Look, these Trilobite Parado's are probably some of the more protective and also comfortable riding "jeans" you can buy, and the features are pretty impressive, but I'm just gonna call a spade a spade - they are "jeans" in name and material only. The Trilobite Parado Denim "Jeans" are unambiguously armored motorcycle riding pants and much less modernly stylish jeans-like than the photos suggest. They definitely aren't fooling any one off the bike. So one must wonder, why are they even trying to be "jeans" in the first place??
Functionally, the stretch built into the fabric and into the specific panels is pretty damn awesome, dare I say the most comfortable riding pants I've ever worn, period. They flow air way surprisingly well and much better than expected given the thick cotton/layered kevlar material, even with the vents closed. They come with a whole ton of cool little safety and motorcycle specific features and it's obvious Trilobite really cares about making their customers happy. They have a million and one tags explaining the tech, a keychain explaining the extra safe triple stitched seams, even spare hardware for the buttons. I appreciate the effort honestly. Maybe the stretch is what these pants are all about, because on the comfort front they are top notch.
Subjectively, what isn't so top notch is the style, with all the features and all the tech, they just in no way shape or form look or fit like normal pants/jeans, particularly with the pads in. They also don't look particularly cool in a trendy hipster motorcycle-man way either. In that respect I find the product photos to be quite misleading - if the pants actually looked/fit like the product photos they would be awesome. These pants however are not stylishly slim fitting nor are they tapered in any way below the knee as the product photos suggest - they actually flare out from the knee down and could easily swallow MX boots with plenty of room left over to flap in the wind. Personally, I haven't bought jeans without some amount of taper in the lower leg in the last 15 years, maybe longer. YMMV, I know guys that adamantly refuse to wear anything tapered and still love the jeans they bought at the GAP in 1991. They fit about like bootcut Carharts, but with more room in the hips and more room in the lower leg, and a ton of stretch in the fabric. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if (based on the product photos) you're thinking you found a cheaper alternative to those stylish and expensive slim fitting Ugly Bros, you be wrong Jack. My buddy has some Ugly Bros and they straight up look like modern slim fit jeans, leaving onlookers hard pressed to notice they're even armored etc. The Trilobites pants...not so much. And that brings us to the biggest issue with these pants - why not just buy some no-holes-bared riding pants that aren't also trying to be "jeans"? Why put up with denims obvious flaws - such as not being remotely waterproof or slide resistant - if you're still gonna be so blatantly unstylish in order to be protected? I guess it's for the stretch, man.
