Rexel RXL Cordura 600D Riding Pantaloons !

[Cerbera]

£44.99 (on discount) from Amazon.co.uk

Having got myself upgraded for the arrival of the Master I found myself only lacking in the EUC trousers department, and I wasn't sure jeans were going to cut it any more as I wanted to do a lot more off-road, and I knew there was would be lots of sliding about on the ground in the wet and the mud and all the stones and roots. But I had spent most of my cash on Leatt gear, so thought I'd chance my luck on these cheapy Cordura / Polyester Riding trousers !

When they first arrived they looked comically large, like the sort of pantaloons a clown might wear, or like salopettes people use for skiing and whatnot. As I am cartoonishly thin, I imagined these would be like a tent on me, even though I am indeed 30 inch waist and 32 inch leg, which was the size I ordered. It also became clear these were designed to be worn over the top of boots rather than tucked into them, which I didn't like.

Putting them on revealed them to be as massive as they looked, to the extent that the hip pads AND knee pads were in totally the wrong place - around 2-3 inches too low. Completely missed my hips and knees. Marked them for return.

However, just before boxing them up I thought I'd try again, and did better this time. Completely removed the quilted lining, took out the knee pads, which I redeployed as hip defenders using my Leatt 5.5 Bodysuit's kidney belt to secure them in place under that armour. By gathering and folding the trousers I was able to tuck them into my MC touring boots, and with misplaced knee pads removed, was able to use the superior padding and armour of my Leatt Dual Axis knee braces to hold the trousers tight to my leg. Now they are starting to become usable, which for my purposes, is mainly to keep me free of rain and road-rash. All the fittings, zips and closures are very robust and well made, and all zips are completely protected from rain ingress.

And so to the most useful part of these - the Cordura fabric. This looks and feels eminently suitable for purpose, is SO much tougher than denim, and is waterproof in my tests. The overall seaming and build quality here is better than what you expect for the money - quite a lot better if I am honest !

 

UPDATE: Have done loads of wet rides in these now, and have found them to be utterly waterproof !

In hot weather they ARE hot though, and not much in the way of wind makes it through them, but that is equally a big advantage in Winter where they are warm and snug even without the padded lining !

It is unclear what the pads are but I presume L1. They are yellow and black, and 4 of them come already inserted into velcro sealed chambers on the inside of the outer trousers. These did not line up on me with either my knees or hips, so repurposed them.

I now have the knee pads on my hips (which fit surprisingly well !) and the hip protection doubled up and slid down the back of the trousers where they protect my tailbone and lower spine, taking over from where the Leatt bodysuit stops. The kidney belt on the 5.5 and the highly elastic material hold those in place snugly such that they never fall out during rides.

Now I have been out on the cross country trails a lot more in these now I have also slid down a number of stony banks and wooded hillsides, and had a small number of 'unplanned dismounts', and they have survived all of it so far, without so much as a single rip or tear - now I realise these are not exactly high speed crashes, but to the extent that I have ground them into the ground with my full bodyweight at relatively low speeds, and for generally sitting about on forest floors they hold up really well, and represent remarkable value for money !

Here's what the arse-end of those looked like having been slid down a chalk cliff that evening...

...and here's what that area looked like after a brush down and a wipe with a damp cloth - no damage, rips or stitching going awry !!

They are machine washable as well, which is a bonus, though they are big and bulky so will probably need to go in to all but the very largest of washing machines on their own.

So, took me a while to realise it, but very pleased with these.

Bravo ! Would recommend and buy again.

Edited May 7, 2023 by Cerbera