Riding jeans review: Weise Gator tried and tested

4

There are plenty of riding jeans available on the market; single or multiple layers, classic or contemporary style, different colours or jeggings for female riders. However, if you’re after a pair of jeans that look just like ordinary jeans yet offer the very highest levels of protection without costing a fortune, then the Weise Gator jeans are well worth a look.

Part of what makes them so effective is the separate abrasion-resistant lining. This means that the outer jeans are ‘just’ a pair of jeans backed with a full Aramid-fibre lining to give the protection necessary. There is also a mesh lining to help with airflow within the jeans and this, combined with the triple-stitched construction, helps to give the Gator jeans a CE rating of AAA – the highest possible.

However, the downside to all this protection is heft – the Gator’s are weighty and warm due to the two distinct layers, unlike single layer jeans. While this is generally fine, it does make them a little heavyweight for the height of summer or brief heatwaves.

Thankfully, the fit is bang on – there’s nothing worse than being in warm clothing that doesn’t fit and gapes or is too tight in all the wrong places. I find that these jeans fit me exactly as I would choose a pair of normal day-to-day jeans. They are not too high-waisted – some make a feature out of this, helping to prevent gaping at the small of the back but I find they always look and feel odd.

Unless you know what you are looking at and spot the tell-tale bulge of knee armour, then you’d be hard-pressed to identify these as riding jeans.

Unlike some jeans, the belt loops are big enough to get a slim or a chunky belt through and the pockets are genuinely useful, housing a phone, wallet or keys. One downside – the left-hand front pocket ripped after a couple of weeks – my nails aren’t that sharp, so it’s a little disappointing.

Speaking of armour, not only are the Gator jeans AAA rated, but they also have a full four-piece compliment of level-2 armour, meaning they give the maximum rating of protection against impact as well as abrasion, for example. The armour is solid though, so it can get a little sweaty against the skin in warm weather but it is flexible and soft so it doesn’t interfere or irritate.

As the jeans are AAA rated, they come with hip armour which, unlike many other jeans, doesn’t get in the way and the knee armour is housed in long pouches secured with full-length Velcro.

The pouches are significantly longer than the armour itself, allowing the position to be infinitely adjusted to get it in exactly the right spot. However, the pouches are also wider than the armour itself, so you can get some twisting or rotating of the armour towards the inside of the knee but it is soon put back in its place.

The length of the legs is, for me, also perfect but I have fairly short legs and they come in just one leg length – that adjustability in the knee armour makes sure you get it in the right place.

Verdict

I really like these jeans. Notwithstanding the fact they are quite heavyweight and perhaps not best suited to heatwaves, they are extremely comfortable and fit like regular jeans.

They look like them too with just a slight bulge at the knee suggesting they are anything but. They have the highest-possible CE and armour ratings for reassurance and protection and do everything you would want with no unnecessary frills or quirks. Pretty good value as well.

More riding jeans on MCN

There are plenty of riding jeans available on the market; single or multiple layers, classic or contemporary style, different colours or jeggings for female riders. However, if you’re after a pair of jeans that look just like ordinary jeans yet offer the very highest levels of protection without costing a fortune, then these from Weise are well worth a look.

Part of what makes them so effective is the separate abrasion-resistant lining. This means that the outer jeans are ‘just’ a pair of jeans backed with a full Aramid-fibre lining to give the protection necessary. There is also a mesh lining to help with airflow within the jeans and this, combined with the triple-stitched construction, helps to give the Gator jeans a CE rating of AAA – the highest possible.

However, the downside to all this protection is heft – the Gator’s are weighty and warm due to the two distinct layers, unlike single layer jeans. While this is generally fine, it does make them a little heavyweight for the height of summer or brief heatwaves.

Thankfully, the fit is bang on – there’s nothing worse than being in warm clothing that doesn’t fit and gapes or is too tight in all the wrong places. I find that these jeans fit me exactly as I would choose a pair of normal day-to-day jeans. They are not too high-waisted – some make a feature out of this, helping to prevent gaping at the small of the back but I find they always look and feel odd.

Unless you know what you are looking at and spot the tell-tale bulge of knee armour, then you’d be hard-pressed to identify these as riding jeans.

Unlike some jeans, the belt loops are big enough to get a slim or a chunky belt through and the pockets are genuinely useful, housing a phone, wallet or keys. One downside – the left-hand front pocket ripped after a couple of weeks – my nails aren’t that sharp, so it’s a little disappointing.

Speaking of armour, not only are the Gator jeans AAA rated, but they also have a full four-piece compliment of level-2 armour, meaning they give the maximum rating of protection against impact as well as abrasion, for example. The armour is solid though, so it can get a little sweaty against the skin in warm weather but it is flexible and soft so it doesn’t interfere or irritate.

As the jeans are AAA rated, they come with hip armour which, unlike many other jeans, doesn’t get in the way and the knee armour is housed in long pouches secured with full-length Velcro.

The pouches are significantly longer than the armour itself, allowing the position to be infinitely adjusted to get it in exactly the right spot. However, the pouches are also wider than the armour itself, so you can get some twisting or rotating of the armour towards the inside of the knee but it is soon put back in its place.

The length of the legs is, for me, also perfect but I have fairly short legs and they come in just one leg length – that adjustability in the knee armour makes sure you get it in the right place.

Verdict

I really like these jeans. Notwithstanding the fact they are quite heavyweight and perhaps not best suited to heatwaves, they are extremely comfortable and fit like regular jeans.

They look like them too with just a slight bulge at the knee suggesting they are anything but. They have the highest-possible CE and armour ratings for reassurance and protection and do everything you would want with no unnecessary frills or quirks. Pretty good value as well.

More riding jeans on MCN

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