Ruste Makes Protective Motorcycle Gear Look Good, For Once

Twice a month, a FADER staff member picks a clothing item or accessory that they've been spending a lot of time with and write a little love letter to it. This week, Duncan Cooper talks Ruste Protection's custom-tailored motorcycle gear.

When I learned how to ride a motorcycle last spring, the drivers ed instructor told the class some version of this stat: most crashes happen your first year. I don't remember the percentage exactly because I immediately doubled and tripled it, out of paranoia and longstanding pessimism. A little caution is probably a good thing, though, because so far so good. After that first year, I still tend to overdress compared to many, for safety's sake; even on the hottest days, I'm keen to wear boots and a jacket. Protective pants, though, were where I'd draw the line. I don't want to own leather pants, and I think that's reasonable.

So god bless the Finnish tailors of Ruste Protection, who've devised a brilliant service for motorcycle riders concerned with safety and not looking stupid. You mail them your favorite pair of jeans to ride in and they sew DuPont Stretch Kevlar—a flexible, thin, yet super-safe fiber—where you need it most, like body armor for your knees, thighs and butt. Watch the video below, it's quite convincing. Word is that early next year, they'll be rolling out a similar service tailoring jackets, too. Ruste is based in Europe, but they make shipping really easy and the whole thing practically took no time. What's craziest of all is: my jeans look the same, they feel the same, there's COOLMAX so they're just as breathable. I don't know if it's the jeans themselves or just my psyche, but I think they're actually more comfortable now.