rain gear

[luvtoride]

I'd love to read your list, to cross reference with my gripes.

So, I wasn't going to say anything... but since you asked:

1) Neck area WAYYY too loose. If that were the only problem, I'd find a solution. I have velcro and know how to use it.

2) First time that I wore the pants the crotch leaked.

3) First time I wore the pants the pocket's pass-through blew out and ripped. I will stress that I was not being hard on the suit.

4) I am a fairly large woman. I'm 5'8" & weight around 195. For comparison, I wear a 34" pants. It may have been 36 at the time to be fair. I'm a little overweight, but not huge. I had a men's large suit... which I must stress, was not tight. The arms on the jacket were freakishly long... like drag your knuckles on the pavement long, & the pants would not cover the legs on my 32ish" inseam mesh pants.

I cannot understand why so many have good experiences with these things FOR YEARS. I really can't.

This is definitely on my list of "good money wasted on shit purchase". I sent the jacket... which did indeed survive a weekend of my tortuous hell, to FJRandy since he is one of the FT kool aid drinkers.

But Howie, this is my list.

 

[Patriot]

frogg toggs raingear.com Road Toads

My toggs currently used by me and AIW (Angelic Italian Wifey) are the gen 1's from 3 years ago.

They are satisfactory for my needs with mostly summer rains in hot temps. They breath very well and are only slightly warmer over gear. Quite a bit warmer when the hood is used inside the helmet. They worked great for me at SFO, but I have seen others have some compaints with them - I have a linebackers neck and pencil necks can leak at the collar; I've seen crotches in the paints fail; I've seen them damaged by a cruisers promenent double pipes when the legs touches the hot surface.

That said, the Road Toads above are the newest Gen III Frogg Toggs which are an attempt to address some noted compaints and said deficientcys in previous FT raingear including better zippers and seals. My only experience with them is a riding podna who travels lots on his GL1800 Goldwing, which is protection plus while moving and not the best test of riding into the rain pelting the gear.

I personally would not hesitate to purchase the Road Toads if I was in need of new rain gear IMHO.

But again, I rarely need rain gear in cold conditions, or out in the wind stream. My winter gear is already water proof. I wear rain gear pretty much in spring & fall conditions over medium warm or mesh gear. In fact, in July with 100+ heat index on the highway, I hope and pray for light rain and clouds and invite some drops on my mesh gear to keep from seeing double from heat stroke.

let's ride safe and be careful out there,

Mike in Nawlins'

 

[luvtoride]

Dude, pencil neck, I don't think so. The neck was a good 3 to 4" too big, too.

 

[RadioHowie]

So, I wasn't going to say anything... but since you asked:
1) Neck area WAYYY too loose. If that were the only problem, I'd find a solution. I have velcro and know how to use it.

Not a problem with my 17" neck

2) First time that I wore the pants the crotch leaked.

Not a problem with my 1/2" crotch

3) First time I wore the pants the pocket's pass-through blew out and ripped. I will stress that I was not being hard on the suit.

Same thing happend to BOTH my pockets!

4) I am a fairly large woman. I'm 5'8" & weight around 195. I'm a little overweight, but not huge. I had a men's large suit... which I must stress, was not tight. The arms on the jacket were freakishly long... like drag your knuckles on the pavement long, & the pants would not cover the legs on my 32ish" inseam.

I am a fairly large man. 6'4" & weight around 280. I'm overweight, but my 6'4" frame helps to carry it reasonably well. I've got what's labeled as L-XL. Wasn't too tight when I bought it 9 years ago, but that was about 80 pounds ago, so now everything is too tight. Exactly the opposite problem on the arms...too short for me, and the legs are too short as well on my 35" inseam. I should have a 3XL suit. Now, when I know I'm gonna get wet on the ride home, or run up on a storm out on the road, I stop by the roadside and strip all the way down to my Fruit of the Looms and go 95% "commando" under my Toggs. Passing traffic must wonder WTF that pasty fat white guy is doin' standing their in his tighty whities with rain falling like crazy.

