By Jeff Pamer
Gear is a hot topic. Are you part of the ATGATT(all the gear all the time) group, or like most of us, do you live in a sort of gear purgatory. We know we could do better, but have weird lines where fashion and safety meet. I live in a place where I want to be part of the all the gear all the time crew, but don’t have the discipline, plus I am also a bit…. vain. Let me be clear, I have some hard lines that I don’t waver on. I don’t get on a bike without a riding jacket, helmet, boots, gloves, and some level of denim, starting at non-armored 17.25oz, and ending at an armored riding jean.
For this quick write-up’s sake, we’re sticking to my two current go-to riding jeans; my Iron Heart 555 21oz Super Slim Indigo’s and my Rev’it Lombard 2 12.5oz Cordura denim riding jean. Although these two jeans have a similar look, they really couldn’t be more different.
Iron Heart 555
This is Frank’s fault, is what I say when someone asks me about my Iron Hearts. See, Frank loves denim. Men’s fashion in general, but especially denim. I would look over at his jeans sometimes with envy, then pile on when someone else on our team at work commented on his fancy jeans. I’m an asshole. The reason I pushed them away, was because I knew as soon as I went down the selvedge denim rabbit hole with him, there would be no coming back. I knew I’d be hooked, and let me tell you something, there are a lot of drugs that would be easier on the pocketbook than a selvedge denim addiction.
Shinichi Haraki started the company that would become Iron Heart after 20 years of working in the garment industry in Japan. He decided to combine his knowledge of the industry with his love of Motorbikes. This is the birth story of the finest all-around article of clothing that I have ever owned. Check out their story and entire line on the Iron Heart Website
Buying a pair of Iron Hearts as your first pair of nice denim is a little like buying a Penagale V4 as your first bike, but less dangerous. I didn’t exactly stick my toe in the water to check out the temperature. They are very nice and very intense. The 21oz is almost twice the thickness as the Lombards. My girlfriend made a comment when I first got them, that they looked like someone was still wearing them when they were tossed over the back of a chair because, due to their rigidity, they kind of kept my shape for a bit. This is a good thing when it comes to resisting abrasion, which is kind of the point. Denim was the original riding pant because of its durability. Over time though, the addition of elastic blends, lower-quality materials, and stitching has made riding in a pair of Levi’s 511’s a little like riding in dress pants. Better than shorts, but not offering much in the line of real abrasion resistance. The Iron Hearts are put together to resist abrasion and act as another layer of skin to protect yours in the event of going down. I rest easy wearing my Iron Hearts on my bike. They were inspired by this. They are made to protect me like denim in the ’50s would have. Old fashion durability, and construction, with the addition of looking good once you’re off the bike.
I bought my pair of Iron Heart 555-01 Super Slim in Indigo from Snake Oil Provisions for $365.
Rev’it Lombard II
If the Iron Hearts provide the protection of jeans the way they used to be made, the Lombards take you to the future of Motorbike protection and comfort. I had been looking at them for a while, thinking about pulling the trigger since I was commuting a lot more on the XSR. I was always steering away from riding jeans because the fit was always weird. I never felt like I could jump off my bike and go to work in jeans that look like a baggy bootcut nightmare. The Lomard 2’s hit the market in fall 2016, and they were the first pair of riding jeans that looked to me like regular jeans. No weird stitching around where the armor was in the knee, and a nice slim fit.
The secret to the fit of these is that they are using Seesmart CE-level 1 armor that is extremely flexible, along with being extremely impact resistant. The armor is in the knees only, but there are pockets in the hips to add armor there as well if you want. On top of that the impact zones, seat, and knees are double layered with PWR|Shield, which is a Rev’it exclusive fabric that has an extremely high cut, tear, and abrasion resistance. On top of all of that, they have a cooling layer as well, which is noticeable in the Southwestern climate that I live in. They are very comfortable to wear on the bike when the temps get up there, which is one of the reasons I reach for them in the summer a bit more than my Iron Hearts.
The thing is though, as much as the Lombards do a great job not looking like riding jeans, they still feel like them. You feel the extra lining and the armor. It’s like walking around at work with knee pads on under your jeans. The liner kind of feels like wearing your gym shorts on under your jeans in school, no one would ever notice this added bulkiness, but it kind of feels like they should/are when you’re wearing them.
I bought my Rev’it Lombard 2 riding jeans at Revzilla for $239.99
Bottom Line
I love my Iron Hearts, and I really really like my Lombards. I don’t know how else to say it. They are both amazing. I would wear the Lombards more in the summer, and they would be my go-to for long days out riding. For everyday use, the Iron Hearts offer enough protection for me to feel safe, with the comfort and confidence that a nice pair of jeans offer. You can’t have it all, but with both of these pairs of jeans in my closet, I feel like I’m close…and yes, there are more jeans in my closet. Thanks, Frank.
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