ARMALITH? - Meeting with Albert Zidek, DYNS JEANS

DYNS JEANS is a motorcycle clothing company from the UK, run by passionate motorcycle riders. Inspired by the idea of comfortable, discreet-looking clothing – while keenly aware of the importance of safety and protection – Albert Zidek, founder of DYNS brand, in 2016 discovered the very special UHMWPE infused denim material, which looks like regular jeans fabric but has the protective properties of leather.

Today, the company produces and distributes protective gear worldwide for motorcycle riders under the DYNS brand. It has also expanded to offer a whole range of stylish and protective garments for personal transport users with its DYNS Urban Ride range. Only the best and most advanced materials are used for production.

We sat down to chat with Albert about helping his fellow riders feel safer while keeping their stylish swagger.

When was your first contact with the Armalith? brand?

It was at the EICMA trade show in 2021 in Milan. I stopped at the small Armalith? booth, and discovered that they were producing Darmstadt-tested fabrics for motorcycle garments. It wasn’t a planned meeting, and we didn’t even talk that much about ARMALITH? products. But my first impression about the fabric and its quality was positive so we swapped business cards.

Later on, I received a letter from the Royotec manager and it completely sold me on the company. The communication, the accuracy in descriptions, and the obvious care and enthusiasm for their product was extremely impressive. I was both surprised and excited to find that ARMALITH? fabric was available from their stock in any reasonable quantity.

While other mills follow the general fashion trends and expect fabric orders twice per year, having fabric availability at almost any time allows us to plan our production and stock much more efficiently.

Are your creations 100% Armalith? or a mix of other fabrics ?

Our ARMALITH? products are made from ARMALITH? only. We use fabrics from other manufacturers too, but we never mix different abrasion-resistant fabrics together – except for the gloves. We have one model of gloves that are basically leather gloves but contain abrasion-proof Denim inserts for flexibility, breathability, and comfort without losing the resistance features.

Do you have any new products in the works with this denim?

Yes, our DYNS STRADA RACING model has been developed from ARMALITH? and it is produced from ARMALITH? material only. These are a classic model of jeans that have the highest abrasion-proof level. We use the most advanced Armalith? fabric, resulting in a AAA-rated and certified abrasion-proof level.

These might be the most protective riding jeans on the market, while also looking really discreet and pretty much exactly like your everyday jeans.

How do you promote Armalith? on your products?

We mainly promote the DYNS brand, which is a trademark of exclusive riding jeans that are single-layer only. We don’t produce any products from regular denim with abrasion-proof layers – like kevlar or similar. ARMALITH? creates and promotes abrasion-resistant fabrics which is a perfect match for our business.

We present basic info about ARMALITH? technology in our marketing content and our most demanding and curious customers, when needing more background, check the official ARMALITH? site to learn more about these great fabrics.

Why did you choose Armalith? ?

Every entrepreneur has a good feeling about the right partners to work with. Royotec made this impression from the very first correspondence via email. We decided that we should grasp the opportunity and develop something special from ARMALITH?.

At the time, all of our production was made from AA-certified fabric, but we also wanted to make an exclusive model from the highest possible AAA-rated material. Fortunately, ARMALITH? had this fabric and we quickly made the first production batch. Then, we had the post-covid situation in the industry, which caused long delays in material supply. Again though, ARMALITH? performed extremely well, availability was uninterrupted and its AA materials were as good as we had from other manufacturers, if not better. So, we decided to add ARMALITH? as an option for all of our jeans.

Do you wear Armalith? clothes yourself, which ones and on what occasions ?

Yes, I wear ARMALITH? clothes daily. I have two pairs of DYNS STRADA jeans, one of which are my daily and most used jeans that I wear without knee and hip protectors. I like the fit and especially the fabric durability. They’re a pair of jeans from the very first ARMALITH? production which I took to test how long they’d last. It’s already been almost two years and my jeans are still going strong. The other pair I use for riding. They’re the same pants from our regular production and they have very comfy knee and hip protectors which we supply with every pair of DYNS jeans.

Do you have your products tested and what standard of protection do they achieve?

We mainly use AA or AAA certified products that are tested for abrasion and tear resistance in authorized European labs. Every customer can check the certificates that are published on our website. Moreover, we’ve created a blog called “Road Rash Stories” where we publish the real-life experiences of our customers. These stories are the most obvious and convincing evidence of how DYNS jeans protect people from injuries.

What importance do you attach to the eco-responsible and sustainable dimension of Armalith? ?

This is a very good question. We believe that, first of all, the whole idea of motorcycle textiles is ecological. No doubt, the riders need the best protection, and before this was only achievable with natural leather. But thanks to a very few manufacturers in the world (ARMALITH? is the leading one), the same protection level (AAA standard) is now possible using special textiles. Instead of killing cows and kangaroos for their hides, now we can create comfy and protective jeans made from biodegradable natural cotton.

Also, coming back to my daily ARMALITH? jeans, which I’ve worn for two years already. They’re holding up extremely well and will last me for another year, at the very least. During this time I’d probably have gone through maybe two or three pairs of Wranglers. Is this not the true meaning of sustainability?

Do you think that bikers are sufficiently informed about the risks related to abrasion?

No. We highlight this fact quite often in our media and always strive to educate our customers. There are two common misunderstandings that can cause serious injuries and even fatalities on the road. People usually look for a CE cert but they don’t check abrasion-proof levels. Some motorcycle clothing could be CE certified even if their abrasion proof level is A or even less. They’re made for electric scooter riding and their protection level on a motorcycle outside the city is next to nothing.

Speaking about our main product – jeans – we often discover that people over-emphasize the knee and hip protectors, believing that they’re the first line of their defense against the tarmac. Sure, body armor is important, but we always say that for high-speed road riding, a protective and abrasion-proof layer between the rider's skin and the asphalt is crucial.

How does Armalith? fit in with the DNA of your brand?

We didn’t invent jeans, Levi Strauss did. And we weren’t the first to make jeans-like pants for motorcyclists, either. But we are one of the pioneers of single-layer protective jeans. The main difference between DYNS jeans and traditional moto jeans is the special fabric, which looks like normal indigo denim but is actually super protective.

ARMALITH? innovations give us the possibility to produce that kind of unique product. That’s why it’s not only about the fit with our DNA – ARMALITH? is actually part of our DNA.

Interview with? Albert Zidek - DYNS JEANS