A New Standard For Protection, Comfort and Style

“With the throttle screwed on there is only the barest margin and no room for mistakes. It has to be done right… and that’s when the strange music starts, when you stretch your luck so far that the fear becomes exhilaration and vibrates along your arms. You can barely see 100; the tears blow back so fast that they vaporize before they get to your ears. The only sounds are the wind and the dull roar floating back from the mufflers.” -Hunter S. Thompson

There’s a new motorcycle apparel company in town, from the “Land Down Under”. SA1NT carries a full line of motorcycle riding gear, as in riding pants, jackets, gloves, shirts, even socks. We recently acquainted ourselves with this unique Australian garment company, and were offered the opportunity to test and review a sampling of their MotoWear line.

The SA1NT Unbreakable riding denims are an industry-first in single-layer construction, using a proprietary blend of ballistic, industrial, and military materials, combined with wearables like cotton and merino. As they state on their site- “We are passionate about our motorbikes, but tired of compromising looks for safety, or safety for fashion…With no bulky layers or liners, we provide the very best in strength and impact abrasion resistant denim, while maintaining a classic style.”

How they achieve this comes from material known as Dyneema®, a composite fabric constructed from ultra high molecular weight polyethylene fiber monofilaments and polyester, polyvinyl fluoride , etc. films. In short, Dyneema is a high-strength flexible and stretchable material with a higher strength rating than Kevlar®. While the makers of Kevlar claim their product is 5 times stronger than steel on an equal-weight basis, Dyneema claims to be 15 times stronger. Because Dyneema has a much lighter density than Kevlar (0.97 compared to 1.44), it scores a higher strength-to-weight ratio.

In studying up on the Dyneema materials, the developers cite the usage of the fabric in military and law enforcement body armor, in space shuttle tethering, and in helicopter protection. Combined with elastane, the composites and fibers woven into the Unbreakable riding jeans make for a tough yet stretchable, comfortable pant. There are no sewn-in extra layers or liners in the hips, knees, or buttocks, yet they do sell a pant with insert pockets for D30 Ghost Armour. There’s a video demonstration on the website of the material strength, using a pair of Unbreakables to lift a lift a 2.4 ton skip bin off the ground at a construction site. Quite impressive, really.

“We are all die-hard riders that were tired of wearing stiff and heavy materials to be safe. We wanted something that looked like regular fashion, but provided you protection if things went random out on the road,” stated SA1NT founder Aidan Clarke. “We were convinced that in today’s day and age, we could develop something better, lighter and more comfortable, and after much R&D we found that in blending space age Dyneema into single layer denim. We disrupted the industry and delivered a product that felt as light and flexible as your favorite denim jeans, but could slide down the road without ripping.”

After receiving a pair of “Unbreakable Slim Jeans” (Really? Skinny jeans? I’m 57 years old, for the love of Pete), and a pair of their leather gloves (more on those shortly), I had the wife give the jeans a good washing, then proceeded to wear them around for a few days- riding when weather permitted, walking the dogs, running errands uptown, etc. I was skeptical at first, thinking they’d be too snug and uncomfortable, but as they conformed to my leg and backside shape (I don’t have much of a butt), I found them fitting more to my liking. They had enough extra length in the pant legs whereby I could roll them a couple of times, creating a nice hipster cuff. Okay, maybe skinny jeans aren’t so bad for an old(er) guy after all.

The gloves I loved from the get-go. Made of 100% goatskin leather, I found the SA1NT gloves to be pliable, stretchable and form-fitting to my palm and digits right out of the box. With a full Spectra liner that is CE certified, the gloves employ an inner wrist velcro closure and a touch screen pad on both index fingers for smart phones, GPS, TFT touch screens, whatever. I’ve got an iPhone 11 Pro, and found the finger touch pads sometimes worked, sometimes didn’t. Regardless, the gloves suit me well, being flexible, warm, and just plain cool looking. Love these gloves.

As the riding season opens back up here in the northern hemi, I am so ready for many hours and days of two-wheeled “social distancing” in year 2 of this infernal pandemic. And I’ll be logging some serious miles in these jeans and gloves. The SA1NT line of riding pants, gloves, shirts, jackets, socks and masks are superbly constructed, state-of-the-art riding gear, wearable on and off the bike. We look forward to reviewing and showcasing other gear in their lineup, so stay tuned for more on them in the future. For now, give their clothing line a look here: