Riding jeans and pants in Canada: lined Kevlar vs single-layer AA and AAA, and what the EN 17092 class means

Riding jeans look like jeans, and the label decides whether they protect like jeans. Two things set them apart: how the protective fabric is built (a separate lining, usually aramid such as Kevlar, or a single protective layer woven into the denim) and the EN 17092 class (A, AA or AAA) on the label. Neither is stated everywhere. Of the 2,206 jeans pages in ALLR’s Canadian catalog, 53.8% state no class at all, and the median lowest landed price climbs from CA$288 for Class A to CA$395 for AAA (ALLR data, counted 2026-10-21). This guide explains what the class means for pants, what independent MotoCAP testing found about lined versus single-layer denim, and what the examples cost.

What the EN 17092 class means for pants

EN 17092:2020 covers protective garments including jackets and trousers, in six parts: test methods, then requirements for classes AAA, AA, A, B and C (SATRA). For pants the practical points are these:

SATRA also describes how abrasion is tested: specimens of the material are mounted on rotating arms and thrown onto a concrete tile at set speeds, all removable liners are taken out first and the weakest combination is tested, and a sample passes only if there is no hole of 5 mm or more in any direction in the layer closest to the body. The consequence for pants is simple. A removable liner or thermal layer does not count toward the class, and a pair with a zip-in waterproof liner is rated without it. Class and armour level are separate grades, as the AAA, AA and A guide shows for jackets; the same applies to pants.

Lined jeans vs single-layer: what MotoCAP found

Traditional double-layer jeans have a separate protective layer, usually Kevlar, and the newer single-layer designs weave the protection into the denim, which promises lighter, cooler pants. Dr Chris Hurren, a Deakin University researcher who helped write the protocol MotoCAP uses, answered the question in 2020 from MotoCAP’s results for protective denim: the best performance had been in multi-layer products with a separate protective liner (webBikeWorld, July 2020). The numbers in that article are abrasion times in seconds in MotoCAP’s test, which is a different test from EN 17092:

Two points hold across the table. Every product above two seconds was multi-layer, and two seconds equates to about 16 metres of sliding on chip seal, according to the article. But multi-layer is not a guarantee either: the lowest multi-layer time in the article (0.74 seconds, Neo Jeans Kevlar Stretch) is below the best single-layer time (1.51 seconds), so the product matters more than the category. For textile pants the same article found that single-layer fabrics reaching more than a second were generally 1000-denier or heavier polyester or nylon, and that about 600 denier typically scored 0.4 to 0.6 seconds. The MotoCAP technical guide adds that layering helps abrasion protection: two layers of 600-denier nylon protect better than a single layer of 1200-denier (Ultimate Motorcycling summary).

Class and price in Canada (ALLR data)

Across all 10,692 pants pages the catalog shows the same gap: 2,572 state a class (24.1%), of which AA is the largest group at 1,477. Stating a class and stating an armour level are separate: 1,302 pants pages state Level 2 armour and 1,572 state Level 1. The step from A to AA costs about CA$58 at the median among jeans, and AA to AAA about CA$49. Pants with no class stated sit in the middle on price, which tells you the class is a label, not a price signal, so a cheaper listing is not automatically weaker, only unconfirmed.

Example pants and jeans

Textile touring and warm-weather pants are in the same catalog: the Alpinestars C-1 Airnotifications_active is a Class A pair with Level 1 armour at CA$229.95, and the hot-weather gear guide covers ventilated pants. Whether a Kevlar-named pair is lined or woven is stated by the maker, not by the class, so read the product description. Browse by maker on REV’IT!, Alpinestars, Dainese, Klim, Furygan and RST, or the whole pants catalog.

Sizing and buying across the border

Jeans size by waist and inseam, but armour sits at the knee and hip, so a pair that is long enough on the leg can still put the knee armour in the wrong place. Try the pair with your boots on and sit on the bike if you can, and use the brand’s chart from the sizing guide. On duty, the 2026 Customs Tariff lists men’s trousers of cotton (6203.42.00) at 17% and of synthetic fibres (6203.43.00) at 18%, and leather apparel (4203.10) at 13%, all “Free” for goods originating in the US, the EU or the UK. ALLR’s landed estimate uses 18% for textile and 13% for leather pants. Use the import duty calculator for one order.

Check the landed price

Each product page ranks stores by landed price to Canada; the method is on the methodology page. For a full first kit, see the beginner kit under $1,000, and for gloves and boots our gloves and boots guides.