Leather Motorcycle Pants

[mikegeorge]

I am thinking of either Aero Leather heavy front quarter horsehide 5 pocket jeans or Langlitz Westerns with jean style pockets in medium weight cowhide. Is the Langlitz worth the price difference? I own a Langlitz Pocket Columbia, so I am familiar with Langlitz quality. I have no first hand experience with Aero Leather. Any recommendations?

 

[Mickiemac]

I have no exposure to Langlitz products but I do have a pair of Aero Heavy Front Quarter Horsehide Jeans and a pair of medium weight leather jeans.

The horsehide jeans are super heavy/thick and very stiff but (as with their jackets) soften up a bit with your body heat. If you want ultimate protection these jeans may be for you. Be aware that the leather is very thick - almost like boot leather to a certain extent. I purchased my HH jeans about 15 years ago and don't really wear them much anymore.

On the other hand, the Aero leather jeans I have are much more comfortable to wear and much more pliable. They are a custom limited edition run that Aero produced about 14 years ago and are a replica of the Levi's jeans with the orange thread stitching throughout and made of medium weight leather. They have aged wonderfully and still fit and look great.

I can provide some images of each pair upon request. The Aero site shows each type of leather or HH jeans on their site but they would not reflect the age and wear associated with my jeans.

 

[Plumbline]

Never had a pair of Langlitz trousers .... but I'd imagine they'd be superbly made if my ( now moved on ) Langlitz jacket was anything to go by.

I had a pair of Aero's 5 pocket jeans and also a pair of their M/C trousers ... both in FQHH. These were substantial trousers to say the least ( albeit without the facility or ability to accomodate armour of any kind - the cut also didn't accomodate my forcefield shorts). The 5 pocket jeans were particularly heavy leather and I had Aero install "hidden" zips at the ankle to make putting boots on easier. They weighed in at almost 9lbs and never really got comfortable. The Aero 1960's M/C trousers which I bought 2nd hand never fitted me very well ( tight in the calf, wide in the thigh and seat ) but perfect in the waist at 35". I replaced them with a slightly lighter Belstaff pair in steer which were much more pliable and which accomodated CE armour ... I seldom wear these as Kevlar jeans are so much more comfortable.

Unless you REALLY want the 5 pocket leather jean look I'd recommend going for a pair of M/C specific trousers ( Dianesse / Alpinestars / HG / Held / Furygan etc. ) in 1.1-1.3 steer or cowhide. The reason is 4 fold :

1. They will be pattern specific for M/C riding and fit for a riding position.
2. They will have the facility for CE armour or protection
3. FQHH whilst tough and thick .. is just not flexible enough for M/C apparel other than jackets being both heavy / stiff and unaccomodating.
4. M/C specific trousers will usually incorporate a number of design features which are really useful for motorcycling ( pocket zips etc.)

Just MHO .... but if you want the "Jean Look" go for a top notch Kevlar denim jean like Draggin ( Simon Cathcart did some kevlar lined selvedge jeans ... but on asking recently I didn't get a reply so they may have stopped doing them ) .... if you specifically want leather then go for a motorcycle specific brand like the above.

 

[Carlos840]

One thing that might or might not bother you are the associations with Langlitz and leather pants...
They appear to be a favourite of the Leather fetish and Bdsm community!

To me this is what langlitz leather pants bring to mind:

Personally i would go for Kevlar lined riding jeans, some of them offer full kevlar lining and armour.
I have a pair of fully lined Hood K7 jeans with armour, and they have been great.

 

[Monitor]

One thing that might or might not bother you are the associations with Langlitz and leather pants...
They appear to be a favourite of the Leather fetish and Bdsm community!

To me this is what langlitz leather pants bring to mind:

Personally i would go for Kevlar lined riding jeans, some of them offer full kevlar lining and armour.
I have a pair of fully lined Hood K7 jeans with armour, and they have been great.

Yeah... Had the same thought. You may (or may not) want to careful with going full leather with Langlitz. There's a reason 90% of their business comes from the BLUF scene - which is cool if you're into it or don't care of course but it might come off a bit weird or worse yet posey if it's just for biking. New leather pants are always a horror to pull off.

