less fibre, reducing the trade off between comfort, style and performance. Compared to Kevlar®, Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene is 5 times more resistant to abrasion, 40% lighter and has 2.5 times greater tensile strength. It’s actually 15 times stronger than steel! The key aim for many of the technical fibres out there is to achieve the highest performance at the lowest weight to ensure comfortability and at the end of the day, ensuring the rider actually wears them.
This is squarely where Camino Motorcycle Wear is focused. Our goal is to source the best performing materials available and to develop comfortable all day wearing riding gear no matter what type of rider you are.
No more trade offs.
