The world already has enough cliches to describe items that do the job for which they’re intended, without leaving the purchaser bankrupt.
So let’s just say this... the Ixon Summit 2 textile jeans are warm, waterproof bike jeans that won’t cost a fortune.
They’re not perfect, but in 1100 miles of riding through fair weather and poor they did a good job of keeping me warm and dry.
I wore them in combination with the matching Ixon Summit 2 textile jacket and the pairing kept out rain that, at times, felt like riding through the spray from a jet-wash.
The jeans are made from a combination of polyester and polyurethane and Ixon describes them as trousers for urban riding or light touring.
That description is backed up by their performance in CE safety testing, where the jeans are rated for urban use. A garment passing the ‘urban’ test is “intended to ensure a certain degree of protection for an urban use for which the use of a garment of higher level would be inappropriate, such as for example particular climatic conditions”.
That suggests the protection level is relatively basic, but at least Ixon have complied with the new rules about motorcycle clothing needing to pass a test to prove it can be considered protective equipment.
They felt as robust as most textile trousers during my time with them, and there’s the bonus of proper CE-approved hip armour coming as standard.
My only complaint is that the knee armour is a short cup-like protector rather than one that extends to the top of my boot, which I would prefer.
There’s a big cargo-style pocket on the left thigh, which is a handy location for stashing stuff as it’s not prone to flexing like the hip area would be.
In terms of protection from the elements, the Summit 2 trousers performed faultlessly throughout the review. In prolonged periods of heavy rain I would be concerned that the lack of a full-circumference zip to connect to the trousers would leave a gap for rain to get through.
The short connection zip was enough to keep out rain on this trip, but several manufacturers now have jeans available with longer zips and they are a similar price to these.
I’ve also marked them down a little on the light-reflective material, which is used sparingly. The positioning is also unusual, with the largest patch on the rear located on the waistband, where they’re covered by the overlapping jacket.
But overall, these are comfy enough, warm enough, dry enough and quite effective. They’re simple textile jeans that do their job.
Fit & Comfort
Sizing was as it should be. I’m a 32in waist and inside leg (at the moment!) and that’s the size that fitted. I even had room for the supplied hip armour, which has a habit of making some trousers too tight around the waist. The lack of anti-slip material on the seat means a bit of shuffling around in the seat.
Protection
They’re CE-rated as jeans to the ‘urban’ protection level and have armour at both hips and knees. I’d have preferred longer knee armour that extends to the shins, hence the reduced score.
Waterproofing
Some of the cloudbursts on my trip were hardcore, but the Summit 2 jeans held back the tide.
Build quality
There’s nothing to pick particular fault with here. They haven’t done masses of miles, but they survived a long-distance trip to Germany and still look like new.
Features
They’re missing a long connection zip, anti-slip seat coverings and ventilation zips. There’s not much light-reflective material and there’s no long-leg option (though there are regular and short leg choices).