It’s an uncomfortable truth, but when you finally do run out of luck and take a tumble, your buttocks are often the first thing to break your fall and your speed on the road. Many bikers will tell you that having skin on your behind is much preferable to having a skinned behind, and it’s probably not the best idea to personally find out if they’re right or not.

So I’ve listed some of the most popular protective pants on this page. You’ll notice that I haven’t included either chaps or bike jeans here, mostly because I feel that they shouldn’t be grouped together. Yes, the jeans are both protective and pants, but they haven’t been designed to be bike pants first, and are not the same thing.

So, without further ado, let’s check out some ways to keep your bottom skin attached.

Pilot Omni Air Motorcycle Over Pants

One of the most important factors in bike clothing is how breathable it is. Nothing sucks as much as getting to your destination and uncorking a sleep to pour out a stream of sweat. Apart from that, it’s just plain uncomfortable to be so hot and bothered while riding. It can be bad enough to ruin the ride completely.

So does the Omni Air come to the rescue of our collective sweaty bottoms? Well, the pants have a removable waterproof rain-lining. With the lining removed, as it would be most days, these pants are comfortable in the heat, according to people who have put the miles on in them.

The material these are made of is called Pilotex 210D. Overlaid at the knees and triple and double-stitched, there’s nylon polyester fabric that’s quite heavy and should stand up to significant abrasion. There are also reflective strips, and you have the option of adding armor to the hip pads.

The price on the Omni Airs is also pretty reasonable. I think these are a good buy given how many features there are and the lack of any serious flaws. There are, however, some complaints about a finicky zip.

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Klim Dakar Dirt Bike Pants

These dirt bike pants are priced at a mid-range level and promise quite a few premium features at that price point. You can get them in a few different colors, such as olive and orange. Yeah, I’d skip the orange, personally.

These pants are articulated in such a way that you are naturally supported in a comfortable riding position. They have big, generous knee protectors that actually cup over the entire knee, which you don’t see all that often. Above those knee cups you’ll find some accordion stretch panels that should help with your range of motion, especially when navigating tricky terrain.

These pants use heavy and medium Cordura for the main body, seat, and knees. The inner lining is breathable, but the Cordura itself is very abrasion-resistant. There are also knee and hip pockets for the additional option of protective padding, which you can purchase separately.

Previous versions of this product from Klim were apparently very well-regarded, but had dodgy zippers. These have premium zippers from the one and only YKK.

This new version seems to tick all the boxes, and if getting dirty in the mud is your thing I think these pants may be just what the doctor ordered.

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Bohn Bodyguard Adventure Armored

Here we have something rather clever – armor that you wear under your regular clothes while riding. These stretchy Lycra pants have armor padding everywhere it matters – hips, knees, shins, and tailbone.

By using these you can basically ride wearing what you want. I’m not sure that they’ll provide much in the form of abrasion protection, though. Still, I think it’s a great idea and provides a more reasonable compromise than simply sticking with jeans and hoping for the best.

The price is a little high, but the peace of mind does take the sting out of it. These are a clever idea that could work brilliantly under the right circumstances.

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O’Neal Elements Racewear Pant

O’Neal is a pretty well-known name in protective clothing that built its brand on quality off-road gear. This Elements racewear represents entry-level protection for people who are into motocross, at a price that is more than reasonable.

For your money you get pants that are fully-lined, a necessity considering how form-fitting MX gear is. There are hip protectors which you can remove if they are too cumbersome or not needed for the type of riding that you intend to do. The material is tough, but light. O’Neal has strategically placed stretch panels and rubber patches in all the right places, making significant concessions to comfort.

There are consistent complaints about the sizing being one step too small, so keep that in mind when ordering yours. There are also complaints about a lack of real protection. Although these are very nicely priced, perhaps it is better to spend a bit more than this if you are the action sport type.

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Frogg Toggs Toadskinz

OK, I’m pretty sure that these pants are not in fact made from the stitched together skins of many hapless toads. It wouldn’t bode too well for the abrasion resistance of these pants, after all.

The Frogg Toggs are some of the cheaper pants you’ll find available for purchase. For these pants you get a material known as “dripore” which ostensibly is waterproof and breathable at the same time. It’s probably science or something.

The seams are completely sealed and taped, which is great since that’s where the wind and water likes to collect and come in. The waistband is also elastic, which makes sense since the Toggs are meant to be worn over your clothes.

In fact, these guys are so oversized that if you don’t intend to layer them with other clothes it’s probably worth ordering them a size smaller than what you normally wear.

Stylish these are not; they are practical and you probably want to take them off when not riding, but for the price you’ll appreciate the weather protection.

Something I’m not reading about is any form of impact or abrasion protection which, I suspect, is because there isn’t any. You’ll need to wear some other form of protection underneath these.

I guess that if you already own good protective pants, these are a great way to add some weather protection to them when needed, but as a standalone product it is only suitable for people who are doing low-speed commuting on things like scooters, in my opinion.

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Keep it In Your Pants

If you love your butt as much as I do then you’ll appreciate a bit of comfortable protection. As a bonus, getting the look right will make you feel confident too. Just no riding in shorts, OK? Nobody’s got time for that.