why do people wear chaps when leather overpants provide a larger area of protection and come off as easy as chaps with side zippers?

 

Cause my butt & nuts are much more comfortable in jeans & my legs are warm when it's cold with chaps. I rode to work yesterday in 35* chill & no sun. I was very comfortable in chaps & when I got to work I took them off & worked in jeans. At 1PM I put on the chaps & took off for a 3 hour ride with a 45 minute beer stop Hope this helps you decide what is cool. I go with what works for me.

BTW, I wear them for warmth in cold weather. Most of the time I ride in jeans.

 

I have some Hein Gericke overpants that are still good after about 15 years. A lot more people wear chaps, might be the price. My leather pants were almost $200 even back then!

 

I was at the Marcus Dairy meet a few weeks ago & they were selling pants that had leather legs & jeans on top. They looked like a seamless chaps/jeans combo & looked like a great idea at 85.00. A guy comes up behind me & ask's "how do you clean them since the top is jean material". Answer, "dry cleaning". We both walked away.

 

I think the reason a lot of people wear chaps as opposed to the leather pants centers more on price than anything else. I wear cheap chaps, flea market specials but I have had them for 6 years, and I paid less than 80 bucks for them. Comparable leather pants would have cost me at least 200 bucks, maybe more than that. Besides, when it's cold out, I am riding my Street Glide with lower fairings and all I really need is a little something to knock the wind off the top of my legs. Chaps work fine for that.

 

Well, depending on how cold it is, my wife might wear both leather pants AND chaps. Chaps are easy to thrown on, and take off. Wearing leather pants over jeans would add a lot of bulk to the waist area, and probably not be too comfortable.

 

I wear chaps to keep warm, period. I have had my chaps for so long that I don't think leather over-pants were available when I bought them. Plus, they roll up and don't take up much space when traveling. Safety? You are right. The more covered the more protected. I also wear a half helmet to keep warm when it is very cold.

 

Wear chaps cause I'm fat and there more comfy on a fat man. jofmo(just one fat mans opinion)

 

Myself, I came from a background of dirt track racing where everyone was required to wear full leather pants. It only makes sense to me.

To me, chaps look gay. They remind me of those long black stockings/garders you'd see on stripers and hookers. They look good on women though, as long as she's wearing a bikini bottom.

 

Wear chaps for warmth (cold wind deflector) and tends to soften the impact of road debris impacting the shins. My chaps are 8 years old, stained by bugs, washed by rain, right leg shaped by the exhaust pipes heat and almost broke in. That's why God made cows.