Leather Chaps Guide
How to Lace the Back of Leather Chaps
The back lace sets your chaps' waist; the buckle fine-tunes it. Steps: middle-hole check, letting out or pulling in, tying off, and when to add an extender.
The lace at the back of leather chaps sets the size of the waist; the small front buckle only fine-tunes it. Put the chaps on over your riding jeans, fasten the buckle in a middle hole, then let the back lace out or pull it in until the buckle sits there comfortably. Re-lace along the same route your chaps came with, tie off, and check the fit seated before you trim anything.
This tutorial is part of our guide to motorcycle leather chaps.
What the back lace does
Most chaps have a small metal buckle at the front of the belt and lacing at the back of the belt area to adjust the size. A few designs swap them, lacing at the front and buckling at the back.
The two parts do different jobs. One motorcycle gear shop says the front of the belt adjusts about 3-6 in (7.5-15 cm), while it once let the back out by more than 12 in (30 cm) for a customer. That second figure is one shop's story, not a range you can count on.
On Leather Collection's women's hand-stitched chaps, the front buckle belt sets the waist and the back laces loosen or tighten the fit at the hips. Not every style has them: back lacing appears on 6 of the 24 chaps pages we read, and two women's styles use thigh laces instead. Thigh laces adjust the leg, not the waist, so this guide doesn't cover them.
Before you start
- Your chaps, with the lace still in, so you can see how it runs
- The jeans or riding pants you wear under the chaps. Leather Collection's chaps pages say to fit the waist over the clothes you ride in; see what to wear under chaps
- A phone camera
- A replacement lace, only if the old one is worn or too short
- A helper, if you can't see your own back
Step-by-step: lacing and adjusting
- Photograph the lacing. Before you loosen anything, take a clear photo of how the lace runs through each grommet. We found no source that sets one standard pattern for chaps, so your own pair's route is the one to copy.
- Put the chaps on. Wear them over your riding jeans and fasten the front buckle.
- Check the buckle hole. Fox Creek Leather, a chaps maker, says the belt should fasten in one of the middle holes. If you're on the very first or last hole, adjust the laces.
- Let out or pull in at the back. Waist too tight: let the lace out so the back panels sit further apart. Waist too loose: pull the panels closer, or overlap them. Jamin Leather notes that back lacing can be overlapped or let out for fit.
- Re-lace along your photo. Work through the grommets in the same order as before, keeping the tension even on both sides.
- Tie off. Tie the ends securely and tuck them in so they don't flap on the bike.
- Check the fit seated. Fasten the buckle again; it should land in a middle hole. Sit down and bend your knee. You should be able to do both with ease.
When the lace runs out: extenders
If the waist is still too tight with the lace fully let out, a chaps extender can help. It is a leather panel that laces into the back of the chaps.
We are measuring the buckle-only and full-lace range on one back-laced pair, so you can see how much room the lace really gives.
| Source | Extender size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fox Creek Leather | Short 3 in (7.5 cm) wide; long 5.5 in (14 cm) wide | Long version has 4 sets of grommets; lace included |
| Jamin Leather | Adds 2-6 in (5-15 cm) to the waistband | Laces into the back |
How tight should the waist be?
Snug but not tight. Leather Collection's advice for strap-adjusted chaps is to set them so you can still bend your knee and sit down with ease. Chaps usually sit around the hips, below the belt loops of your jeans. If the waist digs in when you sit, let the lace out one step.
Half chaps follow a different rule: they start very snug and ease with wear. See how tight half chaps should be.
Common mistakes
- Unlacing before you photograph the route. Then you're guessing the order.
- Leaving the buckle on the last hole. Move the adjustment to the lace so the buckle sits in a middle hole.
- Trimming the hem first. Get a good waist and thigh fit before you cut the legs; Fox Creek advises cutting twice rather than cutting too much.
- Lacing over thin pants and riding in thick jeans. Adjust over the layer you ride in.
- Confusing back laces and thigh laces. Thigh laces change the leg, not the waist.
Chaps with back lacing
If you're buying a pair you can adjust this way, check the product details for back lacing before you order, since only some styles list it. The Leather Collection leather chaps range includes back-laced styles alongside buckle and zip designs. For why riders wear chaps at all, see what motorcycle chaps are for, and for the full routine see how to put on motorcycle chaps.
Motorcycle Leather Pant Editorial Team
Motorcycle Leather Pant articles are researched from published sources, cited in the text, and reviewed before publication.