Belstaff Poplar chino in khaki

The Belstaff Poplar is a style, or more particularly a fit, of trouser that has been in the Belstaff range for a few years now. But until this new, chino-version was introduced in 2024, the Poplar had always been a denim pant.  The Poplar fit has always been, and still is, straight leg. More 501 than 511.

 

The new chino is made from a stretch Cordura mixed with a polyamide for added strength. The result is a single-layer, riding trouser that, whilst heavier than some, is easy to wear. As a single-layer pant it's going to flow air far better than any lined or Kevlar trouser. Yet this is no lightweight affair. These pants have a certain heft, a certain substance.

 

In terms of the details, they have what might be termed a mid-rise. The fly is a zip fly. The front pockets are standard jean pockets, with a small, change compartment in the right one. At the rear you get two, unadorned, wallet pockets.

 

The chino is rated AA under EN17092, and comes supplied with Level 1 Ghost in the knees and hips. Normally, we do not recommend upgrading to Level 2 Ghost in a jean, but in a chino of this weight you would never notice the difference

 

The weak part of many single-layer jeans is often the system employed for carrying the armour. Nobody does this better than Rokker. The system used by Belstaff is not quite so neat. To hold the armour in place, Belstaff has sewn a full, cotton lining all the way down the front of the trouser. This does what it is meant to. It will hold the armour where it needs to be, but it detracts from the pant's wearability. We would have preferred a single-layer chino without a lining, because that partially negates the benefit of going single-layer in the first place. But that ship has sailed. The front of the Poplar chino is lined from the waist down to just below the knee.

 

One of the problems we had with the Poplar in the past is that the jeans were only been available in a single leg length. And at this end of the market, and at this price point, that was not really good enough. Rokker jeans, for example, come in four leg lengths. Well, the good news is that the new Poplar chinos come in three leg lengths. And this is going to make it much more likely that the armour is going to sit in the correct position.

 

The original Poplar was a popular jean despite the leg length issue. But this new chino will work on many more people. And, of course, it's a Belstaff chino, so it's about as stylish as it gets.