New riding pants!

[Eiron]

I've ordered two different pair of riding pants: one pair of overpants for cooler weather, and one pair of mesh pants for warmer riding. The overpants arrived today, so here's a pre-ride review.

The overpants are FirstGear's HT Overpants Shell, currently on closeout from several vendors. The closeout prices actually vary depending on the size you need. Usually it's the extreme ends of size ranges that get put on sale, but right now being average gets you these overpants for a mere $76. (I actually bought mine thru Amazon, as I was more comfortable with their returns policy.)

I'm 5'-9" and 185 lbs, and I normally wear pants in a 36-38 waist and 30-31 length (32 in shrink-to-fit jeans). These were listed as 36 waist but no length descriptor. These overpants fit comfortably over my jeans and have a bit of extra length to them. This makes them just a touch long when walking (around the house), but they shorten to a perfect seated length (on a chair). The side leg zips go all the way up to the knee, so putting these on/off over boots shouldn't be a huge problem. The leg zips have Velcro flaps and a Velcro ankle tab. The zippered fly also has a Velcro flap, and the front of the waistband closes with both a hook and a snap. The Velcro side adjustments on the waistband have at least another inch of length to them, so these should still fit after big holiday meals. There's a sewn-in gusset inside/behind the fly that should block any water that makes it past both the Velcro flap and zipper. I feel like the fly should be a little longer for easier on/off, but once the pants are on it seems fine. The pass-thru pockets are sort of self-flapped, with the zippers incorporated into the fold-over flaps. Leaving the pocket zippers open (but covered with the flaps) might allow a bit of extra ventilation, but would be less water resistant. The pants come with both hip and knee pads and have FirstGear's huge Velcro patches for a wide range of placement positions.

Since these are FirstGear pants, they also have a Tail Zipper that allows me to connect it to the FirstGear Rush Tex jacket I recently bought. I'm pretty excited about this jacket/pants combo! For only $190 I've got a nice three-season setup at a very reasonable price. I'll update the review once I get a chance to ride in them. I'll also update when the mesh pants come in.

[springer1]

Nice going, I hope it's never needed. but glad you have it. Not kevlar, but the padding they use is a big improvement over cotton jeans or slacks..

[Eiron]

I actually bought some Fox dirt riding pants made of Kevlar and heavy duty Cordura, but they have no pads. I could wear knee pads underneath them, but I don't know if I could find anything to use as hip pads that would still allow the pants to fit. They're nice pants (I bought them used, in good condition) but without pads I don't know if I'll ever use them.

[Eiron]

First ride report:
Took them on a 95 mile ride up to the RMNP area and back. Even though they're all black they stayed cool enough to remain comfortable. We started the ride around 75°F and it was around 72°F when we reached Estes Park. There's no elastic ankle cuff so I'm sure that helped a bit with airflow. When we reached the parking lot it was easy getting the pants off (and then back on) over my boots. A correction regarding the leg zips: they actually go all the way up to mid-thigh! Getting them on/off over boots is a non-issue. The armor stayed in place and went unnoticed during riding. It was around 70°F when we left Estes and was probably 10° to 15° cooler in the canyons on the way down. Over my jeans these pants kept the warmth in without any problem. For the relatively low price, I highly recommend them!