Cortech Apex Leather Pants

The waist in these pants has wide stretch panels on each side above the hips. Along with those stretch panels are a couple Velcro straps to adjust the overall size of the waist. The pants have both a short rear zipper or a full-around zipper for connection to Cortech’s Apex leather sport jacket (and also other jackets in Cortech’s or Tour Master’s line with jacket to pant zips). Sport pants with a stretch waist like this stay up best when paired with a jacket to help hold them up. You can pair these pants with other brands of sport/race jackets by visiting a tailor to adapt your jacket’s zipper(s) to work. The pants come with the mating half of both zips for that purpose.

We sampled each size and agree with the waist size advice offered by Cortech for this model (see chart below). These sport pants come up on your waist a bit higher than jeans might, so if your belly is bigger than your waist, I’d encourage you to check your measurement just below the navel with a tape, and then use the chart to pick a size. Generally speaking, the size you choose will be the same as what you normally buy in men’s clothing.

Inseam on these pants is approximately 30” (a bit less on the smaller sizes and a bit longer on the bigger sizes). A sport pant like this is designed to only reach to the ankle, so they will fit comfortably on a person who wears around a 33” inseam. Since they are tucked inside boots, the inseam isn’t super critical, but the pants won’t fit those with longer-than-average legs because the armor won’t be in the right position.

Need help measuring? Get it here.

The Apex jacket by Cortech is new for 2020. This is a full leather sport/race jacket with a sport fit and a set of shoulder and elbow armor included. This jacket zips to the Apex sport/race pant (see link below) to make a sport/race suit. This jacket and pant are also offered in women’s sizes and colors.

Review for both the jacket and pants:

Cortech’s Apex jacket and pants (see the link below for the matching pants) is a leather sport/race jacket and pant combo that zips together with an all-around zipper at the waist to make a 2pc suit. While the Apex can’t be called “professional” gear, it is a nice, good looking combo for street and some amateur track use. Both the jacket and pants are fitted with CE-1 rubberized protectors for the shoulders, elbows, and knees. Standard foam protectors are included for the back and hips. An optional back protector is available to fit the pocket in the jacket if you want to upgrade, or for your track events, you might want to wear a separate on-the-body style back protector. If you want to upgrade the standard foam back protector in the jacket, take the link below for the Knox unit made to fit. You’ll see external armor pieces on the jacket’s shoulders and elbows. These are softer plastic units sewn on top of the leather. They are more styling than serious armor though.

The leather shell of both the pants and the jacket is part solid leather and part perforated leather (check the close-up pictures to see the perfs), so you’ll enjoy some moderate airflow to help handle warmer months. For cooler weather use, the jacket comes with a removable vest-type liner. So with the liner helping out in cooler weather, I’d say you could be comfortable easily in spring and fall months, but hot summer days will be warm, and likewise, very cold days will be challenging too. But for most, you’d be OK for three seasons of the year.

Cortech’s gear is very “value oriented”, but even though the prices are very reasonable, this is good quality gear. With an MSRP under $300, the pricing is very competitive and the brand is trusted and has a warranty which puts this gear way above cheaper lesser known leather gear you see elsewhere (like eBay). Another advantage to this gear is the slightly more relaxed fit as compared to higher end European brands. Those with a more sturdy build will have a much easier time being comfortable in this gear (see my sizing advice for specifics).

Speaking of comfort, the design of the Apex jacket and pants is “pre-curved” for a sport riding position and there are several panels of stretch fabric used to make the jacket and pants flex for you. Those panels can be seen in the underarms, on the sides of the torso, in the crotch area, and down the backs of the legs. The pants have a wide stretch waist with Velcro side adjusters, so they’ll be comfortable in the waist. And they’ll be held up by the pant-to-jacket zipper.

The pants have the standard short leg-length design made to be worn with sport or race boots (tucked in). The pants have zips behind the calf so that if you have larger calves, you can leave those zips open to get a bit more room. “Loop” Velcro is fitted on the pants so you can add knee sliders of your choice. :: Paul, 05-28-20