BIG BOY PANTS: THE SEARCH FOR THE PERFECT SIZE 36 MOTOCROSS PANT: Suck It In Or Risk Blowing A Snap; MXA Goes Where No Man Has Ever Voluntarily Gone Before-Into The World Of Big Boy Pants
BIG BOY PANTS: THE SEARCH FOR THE PERFECT SIZE 36 MX PANT
THE MXA WRECKING CREW GOES ALL OUT TO DISCOVER THE PERFECT FIT FOR THE AMPLY ENDOWED
ÿÿ Earlier this year, Madrid’s Fashion Week banned overly thin models at top-level fashion shows. Madrid turned away underweight models after protests that young women were trying to copy the rail-thin look and, in the process, were developing eating disorders.
ÿÿ Motocross fashion is no different. You never see an advertisement with a portly 38-year-old strutting his size 36 stuff in color photos. In truth, factory racers would be considered anorexic in the Vet class, but they are the fashion icons of the sport.
ÿÿ The MXA wrecking crew decided to do something about it. We handpicked a crew of size 36 racers to test 2009 motocross gear. Their job? Bust out the bellies and hammer motos. The goal?
ÿÿ Find out how well size 36 pants really fit. The result? Simple-to-read tests of eight popular pants.
Closure: Plastic ratchet.
Lining: Half-length nylon liner (normal on air pants).
Knee brace room: Very nice. No binding. No pulling. They require a little effort to get over braces, but fit very well once on.
Cuffs: Fox’s nicely tapered ankles and nonintrusive cuffs make the Airline’s cuffs work very well. Just pull your boots on.
Positives: Extremely light, adequate leather on both knees, roomy thighs and well ventilated.
Negatives: The Fox head logos on the thighs are large, but thankfully not thick. In our experience, the durability of air pants is always reduced.
Big boy sizing: Spot-on. The well-ventilated knit material makes the Airline pant feel stretchy. This not only allows it to fit well over a variety of stomach shapes, but makes it very comfortable to wear. Not as roomy as the Troy Lee Air pant, but a nice fitting size 36.
MOOSE RACING XCR: $139.95
Closure: Two metal snaps at waist with sans-a-belt side adjusters.
Lining: Half-length nylon liner.
Knee brace room: Very nice. No binding. No pulling. They require a little effort to get over braces, but fit very well once on.
Cuffs: Not as tapered as they could be. The cuff has to be folded over to fit smoothly inside a boot.
Positives: Extremely light, adequate leather on both knees, incredibly soft nylon (almost like wearing a pair of pajamas) and small Moose logos on the side of the thigh that are very flexible.
Negatives: The cuffs are slightly large (although smaller than the Troy Lee cuffs).
Big boy sizing: A squeeze. The XCR is more of a 35 than a 36. We thought that the sans-a-belt adjusters on the sides of the pants would help, but they work best in sizing the XCR down from a size 36 to a size 35 or 34.
THOR CORE: $150.00
Closure: Plastic ratchet.
Lining: Half-length nylon liner.
Knee brace room: Very nice. No binding. No pulling. They require a little effort to get over braces, but fit very well once on.
Cuffs: Thor is the only brand to use an old-school knit cuff. We like it because it insures a tight fit at the ankle and no bunching.
Positives: There is plenty of room in the thighs and knees for tree trunk-size legs. Roomy and well ventilated.
Negatives: Thor put dimpled plastic pads on the knees so that when you kneel the nylon doesn’t get dirty. Nice idea, but the nubby plastic pad buckles when you bend your knee.
Big boy sizing: Spot-on. There is not very much elastic in the waistline and the plastic ratchet is fairly short, so a slightly-larger-than-size-36 rider won’t be able to squeeze into the Thor Core pant.
TROY LEE DESIGNS SE: $165.00
Closure: Two metal snaps at waist with sans-a-belt side adjusters.
Lining: Full-length nylon liner.
Knee brace room: Very roomy. No binding. No pulling. Slides easily over the largest braces.
