Draggin, first off the line again!

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On the 19th of March 2013, 3 years after achieving the world’s first CE Approved Jeans at Level 1, Draggin Jeans Pty Ltd has been awarded the highest accolade possible for motorcycle protective clothing with the company’s fully CE Approved Level 2 jeans.

Again the family owned Australian business has proved its jeans are the best motorcycle jeans you can buy, and will perform the best for motorcycle riders in case of an off. Being awarded with Level 2 CE Approval means Draggin have a street fashion jean which offers more protection than the leather race suits of some major brands.

The “Draggin Promise” is to deliver the safest motorcycle jeans and Grant Mackintosh, CEO and founder of Draggin Jeans Pty Ltd, really takes his promise personally for his fellow riders. Grant couldn’t have been prouder “Our company is, and always will be, in the business of protecting motorcyclists. And I really mean what I say. Draggin is dedicated to ensuring that our lining remains at the forefront of fibre technology and provides the safest motorcycle clothing possible.”

A regular track rider himself, Grant said “This means Draggin’s protective lining now lasts more than 7 seconds, which is very likely better than the leathers I have been racing in at Phillip Island. The true meaning of achieving full CE Approval at Level 2, the highest possible motorcycle standard, is that our customers can have utter confidence in Draggin products”.

SATRA Technology Centre is an independent body that operates out of Northamptonshire, in the United Kingdom, and is ultimately responsible for granting Draggin Jeans’ CE Approval. Draggin have been sending products to the labs for over 8 years, with the objective of having the world’s best safety products.

“Our riders now have the widest range of choice at Draggin, whether they purchase our entry level Classic Jeans, our C-Evo Jeans (Level 1 CE Approved) or now they can elect to have Holeshot Jeans (Level 2 CE Approved), whatever riders choose, they’ll know with any product in the Draggin range they are getting the very best.” said Mackintosh

Obtaining the CE Approval Level 2 was no easy feat, but we knew we had to keep going to achieve the highest possible level of motorcycle safety standard. We have worked with the most recognised safety consultants in the industry, such as Paul Varnsverry, one of the most well respected names in motorcycle safety who has been instrumental in improving safety standards throughout the world. Paul was equally elated to hear of this achievement:

This latest achievement by Draggin Jeans demonstrates the benefits to riders when company’s embrace product development and use the European Standards to drive forward improvements in the safety performance of their motorcycle clothing.

“Grant and his team have greatly impressed me with their diligent, methodical and, importantly, totally committed approach to developing not only better and higher performing products, but garments that motorcyclists will want to own and wear. Protective clothing that is as comfortable as Draggin Jeans’ new “Holeshot” Level 2 jeans are more likely to be worn by riders and consequently to be in place should they part company with their motorcycle” Paul concluded.

Draggin Jeans is, and always will be, in the business of protecting motorcyclists. We are dedicated to ensuring that the lining remains at the forefront of fibre technology and provides the safest protection possible. Having achieved CE Approval at Level 2 encourages us to keep improving rider safety, comfort and freedom.

The CE Level 2 jean is called Holeshot, and is already in production, so please watch out for future announcements. A special feature to highlight is the protective lining Draggin have used in Holeshot, which has climate control features that take heat away from the skin, it has wicking to take moisture away from the skin and it has anti-bacterial features to keep you fresh. Draggin Jeans is a company that is focused on innovation in every aspect of the business.

Background There’s not many companies that can say the boss literally put his butt on the line to prove his product’s safety, but Draggin Jeans can.

Founder of the iconic motorbike apparel Draggin, Grant Mackintosh tested the limits when he snuck off to the Calder racetrack to physically, be dragged along the asphalt wearing a pair of his jeans. In doing so, he put his money where his mouth was, and proved to the world of manufacturing, that Draggin Jeans were everything he declared them to be.

Today, Draggin Jeans has a strong foothold in the international market and the company has gained great respect amongst retailers and motorcycle riders around the world.

Back, in the 1990’s, Grant Mackintosh was a jean manufacturer who was determined to introduce a high-safety jean which riders could wear with confidence on their motorcycles.t took years of testing and research for Grant to find just the right recipe.

Grant and Julia Mackintosh did their research and talked to the riders of Australian, and when they realised what they were wearing, and what those jeans would do to protect them during an off. This was the birth of the Draggin label.

Today, the Draggin label is in the firm and dedicated hands of the second generation of the Mackintosh family, Grant & Julia’s daughters. Fiona is now General Manager and sister Lucy plays a key role in production. Grant is more focused on the search to fine tune an already incredible recipe. “I continue to learn about the science of the product, and further develop the most technically advanced motorcycle jeans in the world,” Grant says.

The initial drag test – the visual of a young Grant Mackintosh being tied to the back of a Holden, via his feet and increasing speed at ten kilometres increments is hard to shake…as is the picture of an alarmed family at home. Fiona recalls very clearly this time and says “Dad later told us that the driver actually had the radio turned on which was a worry when he was trying to be heard. The jeans performed remarkably well, and the boss was ok. “Dad got up to 100 kilometres an hour,” says Fiona. Grant Mackintosh repeated his incredible feat a few times during that early Draggin era, before a stunt man was called in for the honours in subsequent testing.

From those early moments of pure Aussie madness, Draggin Jeans are now the only CE Approved jeans in the world. CE or Conformité Européenne, translates to European Conformity’ and is a universally recognised symbol of product quality and durability.

During the stringent CE testing, the Draggin C-Evo Jean was put through its paces to replicate the same abrasion and impact experienced during a motorbike rider’s accident. It passed all the tests and exceeded.

