If you have been keeping up with some of the new brands hitting the market, Urban Kreation might sound familiar. This new action sports specific clothing brand is changing up the game with the use of materials like Kevlar to create their clothing. I picked up a pair to give a go and see what these pants were all about. Let’s take a closer look…
On the outside of these pants, they look like normal pants. Black, slim fit and they look like they could be pretty comfortable, right? When you pick them up, you notice that the material isn’t exactly your typical Levi’s. There’s a little bit more weight to them and they are stretchier than regular jeans. With that being said, my first concern was if they will feel funny when I put them on.
The next thing I noticed is the inside of the pants. They are lined with this yellow Kevlar material that feels like foam, but it’s definitely stronger than that. There’s also a mesh liner covering most of it which I’m going to assume helps with air flow and keeps the pants from sticking to you when they are sweaty.
Looking closer at the pants, there are some real good signs of strength. I don’t know if you have ever had a pair of pants blow out on you, but I’ve had some blow outs in the crotch and in the back before and it’s usually due to shitty stitching or just no stretch. I’m going to assume everyone has had this happen to them since it’s pretty common. When you look at these pants you can see the heavier Vectran stitching. What’s Vectran? I couldn’t begin to tell you but the tag says it’s a high strength stitching material, so I’m going to take their word for it. If you look closely they put a little extra beef around the dong zone a.k.a crotch and the zipper appears to be a little beefier.
So far, so good. I’m liking what I’m seeing. Now, to try the pants out. Putting on the pants right off the bat I noticed the weight of the pants aren’t really all too noticeable. I figured with all the extra material it would feel like a weight, but surprisingly, it’s not bad. I gave it a few lunges and squats to see how well the pants stretched and there really wasn’t any restriction. I’m going to assume there’s a bit of spandex material in these. This isn’t new technology. There’s a lot of pants that use spandex in their mixes, but these definitely allow for plenty of movement which is nice.
Riding in the pants is what I was most concerned about. I wasn’t worried about them tearing and having my goods flop out, but I was concerned about how hot they would get. This time of year I’m more of a basketball shorts kind of guy. I like to get a good breeze going when it’s 85 and humid as hell here in Minnesota. The weird part is that the pants really didn’t feel all that hot. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve got some heavier jeans I wear to my real job everyday, or if they just allow some good air flow, but I’d assume they just allow for air to move with the mesh and everything.
In the last 5 or so sessions I’ve wore these, I didn’t really fall that hard. I’m not exactly getting super crazy on my bike these days and don’t expect to see an invite to the X-Games unless they start a best blogger jam. I’m not going to lie and say I ate a ton of shit and I didn’t find a single cut on my legs but the rest of my body was left soaking in blood. I will just tell you these are designed to absorb impacts and help prevent your skin from getting road rash or anything. Obviously, these things won’t prevent bones from breaking, bruising, or even stop the gnarliest of pedal bites, but it will help to an extent from what I can tell.
Overall, I’m a fan of the pants. Urban Kreation did a real solid job of coming up with some riding pants that allow for some extra protection while giving the ability to move and stretch a bit. I didn’t have any issues with the pants at all and I definitely plan on wearing these for a long time since they are the only pants I haven’t worried about ripping or anything. The materials are higher quality and it appears they’ve done the best they could to give stress points strength.
Here’s the rough part. These pants run a little more expensive than I had hoped for. BMX riders are generally broke and ratty. Don’t ask why, it’s just the way it is. You can currently pick these up for about $130. Given, most jeans will run you about $80 these days (if you aren’t getting shitty Wal-Mart pants) this isn’t a huge price since I’ve heard of people paying upwards of $200 for a pair of a pants.
Would I say they are worth buying? Yeah, I think they are great riding pants. They look good so you can wear them when you aren’t riding and they have plenty of strength and protection to keep you from falling apart when you take it on your bike.
These are currently available in the UK, Italy and the US. You can find out who distributes them and what shops carry the pants here.
For more information hit URBANKREATION.COM
You can also pick them up on Empire if you are looking to buy some right now.
