Material

Abrasion resistant material helps to avoid cuts, gravel rash and friction burns caused when your body is sliding across the road. It can also avoid skin and muscle being stripped from your body and avoid medical complications such as infections caused by road dirt.

MotoCAP tests pants materials for abrasion resistance, allowing you to compare the performance of different pants before purchasing. View details of the test here.

Impact protectors

Impact protectors, or body armour, help absorb and spread the impact of a direct blow. They can prevent or reduce the severity of fractures and joint damage.

Impact protectors need to remain securely in place to ensure they can protect you in a crash. Try the pants on and check that protectors remain securely positioned over the knees and hips.

When purchasing gear, you may find foam fillers in the impact protector pouches. Unless they are labelled EN 1621-1, these items may not provide any protection from injury. If the pants are otherwise suitable, replace the fillers with good quality (EN 1621-1) impact protectors, which can be bought separately.

MotoCAP tests impact protection for energy absorption and positioning. View details of the test here.

Stitching

Ensure that all major seams have two or more lines of stitching, to prevent seams bursting on impact. There should be at least one line of concealed stitching on all exposed seams to prevent stitching from being eroded by the road surface in a slide. Seams that split or burst are a common way for motorcycle gear to fail.

MotoCAP tests stitches for burst strength. View details of the test here.

Zips fasteners and decorations

Avoid pants that have zips in exposed areas of the body, such as the outer sides of legs, which have high risk of impacts in crashes.

Check that all zips and fasteners are covered with flaps on both sides to prevent injuries from contact with your skin on impact, and to protect the fasteners from being torn open on contact with the road or a vehicle.

Avoid any unnecessary pockets or hard decorations such as zips, fasteners, or studs that could cause penetrating injuries, become potential tear points or become snagged in a crash.

Comfort

To avoid fatigue and distraction, it is important to ensure that clothing remains comfortable for the duration of your ride.

Clothing fit

Try the pants on with the clothing you would normally wear while riding. Check that they are snug and comfortable while in the riding position. Loose clothing may flap in the wind, distracting you and cooling your body. Pants that are loose fitting or ride low on the hips should also be avoided because they can be dragged off in a crash.

Stay warm

When cold, you may become less alert, your reaction times slow and the risk of making poor riding decisions may increase. Use insulated and windproof materials to help maintain your body temperature and protection from the cold.

Keep dry

Good waterproof gear should be breathable to let your sweat out, while preventing rain from getting through. Wet or damp clothing can be uncomfortable and distracting and will draw body heat away from your skin.

Even in warm weather, if gear is not breathable, you may become chilled as your clothing gets damp from sweat, which then draws heat from your body. Pants made from PVC or plasticised nylon is waterproof and may protect you from the rain, but are not breathable, so will prevent the evaporation of your sweat.

Stay cool

It can be tough to find comfortable gear to wear in warm weather, but riding unprotected is a poor solution. You may not feel too hot, but you increase your risk of dehydration, sunburn, windburn, and of course much more serious injuries in a crash. Avoid garments with ventilation points on the outside of your legs as these increase the risk of garment failure on impact with the road exposing you to abrasion injury.

Well ventilated clothing allows the wind to flow through to evaporate sweat, which will cool you down more effectively than riding with no gear. Light or reflective clothing helps to reflect rather than absorb the heat.

Make sure to drink lots of water in warm weather, to replace what you lose through sweat.

Coverage

Motorcycle gear is most effective when your whole body is covered. To maximise protection, cover your whole body by wearing a protective jacket, gloves, boots and a helmet with your pants.