Cuffs: There is too much material at the ankle. It has to be folded over to fit smoothly inside a boot. Why is the cuff so large? TLD sells this pant as a BMX pant also.
Positives: Extremely durable, ample leather on both knees and roomy thighs.
Negatives: The cuffs are too large, the pants are heavy and the “TLD” logo on the thighs is bulky.
Big boy sizing: Spot-on. With the sans-a-belts relaxed, the SE pant is spot on for a size 36 waist. Additionally, the sans-a-belts are capable of making the 36-inch waist as small as a 34. Not as roomy as the Troy Lee Designs Air pant, but big enough.
FOX PLATINUM: $169.95
Closure: Plastic ratchet.
Lining: Half-length nylon liner.
Knee brace room: Roomy. No binding. No pulling. They require a little effort to get over braces, but fit very well once on.
Cuffs: Nicely tapered ankles and nonintrusive cuffs make the Platinum’s knees work very well.
Positives: Extremely light, adequate leather on both knees, roomy thighs and semi-ventilated nylon on front of thighs and calfs.
Negatives: The Fox head logos on the thighs are smaller than on the Fox Airline pant, but made from thicker plastic.
Big boy sizing: A squeeze. The Platinum is more of a 35 than a 36. When we put the pants on the ratchet just barely caught in the first click. If you are a true size 36, you can’t gain any weight and fit in the Platinum pants.
TROY LEE DESIGNS GP AIR: $135.00
Closure: Plastic ratchet.Lining: Half-length nylon liner (normal on air pants).
Knee brace room: Very roomy.ÿ No binding. No pulling. Slides easily over the largest braces.
Cuffs: There is way too much material at the ankle. It has to be folded over to fit smoothly inside a boot. Why is the cuff so large? TLD sells this pant as a BMX pant and the bicycle riders don’t like tapered ankles.
Positives: Extremely light, ample leather on both knees, roomy thighs, well ventilated, and the logos on the thighs are small and nonintrusive.
Negatives: The cuffs are too large. The gold lame fades with multile washings. In our experience, the durability of air pants is always reduced.
Big boy sizing: Very roomy. Thanks to the stretchiness of the ventilated knit material and the elastic waistband, the Troy Lee GP Air pants are very comfortable for riders pushing the size 36 limits. These pants have a skosh more room than any other pant.
O’NEAL MAYHEM: $99.95
Lining: Full-length nylon liner.
Knee brace room: Very roomy. No binding. No pulling. Slides easily over the largest braces.
Cuffs: The material around the ankles needs to be more tapered to fit more neatly into boots, but it is no where near as loose fitting as the Troy Lee pants.
Positives: In our experience, O’Neal pants are extremely durable. We like that they have different rubber logos on each thigh (and that the logos aren’t too large).ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
Negatives: At this price, leather knees are out of the question.
Big boy sizing: Spot-on. Even without the sans-a-belts, the O’Neal Mayhem pants fit well on size 36 riders and have considerable stretch left for a big lunch. When you engage the sans-a-belts straps, you can downsize the Mayhem to a size 34 or 35. Very versatile.
FLY EVOLUTION: $159.95
Closure: Two metal snaps at waist with sans-a-belt side adjusters.
Lining: Half-length nylon liner.
Knee brace room: Very nice. No binding. No pulling. The Evolution pant has nice tailoring around the knee cup (except for a rubber strip that is inflexible).
Cuffs: Too large. There is too much material at the ankle. It has a tendency to bunch up when you pull your boot over it.
Positives: There is a tremendous amount of stretch from the crotch to the knees (which helps with knee braces.) There is ample leather on both knees. The Evolution has a very intricate pattern.
Negatives: The cuffs are too large and there is a rubber strip running vertically down the knee thatÿ refuses to conform to the bend of your knee.
Big boy sizing: A squeeze. The Evolution is more of a 35 than a 36. On the average size-36 rider, Fly’s sans-a-belt straps had to be totally relaxed.
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