EU certification

For 2020 the Hood K7 Infinity motorcycle jeans are available in two CE Classifications:

Options

• K7-B Jean: CE certified to prEN 17092-5, Class B, NO impact protectors
• K7-AA Jean: CE certified to prEN 17092-3, Class AA, D3O^® T5 X Hip & Knee armour as standard
• K7-AA Jean: CE certified to prEN 17092-3, Class AA, D3O^® GHOST^™ Hip & Knee armour upgrade
• K7-AA Jean: CE certified to prEN 17092-3, Class AA, D3O^® T5 PRO X Hip & Knee armour upgrade

Classifications Explained

The “AAA”, “AA”, “A” and “B” classifications of motorcyclists’ clothing specified in provisional European Standard prEN 17092-1:2017 (February 2017) can be described as follows:

prEN 17092-2 – Class AAA garments. The highest level of protection, against the highest level of risks. Some common examples are: one-piece or two-piece suits. These garments are likely to have severe and limiting ergonomic, weight and thermal penalties, which some riders will not find acceptable for their specific riding activities.

prEN 17092-3 – Class AA garments. The second highest level of protection, against the risks of the greatest diversity of riding activities. These garments are expected to have lower ergonomic and weight penalties than Class AAA garments and some riders will not find these penalties acceptable for their specific riding activities.

The “AA” classification achieved by the K7-AA Infinity jeans therefore places them in the group of motorcyclists’ clothing which, for most riders, possibly provides the optimum balance of protection and comfort.

prEN 17092-4 – Class A garments. The third highest level of protection. Some common examples are: garments, designed to be worn by themselves or to be worn over other clothing by riders in extremely hot environments. Class A garments are expected to have the lowest ergonomic and weight penalties. The “A” classification achieved by the K7/A Infinity jeans therefore places them in this group

prEN 17092-5 – Class B garments. This class of garments is designed to provide the equivalent abrasion protection of Class A garments, but without the inclusion of impact protectors.

The Hood K7-B Infinity Jean is Class B, this option does not offer impact protection and it is recommended that they be worn with, at least, EN 1621-1 knee impact protectors, to offer complete minimum protection.

Commonly asked questions

When did the new PPE Regulation come into force? (I have read different dates, always much later, on other clothing brand websites).

The PPE Regulation 2016/425 was fully implemented on 21st April 2018. We know that some companies are suggesting it is April 2019, but this is not correct. The April 2019 date only covers products which were already certified and CE marked before 21st April 2018, and provides these products only with a one year extension to update their accreditation. It is not applicable to motorcycle clothing which was not previously certified.

We are also aware that some companies are saying they do not have to certify their clothing until prEN 17092 is officially published as EN 17092. Again, this is not correct. It is the date of full implementation of the PPE Regulation (i.e. 21st April 2018) which must be observed, and not the later date of publication of standards.

So what happens after Brexit?

From what we understand, absolutely nothing will change and the European PPE Regulation will still apply in the UK, as the British government has made it absolutely clear that all EU laws in place on the day Brexit is finalised, will be incorporated into British law.

The British Standards Institution has also unequivocally stated that it will continue to be a member of the European Standards agency, CEN, and will publish European Standards as BS ENs. Neither BSI nor CEN are government departments – they are private organisations which happen to be ‘contracted’ to develop official standards – so Brexit has no specific impact on them any more than it does any other business.

Bottom line: business as usual for the new EN 17092 standards for motorcyclists’ clothing and CE marking; Brexit or not.

How does prEN 17092 compare with EN 13595?

The existing European Standard, EN 13595:2002, covers protective clothing for professional motorcyclists, whereas proposed new European Standard, prEN 17092, is for clothing used by non-professional riders; for example, for commuting and leisure use. The two standards will operate alongside each other until at least 2023.

Because the two standards use different test methods, it is not possible to make direct comparisons (the abrasion test, in particular, uses entirely different criteria to establish the pass/fail outcome); however, the prEN puts greater emphasis on flexibility and comfort, with a commensurate reduction in protective performance, compared with EN 13595.

For several years, Hood Jeans has regularly submitted its products for abrasion testing, for quality control purposes, using the method described in EN 13595. We have run the same check with the new K7 Infinity jeans. This provides us with test data for the new K7 Infinity, which can be directly compared with the results we hold on file for the original K7 jeans, to ensure consistency of test performance from the new Infinity construction.