 

[2wheelgrplr]

Or if you wanna strike a balance between Aero/Langlitz leather pants and the Alipnestars/Dainese crowd, perhaps consider this new brand? Pagnol Moto - they're doing some good stuff with their jackets, and just came out with leather riding pants. http://www.pagnol-moto.com/shop/m3-pant

 

[Monitor]

Or if you wanna strike a balance between Aero/Langlitz leather pants and the Alipnestars/Dainese crowd, perhaps consider this new brand? Pagnol Moto - they're doing some good stuff with their jackets, and just came out with leather riding pants. http://www.pagnol-moto.com/shop/m3-pant

These are really cool!

 

[navetsea]

imo double leather is more horror than double denim

 

[Edward]

Just MHO .... but if you want the "Jean Look" go for a top notch Kevlar denim jean like Draggin ( Simon Cathcart did some kevlar lined selvedge jeans ... but on asking recently I didn't get a reply so they may have stopped doing them ) .... if you specifically want leather then go for a motorcycle specific brand like the above.

That's the way I'd go.... Once you dispense with the idea of the power ranger trousers, imo in the event of a spill unarmoured fqhh and kevlar are going to feel about the same, with the same level of protection (I don't plan on testing this out first hand, mind...). The denim would probably be easier to size up to fit over armoured shorts, but then the kevlar lining as a feature loses much of its practical value if you're gonig to do that anyhow....

Simon still has the kevlar lined jeans and jacket in the SJC range, though I don't know if he has any in stock just now. Might be worth asking Aero, as they're an SJC jeans stockist.

One thing that might or might not bother you are the associations with Langlitz and leather pants...
They appear to be a favourite of the Leather fetish and Bdsm community!

The 'Tom of Finland' might not be a popular aesthetic around here, though if the leather fetish boys are into Langlitz, it will certainly speak to their quality. (And there's a very fine line between their enthusiasm and ours, oftentimes! ).

imo double leather is more horror than double denim

You tell that to Alice Cooper! Heh. It's not my thing - I'm definitely more into the idea of the kevlar lined jeans. I imagine double leather can be a difficulat one to pull off in some circumstances. TBH, I've never really cared for leather trousers, so subjective fashion preferences will always play a part. I can, however, imagine leather jeans being harder to blend in with than being 'the guy in the armoured motorcycle clothing'. But that, of course, would imply the wearer cares about blending in. Moral of the story, if there is one - wear what you like, and ride safe.

 

[AeroFan_07]

Highly suggest Steerhide if Aero, same type if Langlits. However there are other options out there too!

 

[Monitor]

The 'Tom of Finland' might not be a popular aesthetic around here, though if the leather fetish boys are into Langlitz, it will certainly speak to their quality. (And there's a very fine line between their enthusiasm and ours, oftentimes! ).

Truer words have rarely been spoken. XD

 

[oneterrifichog]

I had a pair of Langlitz Westerns I purchased on http://wearekoalasvintage.com/ for a decent price that I couldn't pass up. They were goat and did not fit super tight like the above photos and were for riding. The full zip on the side was helpful and they were made as over pants with jeans. They were fine but for long distance I would not recommend them as they are not waterproof. I now use Aerostitch Transit Pants now which are leather perforated and completely waterproof. These are great for long distance riding and have removable hip pads and knee pads. They fit well and can be used in the winter with long wool underwear or heated gear. So if you are looking for the traditional look there is nothing wrong with Langlitz but for strong tech wear that is leather too I think the Transit suit is excellent. Unfortunately Aerostitch does not make these any longer so one can only get them used.

 

[Graemsay]

If you're going down the jeans route, then I'd suggest looking at the Rev'it Rockefeller, which have a full CE rating, and fantastic, low-profile armour, or anything by The Rokker Company. The latter are reassuringly expensive.

Kushitani Country Jeans are made from leather that looks like denim. I don't think that they're armoured, though.

Icon had the Roughshod Pant in a previous collection. They're a five pocket, jean style, with D3O armour in the knees, but not the hips. Revzilla has a pair in size 28, and FC-Moto has them in 28 and 30. You might find larger sizes if you Google.

Lastly, there's the El Solitario Rascal Pants, which are styled after 1970s motorcycle leathers. They've got pockets for knee armour (none supplied), and can be made-to-measure.

 

[bn1966]

Draggin K Kevlar & Knox armour for me