Rain gear: What do you have? How well does it work?

[Erci]

I currently have Bilt 2-piece suit.
Pros:
Very light, durable, easy to put on, blocks the wind very well.
Cons:
Lets the water in, in heavier rain.

Previously had Nelson Rigg SR-6000.
Pros:
Blocks the wind very well.
Cons:
Bulky and heavy. Lets the water in, in heavier rain. Poor durability.

 

[lawlberg]

I currently have Bilt 2-piece suit.
Pros:
Very light, durable, easy to put on, blocks the wind very well.
Cons:
Lets the water in, in heavier rain.

Previously had Nelson Rigg SR-6000.
Pros:
Blocks the wind very well.
Cons:
Bulky and heavy. Lets the water in, in heavier rain. Poor durability.

I currently have a white tee shirt.

Pros: Not too stained, already wearing it, breathable, nips look good through it.
Cons: lets water in on a foggy morning.

 

[texcollect]

Tourmaster Sentinel jacket and my pants, gloves and boots are goretex. To be honest the jacket doesn't vent so riding in the rain in the heat of Texas I get just as wet with my Sentinel jacket on than I do with my so called "waterproof" Firstgear Teton jacket, it's just sweat instead of rain.

 

[Brackson]

I just recently got
-Alpinestars Cape Town Air Drystar Jacket
-AGV Sport Telluride H2O Pants
-Alpinestars CR-4 Gore-Tex XCR Boots
I have not used them in the rain yet but I will update after I have. The jacket and pants have removable liners the boots are Gore-Tex XCR built in and should be entirely waterproof as is.



What I used to use was

-Joe Rocket Atomic 4.0 Jacket
Pros:
Completely waterproof and windproof, waterproof liner bonded directly to 600D shell
Cons:
breathed well for being water tight, but was too hot on really warm days

-Frogg Togg Pants
Pros:
Waterproof, breathed well, but still kept wind out, rolls up small
Cons:
baggy and look like crap

-Joe Rocket Sub Zero Gloves
Pros:
Waterproof, windproof, warm
Cons:
Warm, basically no protection at all, I originally got them for price and waterproof feature, I now realize they are more like snow mobile gloves

 

[Water Bear]

I have a Dainese Atallo D-Dry jacket:

Dainese Atallo 2 D-Dry Jacket - RevZilla

Drove it through a hail / rain storm in East Texas. It's the same as what the OP said, works well in general, but gets damp in the bicep area where the rain hits the hardest. The wind and hail were pretty ferocious, though.

I have a set of winter / water proof gloves, the Rev'It! H20.

REV'IT! Element 2 H20 Gloves - RevZilla

To make a long story short, they are 100% warm but maybe about 75% dry. When I stopped for gas after making it through the storm the interiors of the gloves were damp (might have been because water was running into them from on top of the jacket sleeves, I wore them over-cuff). They weren't dripping wet, but they also weren't completely dry.

Pros:

-Warm down to 40 degrees F
-Very comfortable
-Two velcro straps per glove let you cinch them down well
-High quality build and materials

Cons:

-Not the best feeling for the controls, uses interior lining.

Finally I wear a pair of these for water proof pants:

Dainese Teren D-Dry Pants - RevZilla

TBH I can't report much on them. Between fatigue and sweat I really have no idea how well they handled the rain, but they probably did fine since my legs are out of the wind.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Frogg Toggs,

Pros...light weight easy to carry and store.
Pros...comes with reflective strip on pants and top.

Cons...seems to absorb more than repel. Cuffs has elastic bands that are too tight or small that make it very difficult to place them over your gloves. You usually can get one side on since you have your gloves off, but makes it impossible to place the cuffs over your gloves with gloves on. If your gloves end up going over your cuffs, as I mentioned the absorption from the gear will transfer to your inner liner of your gloves, making them wet!

Cons...Collar could be higher, too low for my liking.

Cons...Not enough reflective material.

Cons...takes too long to dry.

Not recommended.

 

[Brackson]

Not recommended.

I liked the idea of saying a summary of recommendation so here goes.

Joe Rocket Atomic 4.0 Jacket - Highly recommended as a second jacket, it is perfect for rain or 3 season cold riding, but you need something with better breath-ability for the summer. The vents it has do work well, so its pretty comfortable up to about 75-80 degrees. It gets miserable after that though.

Frogg Togg Pants - decent cheap small packing option, but they are so hideous, I would only consider them if you can't afford better. Look elsewhere.

Joe Rocket Sub Zero Gloves - If safety wasnt a factor I would recommend them, but in hind sight it was stupid to get gloves that don't even have abrasion resistant fabric, not recommended for a motorcycle.

