Best rain pants?

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Fred W

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Rain. We all ride in it (well most of us, anyway) and so we all have to deal with it.

I have several riding jackets that have varying degrees of waterproof-ness on their own, (which can actually be accessed by the duration before you start to get wet underneath...) but I also have a great rain jacket that keeps me absolutely dry (at the expense of not breathing well when it's warm). Mine is an older model of a Technic Osiris rain jacket. It wurks gud.

So up top, in the weather, I'm all good..

But the lower parts have never fared quite so well in the liquid sunshine. I have a pair of Tour Master "Sentinel" rain pants, which from outward examination would appear capable of keeping one nice and dry, but no... No such luck. Around the crotch they leak like a sieve and just an hour or two of steady, hard rain and I feel like I have peed myself, except that it isn't warm and comforting. :huh:

I know it is great folly to raise any kind of serious questions here on a Friday afternoon, and I've already had my first (of hopefully many) social lubricant of the evening myself, but I'm thinking I should try looking for something mo' better to keep my nether regions dry and comfy in the wet and nasty.

I'm tempted to go with the cheap, solid PVC pants and just replace them often when they spring a leak. At least then you'd know you will be dry until they get creased too many times and crack or puncture. Or sweat too much. But I figured maybe somebody knows of the magic bullet here.

I'm willing to listen to all ideas. So please, bring 'em on!!

 
Fred I really like the rain liners I got with the Motoport. OOps I just realized you prolly want something to go over your gear. nevermind.

 
Rain. We all ride in it (well most of us, anyway) and so we all have to deal with it.
I got wet today. And muddy.

 

I ride with the one piece stitch and have a problem with the gortex sitting on my hot seated fjr. Water molecules go through goretex hot to cold so after an hour or two on my fjr I'll get a wet butt. I learned not to turn on my heated grips in the rain with goretex gloves also.

 

I'll be interested in what you find works.

 
You might run down to Max's and check out the BMW stuff - if you don't already have a second on your house. Mt 3Phase works great. Unfortunately, they don't make that particular model any more.

 
I picked up a pair of First Gear rain pants at the Tellico Outfitters. Are they the best? Don't know, but they are a 100 miles better than that pair of HD rain pants I was wearing.

Funny though, I find that in the last couple of storms I ran through, the wind is blowing up my jacket leaving me with a wet belly/crotchal region. Never used to do that (this started happening before the purchase of the FG's). Wonder what I changed that caused that?

 
My Nelson-Rigg outfit works really well.....have ridden for hours in the rain and didnt get a single drop or any leaks.

Only downside is that it's not breathable...it's not that cheap PVC but maybe one rung up the ladder....kinda like a Polyester/Nylon/PVC get up.

6 yrs though and it's doing just fine. I think it's the XR-3 which they discontinued but probably replaced with a comparable model...it ran ~$90 for the top and bottom 6 yrs ago.

I'd recommend Cortech Caliber textile pants as my first pair was 100% waterproof for ~ a year but then developed serious leaks in the stiching in the crotch area.

My 2nd pair is now almost a year old and hasnt leaked a bit yet...and I like the fact that they have some armor in them. The jury is out though on how well any waterproofing will last long term.

 
I've worn 'Stich Darian, and most recently AD1's, in horrendously wet conditions for days at a time and either has yet to leak a drop. I'm a proponent of wearing waterproof gear so I don't have to stop to put on liners/toggs/etc.

 
Fred, Frog Togs are your friend...$29.00 and they breath...did not get wet on the Bluegrass tour at all
Hey Joe, I wore the Froggs on that same ride and the boys almost drown. Really the only place I noticed

getting wet. Maybe I need to reseal the seams in the crotch area or teach the boys how to swim. :Snorkle:

Update: wife informs me that the boys get too much attention, maybe I should check the Toggs for damage. :eek:

 
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I'm willing to listen to all ideas. So please, bring 'em on!!
I wear the Tour Master Elite II Nomex Rain Pants and to date have not gotten wet. I have not ridden ALL day yet in these pants but the few hours of continuous rain riding I have experienced in these I have been dry. I am considering a Defender Jacket. I run with a Rev'it Sirocco jacket and that has kept me 95% dry with the rain liner installed in ALL day rain riding. The only downfall is the jacket get incredibly heavy and warm when totally soaked with water. Also running Sidi Canyon boots which are COMPLETELY waterproof.