BTW, doing the strip-down boogie by the side of the road is the ONLY time I noticed the legendary Gen I heat on my left leg. Damn near cooked it with nothing but the Toggs between me and the surface of Mercury. The rain was the only thing keeping my skin from frying. Won't be doin' THAT again! h34r:

I cannot understand why so many have good experiences with these things FOR YEARS. I really can't.

I guess I've lived with the shortcomings all these years because the FT were SO cheap...about $65 if memory serves, and since rainy season here coincides with 95+ degree weather, the light weight and breathable fabric during a steam bath shower outweighed the negatives.

This is definitely on my list of "good money wasted on shit purchase". I sent the jacket... which did indeed survive a weekend of my tortuous hell to FJRandy since he is one of the FT kool aid drinkers.
But Howie, this is my list.

Hey, I appreciate you playing along with the Home Edition.

I'm not usually a gambler, but I'd give Frogg Toggs one more chance IF the 3XL was noticeably larger AND they'd done a better job of waterproofing the front jacket closure.

 

[fialdj]

I have found the Frogg Toggs to be the cheapest at Bass Pro Shops.

Dave

 

[Harald]

Tour Master Elite Rain Pants
Tour Master Sentinel Rain Jacket

Tried and true... good for cold weather as an extra layer as well. B)

I still have a set of those and they worked great for rain protection and also for warmth in the winter by blocking wind.

Living in the rainy Pacific North West, I got tired of gambling whether it was gonna rain on my commute and having to pull on rain gear when it was raining. We don't get a large volume of rain at a time like back in Florida, but it's on and off drizzle for days on end. I solved my problem by investing in good Aerostitch Darien gear. One set of gear for all weather conditions that provides excellent padding and abrasion resistance! :yahoo: I don't even bother checking the weather forecast because I'm prepared for whatever gets thrown at me (Okay, I lied - I do check for snow in the forecast during the winter). The only decision to make is whether to remove the jacket liner for warm weather or open vents for hot weather. I should point out that we rarely see 90 degrees here, so the need for mesh gear is greatly reduced - I would have to rethink my "Aerostitch year 'round" plan if I lived in central Florida.

 

[PhilMills]

I just got a set of the 2009 hi-vis FT Road Toad and am pretty happy so far. They pack down small (both pants and jacket in my Axio tailbag with some room to spare) and so far seem to do the job on keeping the rain out.

I did a trip through Oklahoma & Arkansas over Memorial Day week that got some light/medium rain - about 60 miles or so was worth breaking out the suit for. Since I was already kind of damp, the breathability didn't help a whole lot, but I succeeded in not getting any more wet than I was.

Yesterday got me caught in a toad-choker rain/hail storm while I was out at the store. Since I'd pulled up under the awning at the grocery store, I stayed dry while getting the suit on. Riding back home reminded me that I've got a leak in one boot and that my gloves don't even pretend to be waterproof, but when I stripped everything off, I was completely dry.

The integrated hood is a wonderful idea, too - whether you get Frogg Toggs or not, don't even consider any suit that doesn't have a hood built-in to go under the helmet.

 

[luvtoride]

So, ya'll pays yer munnee & ya's take yer chances! Good wishes to yee. I definitely do not wish anyone to waste their money... especially not in this day & age.

FT has made the money that they will get from my hands. If they were at all decent, I would probably of given them a 2nd try. I did like how light they were. That is the only thing that I even remotely cared for.

Me, I'm running with a First Gear "Rainman" suit. I wear it over my mesh.

 

[Lawrence]

do you guys carry extra rain gear, our just use the liners that come with most jackets and pants.

I ride with the Aerostitch Roadcrafter (2-piece, bought used from a friend). I don't worry about rain or no. I ride year-round (in SoCal) and the suit works from cold (sub 50s for us, just add an extra layer) to hot (I've been in Death Valley at 120degrees). No extra gear to carry (though I have to figure out something for my boots, as they aren't waterproof)

 

[lnewlf]

Roughneck jeans from Cabala's unless it's hot [not usually around here]- the only waterproof jeans I've found- and Gerbings liner.. both equal to any rainsuit I've had..