Cortech The Malibu Chino

I measured a selection of these pants and found the waist size of the pants to measure out consistently at 2” larger than the stated size. Most men’s chinos will be sized this way these days…. it’s called vanity sizing. Since these chinos are vanity sized much like most others, you’ll be choosing the same size you normally wear.

If you want to double check sizing, you can measure your waist and/or measure the waist band of your favorite pants or jeans. And then choose a size knowing the waist on these pants measures about 2” larger than stated size. If you find yourself between sizes, I’d recommend going with the smaller.

The inseam on these pants measures out as stated. When in doubt, I’d suggest you buy the longer since I think there will be some slight shrinkage with washing. And, as with all motorcycle pants, the pant legs rise up your leg when you sit in the saddle.

The overall cut is as Cortech describes. I’d call it a slim fit, and probably not as slim fit as many pants these days. They fall somewhere in between slim and regular cut especially if you are comparing them to a trimmer European cut pant.

Need help measuring? Get it here..

The Malibu Chino jeans is a lighter weight alternative to thicker denim riding jeans. These chinos come with pockets for the installation of armor in the knees and hips and the seat, thigh, and knee areas are backed with Kevlar to beef up the pant’s abrasion protection chops.

Ok, right off the bat, I see something here I’ve never seen before. These pants come with a shoelace for a belt! That’s right… just like your favorite pajama pants. But rather than being hidden inside the waistband this shoelace is threaded through some “mini-loops” sewn just under the normal belt loops so you can show your shoelace to the world! So here you have the option of using the shoelace for comfort, or you can beef up your pants holding game with a regular belt! Just my two cents (since this is my aptly named review), I’d say: off the motorcycle, feel free to rock the shoelace, but I’d suggest a belt for use while on the bike since keeping your body parts located under the pants, safely covered may be beyond the abilities of a 25 cent shoelace.

I like the overall cut of these pants. They should be supremely comfortable to wear and they’ll breathe really well for warmer weather use. The fabric isn’t heavy duty like a proper riding jean, so there’s the tradeoff. You’ll get the comfort and breathability here, but you’ll have less overall protection. But to help in the protection department, the pants are lined with Kevlar fabric in the seat and from the waist to just below the knee in front, so at least in those areas, you’ll have two layers of fabric between you and pavement. The fabric is 97% cotton and 3% spandex, so they do stretch a bit.

You can add armor to both the knees and the hips. The knee armor is inserted into a pocket with an access zipper on the inside seam on the side of each knee. The armor insert can be fitted into one of three pockets at the bottom end that will give you a “high-med-low” arrangement to give you the best fit when sitting on the bike. IMHO, the zipper location is a bit unfortunate for those that have prized paint on their bike, because the zipper pull might scratch (although it is a tiny one), but if you are concerned, you may want to remove the pull with some pliers.

Speaking of armor, take the link below to choose hip and knee armor. The knee armor fits in the aforementioned pocket so choose the version of armor without the Velcro strip (which is used in a different design of pant). :: Paul, 01-18-21