Dirt Bike Pants for Hot Weather: Best Hacks For Summer Rides

The best summer dirt bike pants are breathable, lightweight, and designed specifically for hot weather dirt bike riding. But there are few things you can do to make them even better!

To increase the airflow or ventilation in your dirt bike pants, cut the inner mesh material out. Many dirt bike pants include a mesh or fabric inside the pants, but this material can restrict airflow and make the pants feel hotter in blistering hot three digit weather.

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Rider wearing dirt bike pants in hot weather sitting on a dirt bike

What To Look For in Dirt Bike Pants for Hot Weather?

If you’re in the market for new dirt bike pants that work well in hot climate, you should look at the following characteristics:

  • Overall weight of the dirt bike pants
  • Material thickness and types of materials used
  • Type of mesh or perforated materials used for increased airflow

The first thing that usually gives a good overall understanding on how hot the pants would be is simply the overall weight of the pants. The weight usually indicates how well the pants are able to move the inside heat to the outside of the pants. If you have several layers and thick, non breathing materials, the pants will not be as effective in cooling than more lightweight materials.

If the dirt bike pants have a weather resistant or water proof layer or qualities, they are most likely much hotter and not offering much airflow.

Look for the airflow in the pants. Raise the pants and try to look through the pants into the store lighting or into the sun. If you cannot see any mesh or perforated materials, they’re not ideal for very hot weather. Good hot weather pants will have plenty of perforated and lightweight thin materials that support maximum airflow through your body.

Why To Remove the Mesh Material Inside Dirt Bike Pants?

The mesh material or inner liner inside the dirt bike pants is designed to ease putting on the pants and also to keep the outer material away from direct skin contact. Some manufacturers claim that the mesh material will increase airflow or help keep you cooler.

In most pants that we have tested, the mesh material is simply restricting the airflow. Most mesh materials are made of plastic or similar synthetic components and are not effectively working to cool the pants down. More over they add another layer that traps air inside the pants.

Best Dirt Bike Pants for Hot Weather

First, let’s discuss some of the key features of the best dirt bike pants for hot weather.

As you may have noticed, the dirt bike pants come in many different styles and materials. The best material for summer and hot weather riding is mesh. The outer fabric is made of breathable mesh like material, which is perforated, to let the hot air close to skin easily move outward and effectively cool down the rider.

The best dirt bike pants for hot weather are typically also made out of thinner and more light weight fabric. To make the pants more durable, high friction areas such as knees and seat contact points, are usually reinforced with perforated abrasive resistant material.

The inner liner in most summer pants are designed to wick excessive moisture inside the pants. This is usually not working well, and cutting the inner mesh material can greatly improve the cooling capability of most summer dirt bike pants.

Here are top three best dirt bike pants for hot weather in Amazon.com:

KLIM Men’s XC Lite Motorcycle Pants (click to check the current price on Amazon.com)

Fly Racing 2022 Kinetic Mesh Pants (click to check the current price on Amazon.com)

Troy Lee Designs GP Air Men’s Off-Road Motorcycle Pants (click to check the current price on Amazon.com)

How To Modify Dirt Bike Pants for Hot Weather

Cutting the inner liner out from the dirt pants will increase the airflow. The difference is very noticeable and doesn’t make the pants any more uncomfortable or more difficult to put on or take off. Next, let’s look at how to remove the inner lining.

Step 1: Turn the Dirt Bike Pants Inside Out

Begin by turning the dirt bike pants inside out. This makes cutting the inner mesh off much easier as you can follow the seam and cut next to the outer fabric.

Dirt bike pants turned inside out to show mesh inner liner, laid on the floor
Turn the dirt bike pants inside out and close the zipper and straps.

Step 2: Cut the Knee Area

Next, start by cutting the mesh out from the knee area on the dirt bike pants. Be careful not to cut into the seam and damaging the outer fabric material. The mesh material is soft and usually doesn’t cause chafing so you can leave about 1/8″ or 3mm wide mesh strip from the seam.

Cutting dirt bike pants for hot weather by removing the mesh material inside the pants with scissors
Turn the dirt bike pants inside out.

Step 3: Cut Around the Waist Line

Continue cutting towards the upper part of the dirt bike pants next to the waist line. You can leave or cut the hip padding velcro and the sizing or product information tags also for maximum airflow.

Cutting the dirt bike pant inner mesh material along the waist line with scissors
Cut the mesh material close to the waist line around the pants. Avoid cutting into the seam or the outer thicker pant material.

Step 4: Finish With Removing Tags and Hip Protection Velcro

You can leave or cut the hip padding velcro and the sizing or product information tags also for maximum airflow. In some dirt bike pants, there are lots of plastic type product tags or washing instructions. You can cut them off and store them for later if needed.

Dirt bike pants with mesh inner liner is cut off
Ready cut dirt bike pants for hot weather riding.

Ready cut dirt bike pants above. The inner lining or mesh is completely removed for maximum airflow.

Conclusions

Riding dirt bikes in hot weather can quickly wear you out. With a set of good breathable dirt bike pants and jersey, even hot days are worth riding.

The best lightweight dirt bike pants work well in hot weather. If you want to make them even more breathable, cut the inside lining or mesh material out. This will further increase the airflow inside the dirt bike pants and make them even more comfortable for the three digit dirt bike ride days.

Still, keeping it cool!

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