The In's and Out's of the Ballistic Pant
Written: Nov 14 '06 (Updated Dec 14 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Comfort and General Design, Price, Safety
Cons: Temperature Range, Care
The Bottom Line: If you're looking for a great general wear pant, I recommend these. Well suited to most riding conditions.
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| zorrothepiking's Full Review: Joe Rocket Ballistic 5.0 Textile Pant |
Let me premise this by saying that I've been wearing these pants about 2 months now. This has totalled about 4,500 miles, and I've worn them in 20 degrees, 90 degrees, sun, rain, fog, and even hail. I'll share some of the features of these pants as well as some of the apparent limitations.
Design and Fit:
Waist and Crotch -
The waist has belt loops as well as an adjustable latch system. I rarely use the belt loops, because the latch is very fast and the straps can be adjusted to your fit easily. The back is stretchy, providing added comfort while sitting. The crotch is zippered and snapped, with a velcro-secured strip to keep it waterproof and windproof.
Pockets -
The only pockets on the pants are two front zipper pockets that extend away from your thigh. Though I originally disliked the look of it, I have found the design very ingenious. You don't have to worry about sitting on a wallet or about something digging in to your hip. Instead, the pockets extend as they go down, finishing at about an inch of extension. The pockets are shaped a little strangely, but they're roughly 5"x5". This is great for holding a cell phone, keys, wallet, sun glasses, and more. It's amazing how much you can hold in these comfortably because of the placement and shape. Also, the fact that they are on your thigh means they can be accessed easily without getting off the bike, which is a major plus at gas stations or stop lights.
Leg Zippers -
The pants have long double zippers along the sides of the legs that stretch from the thigh all the way down to the end of the pant. With two zippers each, it allows the wearer to zip open the bottom of the pant, or keep the bottom zipped and open the sides for extra venting. This also allows you to put on boots and then slip the pants on over them, making getting dressed and undressed before and after rides much easier.
Cuff Zippers -
The pants have zippers along the backs of the legs at the cuffs, allowing the bottoms to flare. This is useful if you want to tie or untie your boots after your pants are already on. Once unzipped, the cuffs can be easily rolled back or pushed back to provide easy access to boots and socks. These zippers can also be opened for riding, allowing more air to flow up the cuffs to cool your legs.
Knees -
The knees are covered with a stretchy material that makes sitting with bent legs more comfortable.
Jacket Attachment -
There is a zipper on the back to provide a stretchy connection to a jacket (presumably to help keep the jacket from drifting up). While this seems like a great idea, I was unfortunate enough to get a jacket that zips the opposite direction. If my torso were offset and faced the other direction, though, it'd be perfect! :)
Zippers in General -
The zippers are large and easy to grasp and pull. Even with gloves on, the pocket zippers can be closed, though you'll have to be careful not to catch the fabric in the zipper.
Padding -
There are thick flexible pads covering the knee and shins, as well as thinner pads in the waste. Though you wouldn't guess it by feeling of them, they actually fit pretty well with the pants, and you won't notice any shifting for rubbing during wear.
Performance:
Wear -
The pants are very comfortable to wear. If I'm at a store, I usually just leave them on. I can walk very naturally in them, even with all the padding. Sitting is also comfortable, with the stretching allowing a very natural fit.
Temperature Considerations -
[Cold] These pants are Nylon on the outside and Polyester on the inside. They do not claim to be insulated, and they definitely aren't! At anything less than about 55F, you're going to want more than a pair of jeans and these pants at highway speeds. They are thin enough, though, that you can easily put pants under or over them. When it gets down into the 20s, I wear a pair of thermal pants, jeans, and flannel pants under these pants, and a pair of big jeans over them. Also, you'll notice quickly that wind can blow up the cuffs at high speeds, so I recommend getting something to tie around the cuffs to keep them shut. I use some strips of fabric, but shoe laces or elastic would work, too.
[Hot] I have ridden in pretty warm temps without being terribly uncomfortable. I think the highest I've hit with them is about 95F, and they weren't unbearable. I opened up the thighs a little and loosened the cuffs, and I think they did fine.
[Very Hot] My very first experience with these pants was a very bad one. I was very excited to have them, so I threw them on and went for a quick ride. When I came back, I saw to my horror that the pants had melted on my exhaust pipes at several places along my right cuff. I have a V-twin and was a very new rider at the time. With the pipes so close to the pegs, I tended to ride with my pant legs brushing the pipes. If you have hot pipes, this is definitely a consideration. The tag says they are safe only up to 40C (just over 100F), and I assure you that your exhaust pipes are much hotter than this. Besides training myself to keep my legs a little further out, I also crafted some homemade heat shields out of aluminum tubing and duct connector. I haven't had trouble since, but I wish someone had told me before I made this purchase that the pants couldn't take the heat. This may have been something I was supposed to assume, but being new to bikes, I didn't know it, or else I might have looked at leather instead of textile.
Waterproofing -
I've ridden in pretty heavy rain for up to about an hour at a time in these pants, and I agree that the material is waterproof. My knees were completely dry. The problem, though, was that I had a lot of water start to seep in around the seams; that is, my waste and my cuffs. With as much overlap as I could manage, I started to feel wet around my waist after about 10-20 minutes in rain, and I'm likely to arrive with a wet front stretching from my belly button to my mid-thighs. Definitely not the most comfortable thing in the world. And that is paired with we legs up to about my mid-shins. I'm currently looking at getting some sort of waterproof overalls/bib so I won't have a big seam along my waist, and you may need to do the same if you're considering significant wet weather riding. When the air is just humid or just sprinkling, I've had no problems at all. But when it really starts to come down, water starts to wick in, it can get pretty miserable.
Care:
The instructions say to hand wash, not to soak, and to line dry. I haven't had to yet, but this may be a consideration if you are looking for something that you can toss in the washer.
Conclusion:
Hopefully this will answer questions you may have about this pant. I love them, and am very pleased with my purchase. I'd definitely buy them again. But as you read, there are some definite limitations that should be known, so you may have to plan for supplemental apparel or trade up to a different model.
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If you found this review helpful, consider checking out my reviews on my other gear.
Cortech GX Sport Jacket
HJC CL-SP Full-Face Helmet
Joe Rocket Blaster 4.0 Leather Gloves
Burton Toaster Glove
Marmot Randonee Glove
Under Armour Balaclava
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
zorrothepiking
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Member: Josh
Location: Huntsville, AL, USA
Reviews written: 59
Trusted by: 12 members
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