Best AA rated motorbike jeans | A happy middle-ground of comfort and protection

Comfort while riding your motorbike is important, if we are uncomfortable we are distracted, and as we know distraction is never good when on a bike. Motorbike jeans have become more protective and comfortable to solve this issue. The safety and protection of motorbike clothing is measured with a CE rating from A to AAA with A being the lower level and AAA being the highest level of abrasion and impact resistance. The armour will also have a CE rating of either level 1 or level 2, level 2 offers a higher impact absorption than that of level 1. It is important to be aware of these when looking for a pair of motorcycle jeans.

You may also want to consider the fit and cut of the jeans you require as the type of motorcycle boots that you like to wear. You will need to able to either tuck the jeans in or pull the jean leg over the top of the boots, to avoid uncomfortable rucking of the fabric.

We have pulled together a list of some of our favourite AA rated jeans, tried and tested by the team at MCN.

FAQ’s

What does single layer mean?

Generally, motorcycle riding jeans can either be single layer, where the abrasion-resistant material is woven directly into the outer layer; or they can be formed in a regular cotton denim outer with a separate inner lining formed in the abrasion-resistant material, usually aramid fibres or material like Kevlar, for example.

How are motorcycle jeans tested?

Riding jeans classed as PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) earn certification by being subjected to a range of tests under the standard for motorcycle clothing of EN 17092. These tests include:

Impact energy absorption

This covers the impact protectors fitted, which are mandatory in class AAA and AA garments for shoulder, elbow, knee and hip. Hip protectors are optional for class A. Protectors must cover the appropriate body part and be certified to EN 1621. There are two classes for protectors, level 1 and 2, with the latter offering greater performance.

Impact abrasion resistance

This test measures how well a garment performs when worn by an average rider (weighing 75kg and measuring 1.7m tall) in a slide. Three samples of the same garment are mounted in a rotating rig at different angles and impacted on an asphalt surface at a prescribed speed. They’re allowed to come to a natural stop before being measured. If the samples do not hole, they’re subjected to this twice more, and to pass there must be no hole bigger than 5mm.

Seam strength and structural closures

All seams, including those of the protector pockets, and zip fasteners are subjected to this test (EN 13594) to ensure that they have sufficient resistance to being torn apart.

Tear strength

A number of samples are taken from the garment to measure their resistance to further tearing once they have been split.

Dimensional stability

To ensure that a garment is not affected by through washing, it is subjected to five separate controlled washing cycles. Any fixed armour must remain in place and the garment must not shrink any further than 5% during the process.

Innocuousness

In order to make sure that the garment is safe to wear against the skin in normal use, this test covers the chemicals and dyes used in the production process that remain in the fabric.

Fit and ergonomics

The garment is tested by an assessor to ensure that the necessary range of movements can be carried out for the application and that the fit tallies with the manufacturers size guide.

Classification

Assuming a garment achieves a pass in all tests, classification is awarded according to the performance level as follows

AAA (EN 17092-2:2020) The highest achievable for abrasion resistance.
AA (EN 17092-3:2020) A lower pass for abrasion resistance.
A (EN 17092-4:2020) The lowest classification for abrasion resistance.
B (EN 17092-5:2020) This is for garments which have no impact protection but do offer abrasion resistance.
C (EN 17092-6:2020) For garments offering solely impact protection without abrasion resistance, such as armoured shorts or vests designed to be worn as a base layer.

How we test AA motorcycle jeans

At MCN, our team of expert journalists have decades of experience gained over hundreds of thousands of miles in order to provide you with opinions and evaluations you can trust, alongside news of the most significant developments in motorcycling safety gear. We want you to stay safe, enjoy your riding and hopefully look great while doing so! 

We don’t test our kit to destruction; we use it exactly how you do, in the real world and in all conditions.

That means we can deliver impartial buying advice you can rely on. To make it onto this list, AA jeans must have been worn for hundreds or thousands of miles by our team of experienced testers, show no major flaws, and meet modern safety standards as well as offering decent value for money. 

Each of our expert reviewers tests their jeans for a variety of things, both subjective and objective. Factors assessed include the level of safety rating, what armour is fitted, how breathable they are, do they look good and do they have any additional features like waterproofing.

However, we also assess how they fit, their perceived quality, how we feel wearing them and how comfortable they are both on and off the bike.

We cover thousands of miles in these trousers and regularly compare them with one another in the office, so collectively we’ve built the sort of knowledge base you can trust.

If you can’t see a review against a pair of AA jeans on this page, it’s because we haven’t tested them yet. These will only be included if we think they’re important and relevant in the market, and rest assured, we will be working on bringing you a review as soon as we’ve done the miles.

Here’s a brief run-down of the star rating system we use, and what each score means:

• 1 star – Poor performance in this category or overall. A helmet with a single star rating has fallen below the expected standard and should be avoided.
• 2 stars – Basic performance in this area or overall. A helmet with a two-star rating has managed to perform to a barely acceptable level and there is room for improvement. It might be lacking safety features, be poorly built or far too expensive to recommend.
• 3 stars – An average performance in this area or overall. A helmet with a three-star rating has achieved a basic level of performance and is deemed adequate.
• 4 stars – A product has performed over and above the accepted averaged in this category or overall. A helmet with a four-star rating has surpassed expectation and delivered in a particularly impressive way.
• 5 stars – A helmet has performed at the highest possible level in a particular category or overall. A product with a five-star rating has delivered to the highest possible level, impressing the tester with its performance. We would happily spend our own money on it.

To find out more about our kit testing, head to our dedicated page explaining how we test motorcycle products.

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