Mesh pants for a hot summer commute? (over 100 degrees)

[Steve in Phx]

I live in sunny Phoenix, Arizona. I'm looking for mesh over pants that I can wear over my work clothes (usually boots, slacks + belt, and a dress shirt). I would love some feedback on which pants you guys have had good experience with.

Important features for me are:

+Zippers all the way up the leg, so I can get into them without removing my boots.

+LOTS of air flow. My summer commute home in mid-afternoon sun will be well over 100 degrees for much of the year.

+A color other than black might be nice. My other black gear gets really hot in the sun.

-I have rain gear for the three days of the year I get rained on. So rain protection is not important to me.

My budget is $150. I see lots online for less than that so the price shouldn't be an issue.

My local Cycle Gear doesn't have any good stuff. Only Bilt and Sedici. I don't like the Bilt brand. The Sedici appears to be too heavy, with insufficient mesh to flow air.

Some searched have shown a few good reports about the Olympia Airglide 3. Would appreciate more feedback. Thanks in advance.

 

[gregory]

Can't help you out at that price. But, if you can find the $$$ Cycleport is da bomb. I used to live in Tucson, so I know how hot it gets

 

[its just rain]

I've had the Airglide jacket for several years now in the Hi Vis color. While it does let in a lot of air, it's still hot. The best thing I can say about Olympia products is that they are very well made and hold up for a long time. I can't speak about other mesh jackets but I will probably buy Olympia again if this one ever wears out.

I can't comment on pants because I just wear Kevlar jeans in the summer.

 

[wheatonFJR]

I have the Air Glide 3 in SC

 

[RaYzerman19]

Airglide good, but alternative is the Dakar pants........ extra cargo pockets.

 

[El Toro Joe]

I wear my Motoport 1000D Cordura pants all year. They breath very well in the heat of summer, and have great protection.

 

[wfooshee]

Tour Master Venture Aire. I'm a Florida rider, so while i don't see temps actually over 100 very often, i get pretty damn close, and it's not a "dry heat," either! I don't use the rain liner for rain, i have a rain suit, but I do use the thermal liner (which zips inside the rain liner) when it gets cold, and I've done freezing temps in town, mid-30s on the road, and been comfortable.

EZ on and off, over the boots. I wear them on my ride to work, and my jacket and pants stay go the top case while i'm there.

Looking around, though, i see that they have been replaced by the Venture Aire 2.0, at around 189 bucks. Not sure what the 2.0 adds that the original didn't have, but I always saw the originals around 109 to 129..... Dunno what made them so proud, all of a sudden.

 

[HotRodZilla]

^^I have Venture Air pants that I love. Not sure what colors they come in, other than black.

 

[user 31223]

I wear joe rocket phoenix 3.0 , but it seems they are discontinued, not sure the replacements, have the full length zipper

 

[HotRodZilla]

1st gear used to make mesh pants that had full zippers. My buddy had a pair. That was a few years ago.

 

[bigjohnsd]

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/olympia-airglide-3-over-pants

 

[gixxerjasen]

Find you a set of used Olympia Air Glides. I love mine here in Texas.

 

[LAF]

https://www.revzilla.com/motorcycle/olympia-airglide-3-over-pants

This is the best deal in your price range you are going to find. And that is if they still have your size.

We just bought a pair for my SO. They were 229.00 at the dealer with 15% off.

Came home and did a search and found them for her for 129.00 at Revzilla as they are last years style. She did not care at all that the back pockets had changed. Jump on a pair with both feet as quick as you can.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

McHuderson has a pair that fold themselves up and hop into a sidecase, all on their own. Don't know what he paid though. I just ordered a pair of the airglide 3's on a whim. I have never felt the need for mesh pants, nor did I need to spend the money. Pure peer pressure. I usually ride in a pair of 5.11's or jeans in the summer. Part of what I like about April-October is NOT having to wear things like neck gaiters, heated gear, and overpants. But the idea of riding in shorts on a 95 degree day is pretty cool.

 

[FJRPittsburgh]

I don't know how you Southerners ride in that heat all the time. We have our share of it in the Summer, but my favorite time to ride here is the Spring and Fall. The excessive heat makes it no fun for me. Maybe it's my Northern blood. It takes a while for me to adapt to the hot weather. As long as I'm moving on the bike, it's not too bad, Stopping at traffic lights, etc. is sweat city. I'd rather layer up than ride in the excessive heat, but that's just me. I pity you Southerners.

 

[hppants]

I'm on my 2nd pair of Tourmaster Venture Air mesh pants. T/M now has a "version 2.0" of these pants, and they are more expensive. I found on Amazon a left over pair of the older version (Just called "Tourmaster Venture Air") for about $120.00 shipped. I see there are still several pairs of these on Amazon.

Unfortunately (or fortunately - depending on your perspective), these pants are crashed tested and worked VERY well on a 40-ish MPH slide down the belt sander. The knee armor is very good and is adjustable. It covers your knee area inclusively. The hip pads are also well designed and stay in place.

These pants come with two liners - one is a "waterproof" liner and does a great job of keeping you dry in a short light rain (or an unexpected "one out of 3 times a year" rain). They also extend the temperature range of the pants at least 20 degrees colder. There is also a quilted liner that I supposed could extend that even farther, but I have never used it. I've used these pants with the 1st liner comfortably in temperatures from 20 - 105 (as comfortable as a rider can be in 100 degrees)

They meet all of your criteria except I think they only come in black.

 

[Fred W]

+1 to what Pittsburgh says. I'm a northern boy, and I can not take the heat. Even mod 90's with any amount of humidity and I am miserable.

That said, my wife and I have the Olympia AirGlide 3 jackets and pants. Jackets are both in HiViz and the pants are Pewter Gray, which doesn't absorb the solar radiation as much as black and doesn't show the dirt as much as silver. We ride in the summer with just LDComfort shorts under.

I've seen what happened to a guy's knee after very low speed get off during a group ride while he was wearing blue jeans. Unless they are Kevlar reinforced jeans, and have knee armor, personally, I wouldn't risk not wearing All The Gear All The Time. YMMV

 

[FJR Flyer]

I've been using FirstGear HT Air overpants for years. We don't hit 100+ temps much around DC, and they are black. But they've been crash tested and held up very well.

 

[BigOgre]

I bought a pair of Rev'it Airwave pants to try as overpants when the other would get warm. Reasonable price, padding seems ok with adjustable knees and easy on and off. The cut of these though don't seem to work well as overpants but they do have a very comfortable pants-like fit with just some sort of compression shorts or pants underneath leading me to give up on the overpants idea and just wearing them all day. Downside there is the lack of pockets, only two front hip, which I didn't consider when shopping and miss when off the bike for any length of time.

Airglide good, but alternative is the Dakar pants........ extra cargo pockets.

^ These seem to solve a problem. Might give them a try at some point.