Good luck in your quest!

btw...I will be blaming you since I have now attested to the quality of my rain gear and fully expect to get soaked next time in the rain because I think "murphy" was listening...lol

Mike

 
I've worn 'Stich Darian, and most recently AD1's, in horrendously wet conditions for days at a time and either has yet to leak a drop. I'm a proponent of wearing waterproof gear so I don't have to stop to put on liners/toggs/etc.
Living here in the PNWet, I subscribe to this strategy. I have a set of Teknic Monsoon pants...sadly discontinued, and have never been wet yet!

They are getting a little long in the tooth though, so I'm very interested in the AD1's.

Back to the original question...unlike dcarver, I have a set of Frogg Toggs and use them with great success. The newer version looks even more better than the originals. :)

--G

 
The Sentinel pants SUCK!!!!!! I tore up a Tour Master Defender suit in a small little slip-n-fall some years back, and replaced it with a Sentinel, jacket and pants, expecting a little bit better suit since it was little bit costlier. That jacket was awesome!!! The pants absolutely sucked. Something about that leather crotch panel just didn't work at all!

I replaced them with another Tour Master Defender suit. I have never been wet in this suit, or in the one I tore up in that crash. The suit is sold as both pieces, and packs very compactly. Pants use suspenders to stay up, and the suit is sized to fit over regular gear; you don't order an "extra" size to accomodate.

So don't judge the whole Tour Master thing by the Sentinel. It's an aberration, a spike, the one invalid data point.

 
Seems that the Frog Toggs get highly mixed reviews. I wonder why that is? I'd like to be able to use them as they seem to be the most breathable stuff out there. But a good number of people say that they just don't keep them dry in an all day rain.

I've worn 'Stich Darian, and most recently AD1's, in horrendously wet conditions for days at a time and either has yet to leak a drop. I'm a proponent of wearing waterproof gear so I don't have to stop to put on liners/toggs/etc.
I'd like to go that route, except I'm too much of a heat wimp to ride without mesh gear in the middle of summer. It's one of the reasons that I bailed out of the (used) two piece Roadcrafter suit that I had for a while this spring. It did keep me dry and comfortable until the temps got above about 70. Then my heat wimpiness kicks in and I long for my Olympia mesh gear. It's during the 3 seasons that I can wear the mesh that I really need to carry extra rain gear.

The Sentinel pants SUCK!!!!!! I tore up a Tour Master Defender suit in a small little slip-n-fall some years back, and replaced it with a Sentinel, jacket and pants, expecting a little bit better suit since it was little bit costlier. That jacket was awesome!!! The pants absolutely sucked. Something about that leather crotch panel just didn't work at all!

I replaced them with another Tour Master Defender suit. I have never been wet in this suit, or in the one I tore up in that crash. The suit is sold as both pieces, and packs very compactly. Pants use suspenders to stay up, and the suit is sized to fit over regular gear; you don't order an "extra" size to accomodate.

So don't judge the whole Tour Master thing by the Sentinel. It's an aberration, a spike, the one invalid data point.
Yes, exactly!! Thanks for that tid-bit of info. I had written off all of the Tour Master rain pants based on the Sentinel pants. I may try a pair if the DEfenders as they seem pretty cost effective.

Have a set of rain pants from REI, with suspenders, full side zippers, etc, that I bought about 4 years ago for about $100 and have never been wet in them. They are also breathable so you don't sweat in them.
Interesting. For $100 I would have to assume that they are Gore Tex? But I do not see anything that comes close to that listed on their web site currently. I found some full GoreTex rain pants for >$100 at EMS but the sizing doesn't look like it would be long enough to wear over protective mesh pants.

 
If you're looking for cheap, replaceable, yet pretty durable, go to WalMart and get some of those waterproof pandpts from the sporting goods section. I have a pair that I have worn off and on for years and have never leaked.

I bought a set of inner-rubberized gear a few years ago at a pirate rally and they worked good too. BUT...they did not breathe, so if it was anywhere near warm, I would sweat...a lot.

Now I have a Fieldsheer suit I got from BukeBandit a while back on clearance. So far it seems good, but now I can't remember if I've used it in a bad rain or not. Sure hope I don't end up with a soaking crotch.

 
I've had great luck with FirstGears Rainman Jacket and Rainman Pants (sold separately). Rode home 8 hours in the rain from NERDS and stayed nice & dry. Aside from good performance I like the fact they both have integrated storage pouches - meaning they fold up into themselves - so no extra bags, etc

 
I have never had the need for a rain suit- so far.

I love my combo of FIRST GEAR HT overpant/ AEROSTICH ROADCRAFTER Jacket

I just did 10 hours continuous rain in them and stayed dry.

IF I had to go with a rainsuit it would be the TOURMASTER DEFENDER...

Which I will probably start carrying for rain back-up/ Extra warming gear

 
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