But let’s take a closer look at the Draggin jeans and what makes them the ‘awe’ of every man and woman with a bike.

“The science behind the jeans is all in the lining…the lining is knitted in a particular way that the loop of the weave faces the road. What that means, is that when the rider is sliding, during an off, the knit of the fabric acts to dissipate the heat away from the body. It slows you down so that you don’t get as much friction and thus minimises injury,” says Fiona.

It’s that lining that represents a revolution in fibre technology. With military grade + Kevlar® and Dyneema®, the World’s Strongest Fiber™ forming its core, the lining is soft, breathable, flexible and non-allergenic. Draggin Jeans takes advantage of Dyneema’s amazing strength to weight ratio to deliver unrivalled safety, resilience and comfort.

The products are manufactured under the strictest quality control, and are constructed with high quality natural fibres and are lined along all major crash points.

What’s in a name?

The term Holeshot is used in motorcycle racing for the rider who is the first one through the first turn.

Draggin decided the name Holeshot reflected what it achieved with the leading CE Approved Level 2 jeans for men and women.

Holeshot jeans have been awarded the highest accolade possible for motorcycle protective clothing by receiving Level 2 CE Approval and this jean keeps Draggin and its technology miles ahead.

What sets Draggin Jeans apart?

Back in the 1990’s, when Draggin Jeans Australia Pty Ltd was just getting started, we received a lot of offers of alternative Kevlar fabrics for use in our products.

These alternatives looked sound however the test results were very clear.

None of these samples performed with the Satra testing!

This became a defining moment in the progression of our company

Should we use one of the alternatives and increase our own margins? pass on the savings to our retailers? or deliver a cheaper product to riders, or any combination of these three alternatives?

For me it was a no brainer.

Using any of these alternatives could lead to serious injuries. We believe that such risks cannot be justified by any amount of saving. The price differential has been overcome by our reputation and people gladly pay extra for our products… but you can also remind them to check out the cost of skin grafts or a lengthy hospital stay.

Our company is, and always will be, in the business of protecting motorcyclists. We are dedicated to ensuring that the Draggin lining remains at the forefront of fibre technology and provides the safest protection available. That has always been our promise to those that sell our products, and to those who choose to wear our products.

It is in keeping this promise, that we now not only have the first and only motorcycle jeans that have CE approval, we have achieved the highest level of motorcycle safety standard by having Level 2 CE Approval! We are very proud

of this so we hope you are too! These results are independently undertaken and exist as further proof that Draggin really are the best.

The reason I am sharing this information with you is because many motorcyclists are becoming increasingly concerned with the quality of other so called “protective” products entering the market. These products claim to be protective, (a word you can’t even use unless you have passed CE standards) however offer very little abrasion, burst or tear resistance.

CE tests replicate the conditions motorcyclists experience during an off. Draggin Jeans will see you through more than 7 seconds it can take to come to a complete stop. Our promise is to always do what is best for motorcyclists.

What are the CE tests and what does CE approval mean? It is sometimes difficult to make sense of the science involved in determining whether motorcycle clothing is truly protective. Many manufacturers take advantage of this to the detriment of riders. Words such as Kevlar are commonly used to falsely mislead as to protective qualities, and yellow is commonly used in non-protective materials so as to create the illusion of protection. The European Standards or CE Tests were developed to address these types of misleading practices.

The CE tests are applied by scientific laboratories and strictly impose minimum safety requirements for various pieces of protective motorcycle clothing. They are independent, standardised, and repeatable. They are applied to ensure those products claiming to provide protection do just that. To gain CE Approval at Level 1 and Level 2 means that a product has successfully satisfied all of those imposed standards.

There are numerous European Standards regulating the protective qualities of motorcycle products; with one applying specifically to jackets, trousers and one-piece or divided suits; that is EN 13595, Parts 1 – 4.

Part 1 describes the general requirements of the materials used in the product and the specific zones subject to varied testing. For example, those areas of a product most likely to experience heavy and prolonged contact with the road are required to provide a significantly higher level of protection than those less likely to come in contact with the road surface.

Design specifics also dictate the measures that must be taken to prevent the product moving on the body during an accident.

Parts 2, 3 and 4 refer specifically to the tests measuring abrasion, burst and tear resistance. Importantly, the tests applied in Parts 2,3, and 4 were designed specifically by Dr Roderick Woods of the Protective Clothing Research Facility (PCRF) at Cambridge University to replicate (and therefore represent most accurately) the forces experienced by motorcyclists during an off.

To test abrasive resistance, a section of the product is mounted on a hinged arm that is then released onto a constantly moving abrasive belt. The test continues until the sample is abraded through, whereupon the time taken from contact to perforation is recorded.

To test for burst strength, a small sample of the product is securely mounted to the top of a metal cylinder. Below the sample is a flexible membrane behind which water is pumped. The membrane distends, placing increasing pressure on the test specimen until, eventually, it fails. The water pressure at the point of failure is recorded.

Part 4 is a test for impact cut resistance and provides a “double-check” on the suitability of materials, as sharp impact can negatively affect a product’s other protective qualities. To test for impact cut resistance a standardised blade is dropped from a specified height onto the test segment and the depth of penetration of the blade is measured.

All of the CE Tests are simple in design, yet very effective in outcome. They all feature minimum requirements which are applied strictly and consistently. Furthermore they are not “material specific”; therefore denim products are held to exactly the same minimum standards as those applied to leathers and synthetics. The result is a series of standardized tests that provide a comparable and recognisable benchmark.