2019-07-01_RiDE

Theslim-fitstyleRichaslook

greatwiththeirtaperedfit.

However,that’stothedetrimentof

comfort, as it made moving around

on the bike quite tricky. The thick

D3O hip armour — the same

specification as the knee armour

— seemed to take up a lot of room,

meaning they were tight and

ideally, we’d have gone up a size

to get a more comfy fit. The knee

armour, although adjustable, rode

up in use as well while the low

waist rode down, causing

draughts. A shame, as the feeling

of quality with the Cordura and

cottonmaterialwasgoodandthe

full— non-protective— lining

createda bitofwarmthonchilly

rides. In the drag test, holes

started to appear after the second

run and by the end of the fourth,

there were several holes that may

have caused some damage.

SCORES

Comfort .........................................7/10

Fit ....................................................7/10

Confidence ....................................7/10

Quality ...........................................9/10

Protection ....................................4/10

TOTAL ...................................34/50

RichaOriginal£149.99

http://www.richa.eu

Construction Single layer, single/triple stitching Outer layer Cordura/cotton/polyester Inner layer N/A

Mesh Lining? Solid Knee armour Level 1 Adjustable? Yes Hip armour Level 1 CE labelling N/A

9

TheBull-Itslooktoallintentsand

urposeslikenormal,tapered

eans.Thesingle-layermaterial—

Covec, developed by Bull-It’s

partners of the same name —

had a nice feel to it and the right

amount of stretch to allow

movement while staying snug.

They had a quality feel to them.

The knee and hip armour were

reassuring, especially at Level 2

and the mesh lining helped the

rider to stay cool on warmer rides.

While it initially felt reassuring, we

did notice the knee armour riding

up in use despite being adjustable

forpositionandthismeantthe

kneesfelta bitexposed.Thedrag

testexposedsomeweakness

— one hole appeared on the

second test, two on the third and

by the end of the fourth test, there

were three holes big enough to

potentially lose some skin through.

SCORES

Comfort ........................................8/10

Fit ....................................................7/10

Confidence ....................................7/10

Quality ...........................................8/10

Protection ....................................5/10

TOTAL ...................................35/50

Bull-ItTactical£139.99

http://www.bull-it.com

Construction Single layer, double stitching Outer layer Covec; fibre reinforced Inner layer N/A

Mesh Lining? Yes Knee armour Level 2 Adjustable? Yes Hip armour Level 2 CE labelling AA

7

Thesecottonjeans,withKevlar

einforcingpanelsintheseat,hip

and knee, are remarkable value at

ess than £100. However, they

simply don’t inspire the same

level of confidence from a rider’s

perspective. The knee armour

didn’t sit in the right place for a

pair of long-leg jeans and the

denim felt stiff and thin yet

strangely, cumbersome when on

the bike. They would make a good

occasional-use item rather than

one for longer trips, perhaps. In

the drag test, they stood up

remarkablywell;virtually

untouchedonthefirstrunand only

superficial damage on the second.

The third saw a small hole develop

below the Kevlar while another

appeared on the fourth, the latter

protected by the Kevlar panels.

SCORES

Comfort .........................................7/10

Fit ....................................................7/10

Confidence ...................................6/10

Quality ...........................................6/10

Protection ....................................8/10

TOTAL ...................................34/50

ARMR Moto Manhattan £99.99

http://www.tri-motive.com

Construction Double layer, single/double stitching Outer layer Cotton Inner layer Kevlar seat, hip, knee
Mesh Lining? Yes Knee armour Level 1 Adjustable? Yes Hip armour Optional CE labelling N/A

8

JULY 2019 | 67

Reasonable fit and

comfort but holes

through material

Feel and confidence

weren’t best but did

great job of protection

Good specification but

tight on the bike and

some holes in testing

KEY

Outer layer damage

protected by lining

Outer layer damage

through to skin