It’s been more than two decades since Pierre-Henry Servajeanbusinessman and above all a self-taught person, registered the patent for what we know today as Armalith. An idea born from the meeting of his two passions: motorcycling and textiles, in particular jeans. Servajean comments that: “When I was riding a motorcycle, I was either on the back wheel, the front wheel or on the ground. It was this intimate relationship with the asphalt that gave me the idea of armoured cowboys.”
Currently, Armalith It is an authentic denim fabric, created by the revolutionary assembly of aerospace fibers coated with cotton.At the heart of this complex “architecture” is a technical reinforcement of fibers UHMWPE.
Originally, these fibres were traditionally used for space applications (atmospheric reentry tethers for space modules), but also for military applications (bulletproof vests and armour) and offshore applications (securing marine platforms).
Armalith in the world of two wheels
Over the years, Armalith has entered the two-wheel sector, specifically the equipment and protection sector. To achieve this, the brand has gone through different processes of evolution and development, even creating the “Armalith Test Days”.
In these tests, held at the Jean-Pierre Beltoise circuit in France, motorcycle jeans were put to the test on asphalt, combining the Darmstadt (abrasion speed) and Cambridge (abrasion distance) standards in a more realistic protocol than laboratory machines.
Thanks to these tests, products made with Armalith include: more than 20 references based on:
- Abrasion resistance
- Stretch elasticity
- Appearance (denim, plain or fancy)
In addition, these references are segmented into 7 levels of protection based on data from Armalith test days:
- Mobility: Abrasion protection for a distance of 4m after a fall at 27km/h
- Urban: Abrasion protection for a distance of 8 m or after a fall at 45 km/h
- Road Trip: Abrasion protection for a distance of 14 m or after a fall at 70 km/h
- Fast Road: Abrasion protection for a distance of 20 m or after a fall at 90 km/h
- Highway: Abrasion protection for a distance of 32 m or after a fall at 110 km/h
- Track: Abrasion protection for a distance of 40 m or after a fall at 120 km/h. For use on open or closed roads
- MotoGP: Abrasion protection over a distance of 56 m or after a fall at 120 km/h. Its mechanical qualities are equivalent or superior in all respects to the requirements established by the FIM in accordance with Cambridge standard 13959-2.
Armalith: A production concerned with the environment
The brand strives to produce its denim in as virtuous a circle as possible, reducing its carbon footprint and consumption of natural resources:
- Cotton produced in Spain according to the eco-responsible BCI (Better Cotton Initiative) standard, certified Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex (absence of harmful substances) and GMO-free
- Less than 700 km from the fields to the production site, reducing the carbon footprint of cotton sourcing by 42%
- The fabric is designed in France and manufactured in Spain by Tejidos Royo in a vertical and eco-responsible production center that includes spinning, dyeing, indigo, weaving and finishing.
- Traceability throughout the supply chain
- UHMWPE fiber requires half the energy to produce than aramid fibers
- The UHMWPE fibres used in the Armalith patent are continuous (no microplastics are released) and non-textured (no energy-intensive cracking or texturing), unlike all other technical fibres (aramid, polyamide, polyester).
- Armalith manufacturing processes are carried out at low temperatures, in particular with the cold thermosetting of LYCRA, which allows for low energy consumption.
- No heavy metals are used in the pigments; indigo is produced through a slow, cold, waterless process (Dry Indigo by Tejidos Royo)
- Withstands 200 to over a thousand washes without losing elasticity (12 washes for fast fashion)
Since 2011, among the most qualified international denim weavers, the Spanish company Royo Fabrics Armalith is the exclusive manufacturer of Armalith. They currently produce garments aimed at different segments of the sector, combining a series of features that, in addition to safety, provide maximum comfort and adaptability to movement.
More information about Armalith, its different uses and most notable features on its official website or on the page dedicated to this material by the Spanish manufacturer Royotec.
