Motorcyclists, take a look at your wardrobe, what percentage of your pants are motorcycle-specific jeans? For many, you may have some to none depending on how often you ride or how much you love motorcycle gear. For others, knee pads will do in a pinch for impact protection, but what about your hip or the rest of your lower body?
If buying a pair of motorcycle-specific jeans, pants, or leathers are out of the question, and you’re in the kneepads-and-regular-jeans camp, then take a look at Bowtex’s line of products that offer riders double to triple-A abrasion resistance.
Bowtex has been around since the mid-2010s and has been pumping out protective motorcycle-specific undergarments for some time now. Its first foray into the space was a pair of Kevlar leggings and was marketed with the idea that it will allow motorcyclists to keep rocking their everyday jeans but remain protected at the same time. More products followed, and the Standard R features Class AA abrasion resistance according to the EN17092-3:2020 standard and sits in the middle of the lineup.
The main protective layer of the leggings is woven from Kevlar, while the second layer is made from reinforced polyamide and elastane. Its seams are also reinforced and you even get CE Level 2-certified SAS-Tec TripleFlex soft protectors in the knee and hip areas.
Under the Standard R line, you can get the Essential model from Bowtex for cheaper and designed primarily to be an undergarment, unless you like sporting a pair of yellow trousers, and Bowtex says you can. It still receives a Class AA resistance to abrasion, but it is a more low-profile legging that can more comfortably fit under a pair of regular pants as compared to the Standard R. It also has a seamless design that allows it to slip easily under any garment.
In fact, why even bother putting a pair of jeans on top of these leggings? Technically speaking, they can be worn without the pants thanks to that slide rating, but they are low profile enough and protected in all the right areas to make any pair of pants ride-ready, especially with the Essential.
If you want to get the Standard R, then be ready to fork over €222.31 EUR, or the equivalent of about $240 USD. The more affordable Essential series costs €189 EUR (about $200 USD), but if you want the top-spec option, the Elite bumps the abrasion rating up to three 'As' for over three hundred dollars (€329 EUR or about $350 USD).
