Roadskin Taranis Elite review | Single-layer motorcycle jeans

Date reviewed: April 2022 | Tested by: John Milbank | RRP: £180 | roadskin.co.uk

Single-layer motorcycle jeans have become hugely popular over the last couple of years thanks to their light weight, natural-looking style and potential for all-day comfort.

Roadskin has been in the market for several years – primarily with lined jeans – but it’s become much more active with a new owner and a broader spread of products. At £180, the Roadskin Taranis jeans on review here offer excellent value for money when compared to some on the market that can cost twice as much. I’ve been wearing them on my 1999 Honda VFR800, BMW S1000XR and Honda MSX125 Grom to find out if they’re any good…

Construction and Fit

The Roadskin Taranis jeans are 48% cotton with 26.8% DuPont Kevlar, 19.4% Polyethylene, 3.2% Cordura and 2.6% Lycra.

Fit is of course very subjective, but I’ve been really happy with these jeans. I’m 5’10” with a 34” waist (just) and a 32” inside leg. The sizing matched perfectly, and the stretch built into the material means they hug well without feeling uncomfortable.

There are no rivets on the jeans at all – so no risk of scratching your tank – and the overall build quality is excellent, with triple stitching and thoughtful touches like double belt loops at the rear that help stop the back pulling down when you’re on the bike (and also allow connection of Roadskin’s Maximite hoodie).

The armour is a little prominent, and I can feel it when I sit all day at my desk after commuting in the jeans, but it’s never uncomfortable. I have tried swapping the armour for the extremely slim D3O ghost, and with this the jeans became outstandingly comfortable all day long.

The jeans (in size 34” waist, 32” leg) weigh 1,360g with armour fitted.

The new, optional Rheon armour is outstanding!

EDIT June 2024: Roadskin now offers Level 2 Rheon armour as an option at £34.99 for the knees and £34.99 for the hips. While meeting the higher standard, and being the largest Type B size, AND being certified down to -10°C, these protectors are incredibly flexible, lightweight and comfortable. They're also very tough, the injection-moulded polymer being much more resilient and consistent in its manufacturing than typical cast polyurethane protectors.

Rheon says that the pattern in its armour is designed by a unique algorithm that mimics how cells are packed in nature, taking on board data from the CE standard, as well as medical findings and extensive testing. I'm planning to find out more about Rheon in the future, but I can tell you that, when fitted into the Taranis Elite jeans, while not as slim-looking as some less protective Level 1 armour, it's very comfortable to wear – during testing on the bike it simply can't be felt.

Protection and certification

The Roadskin Taranis jeans are certified under EN17092 to level AAA, the highest available. That means they’ve been tested for abrasion and tear resistance, and well as seam strength. The jeans also come with Level 2 armour (so offering the highest impact protection) at the knees and the hips. The knee armour can be fitted to a choice of two internal pockets to ensure you get it set at a height that suits you.

As some will understand, the abrasion testing of EN17092 provides a pass or fail for levels A, AA and AAA. That means that AAA is indeed the most protective, and Roadskin has proven that the high standard can be met in a very keenly-priced single-layer jean. Remember that to achieve a full certification to AAA, abrasion resistance, tear resistance and seam strength are all tested to the maximum levels of the standard.

The testing standards don’t, however, give an indication of how various AAA-rated garments compare beyond that pass. Put simply, that means buyers can’t know whether a set of single-layer jeans are as abrasion-resistant as a set of quality one-piece race leathers, for instance. Most won’t be surprised that good quality leather remains more protective, but it does also mean that there’s potential for differences in AAA-rated jeans, be they single-layer or lined.

Good-quality lined motorcycle jeans (and Roadskin offers its own in the Paranoids) are potentially capable of higher abrasion resistance than single-layer, but this is at the expense of thickness and heat. All credit to Roadskin for not using marketing hyperbole in the promotion of its jeans; the website is clear in the standards its products achieve and it doesn’t attempt to overstate any of the performance.

For everything you need to know about the safety labels in your motorcycle kit, click here.

Note: Some stores and brands claim ‘official CE test slide times’ to promote the abrasion resistance of the jeans they sell. The only CE testing that gives a time is through using the Cambridge machine, which sees samples of the clothing dropped onto a moving 60 grit abrasive belt, and timed to failure. However, this has only ever been considered a ‘relative abrasion time’ to compare products and MUST NOT be confused with a real-world crash protection time.

We’ve also seen times as high as almost seven seconds and beyond claimed, contrary to testing we had carried out by an independent notified body when looking for the best motorcycle jeans.

Our recommendation would be to ignore these claims and focus on the testing required for the current PPE regulations until clear evidence is provided, either through the Bennetts High Performance Award scheme, or through seeing a COMPLETE and verifiable test certificate from a notified body.

The knee armour can go in one of two pockets, to set the height

Pockets

The Roadskins have the usual pockets at the hips (with a small coin pocket in the right) and a pair on the bum. There’s plenty of space without them leaving unsightly impressions in the outer material and I’ve no problem tucking my phone in the front, though I would say that the coin pocket – which can be handy for earplugs) is a little too narrow and a lot too deep.

Fastening

The fly is secured with a quality metal YKK zip, with a branded metal button at the top. A total of six belt loops are securely attached, with space for a 40mm-wide belt.

Adjustment

As with most riding jeans, there’s no size adjustment, but you can of course pull a belt tighter, and the slight stretch of the material means a good fit isn’t hard to achieve.

Lining

Being a single-layer jean there’s no additional abrasion-resistant lining, but there is a lightweight mesh comfort liner, which helps keep the jeans a little cooler in summer and a fraction warmer in winter. This also helps reduce the chances of skin-sheer, which while not typically debilitating, can cause a nasty wound where the outer material grabs and pulls at the skin when there’s nothing between it and your flesh to help it slide.

Four alternatives to the Roadskin Taranis jeans

There are many, many options now for motorcycle riding jeans, so I’d recommend you first filter them by certification and only choose those that are fully certified (so not just the material) to EN17092 AAA. If you’re in any doubt what to look for on the labels of motorcycle kit, check out this guide to the safest riding gear.

• The John Doe Pioneer Mono Slim jeans cost £235 and are certified as AAA, though we haven’t reviewed them yet.

• Knox offers AAA-rated single-layer jeans in its ‘Shield’ for £249.99 but we haven’t tried them.

• If you’re considering lined jeans, Hood offers the slim-fitting SK11/AAA, and the more loose K7/AAA at £177.99. I’ve worn these around the world and never found them too hot, though of course they are more bulky than a pair of single-layer jeans.

• Roadskin now also offers a lined pair of jeans in the Paranoid X, for even more protection at £199.

These are just four of many alternatives – you can find all the riding jeans we’ve tested here and be sure to regularly check for the discounts available through BikeSocial membership.

Roadskin Taranis Elite review: Verdict

Given the great price and excellent comfort, Roadskin has proven that there really is very little need to ever buy single-layer jeans that don’t meet the top AAA level.

Depending on how fast I intend to go, I choose between lined and single layer jeans, but always AAA-rated and always with armour at the knees and hips. The Roadskins fit me great and are supremely comfortable when I spend the day in them off the bike, and they’re even better with optional Rheon protectors in.

The Roadskin Taranis Elite jeans are superb value AAA-rated single-layer jeans that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to those looking for some comfortable, practical urban-style kit.