I take my share of ribbing about my seeming addiction to Kevlar riding gear, so I was interested to learn that Kushitani has jeans with 3% “Zylon” woven in.
“Zylon” is a material made in Japan and used in body armor. I am just starting to learn about this material, so I don’t know about the softness, feel, and so forth. I do know that it is reasonably resistant to weather temperature extremes.
Kushitani claims that, although Zylon is seven times a strong as Kevlar, their jeans are twice as abrasion resistant as regular jean material. I assume that they are comparing their product to 14 oz. jean material, since jeans come in a wide variety of fabric weights.
I don’t know how these jeans compare to Kevlar lined jeans. My guess is that they are not as abrasion resistant, since I believe that Kevlar as applied to motorcycle jeans is more than twice as abrasion resistant as jean material.
Certainly, the Cordura jeans that Motoport made for me are more than twice as abrasion resistant as jean material, and more comfortable as well.
Nonetheless, my applause to Kushitani for bringing a new option to the table. I hope to learn more about this new material and get myself a pair of Kushitani Zylon Jeans.
Progress is a great thing, especially when it comes to motorcycle safety.