 

[motojoe122]

Frogg Toggs here too.
Hi viz jacket w/ black pants, mine had the hood rolled up in the collar but I eventually cut it off because it felt like it pushed my helmet fwd.
I actually wore them up to Erci's house(90miles from mine) in a torrential rain and worked great, stayed dry and warm. I agree with the sleeve cuffs, as well. Either get a size larger so the sleeves are longer or have gauntlet W/P gloves.

 

[major tom]

More of these types of reviews please!

 

[tejkowskit]

The rain/wind liner for my Olympia airglide jacket has done a fantastic job of keeping upper body dry in pretty heavy rains.

For pants I have been using a high quality pair of gortex rain pants. I got them a size large to easily fit over pants, and the leg unzips so I don't have to take my boots off. They also breathe really well. My only complaint is during heavy rains my crotch still gets wet- makes it look like I pee'd my pants!

I also have the rain liner for my Olympia airglide pants, which I have only been caught in a decent rain once (they are fairly new to me). I stayed dry, but until I'm caught in a heavy poor, I can't truly say how they'll perform. They might be a problem since they are also insulated and will get way too hot in the summer.

Olympia goretex gloves that come out if its cold and rainy. They are too hot in the summer to care about my hands staying dry if its warm enough.

My boots aren't waterproof which blows when the rain soaks through.

Single piece suits are probably the best for keeping dry, but if you're stuck in enough rain for a long enough time chances are you'll be getting wet no matter what gear you have on.

 

[Erci]

Single piece suits are probably the best for keeping dry, but if you're stuck in enough rain for a long enough time chances are you'll be getting wet no matter what gear you have on.

That's been my thinking for a while. I should mention that my Bilt top does work well and keeps the water out reasonably well. It's the pants that fail relatively quickly.. wet crotch .. unpleasant.

 

[Water Bear]

That's been my thinking for a while. I should mention that my Bilt top does work well and keeps the water out reasonably well. It's the pants that fail relatively quickly.. wet crotch .. unpleasant.

I feel like water proof pants should be attainable. The pants I have use the same kind of liner as the jacket, which seems to work as long as it's not being directly hit by 60 mph hail.

 

[tejkowskit]

That's been my thinking for a while. I should mention that my Bilt top does work well and keeps the water out reasonably well. It's the pants that fail relatively quickly.. wet crotch .. unpleasant.

When I was looking for better rain gear wet crotch seemed to be the problem with most products, even the high end stuff; the complaints were especially noticeable on 2 piece rain suits.

I feel like water proof pants should be attainable. The pants I have use the same kind of liner as the jacket, which seems to work as long as it's not being directly hit by 60 mph hail.

I'm hoping the liner for my pants work as well as the liner for my jacket in heavy rain (specifically at my crotch)! Same brand and build quality.

 

[Water Bear]

When I was looking for better rain gear wet crotch seemed to be the problem with most products, even the high end stuff; the complaints were especially noticeable on 2 piece rain suits.

It may not be avoidable. I noticed, before I had waterproof pants, that the water pooled up at my crotch just because your legs make a bowl with the seat and tank there, and acceleration draws water back against your grundle.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

I would like to add that when it comes to rain gear, it's usually worn over your existing safety gear anyways, so it doesn't have to be motorcycle specific. There are many rain gear that will work that has the same features , such as the ones you would find in an outdoor sporting goods store, go into the marine section.

 

[Brackson]

I would like to add that when it comes to rain gear, it's usually worn over your existing safety gear anyways, so it doesn't have to be motorcycle specific. There are many rain gear that will work that has the same features , such as the ones you would find in an outdoor sporting goods store, go into the marine section.

My Frogg Togg pants were like this, and they never leaked even in the crotch. Though as I mentioned before they were hideous. In fact most of the non riding over gear rain suits I have seen typically are. So this time around (as in post accident, yay all new gear!) I tried to find dedicated riding gear with removable waterproof layers, we shall see if they work well, the weather has been way too nice ever since I got the new bike!

On a side note, anytime I am doing long touring rides, I try and wear the same types of cloths I wear hiking, all synthetic and wool with multiple layers (as needed). This has the added benefit that once out of the riding gear they dry in minutes, not hours. Not necessarily possible or practical for a commute to work, but its amazing if you intend to be on the bike most of the day. Especially in poor weather.

 

[Erci]

I would like to add that when it comes to rain gear, it's usually worn over your existing safety gear anyways, so it doesn't have to be motorcycle specific. There are many rain gear that will work that has the same features , such as the ones you would find in an outdoor sporting goods store, go into the marine section.

It definitely doesn't need to be any kind of protective, but I'm not sure non-moto stuff will offer all of the following:
1. Retro-reflective piping (my cheap Bilt stuff has it), though I still wear my high-vis vest over rain gear.
2. Velcro everywhere (wrists, double velcro over zippers).
3. Elastic (wrists, ankles)
4. Boot stirrups (these are very important to me.. keep the pants from riding up).

My Bilt suit has all of the above.. and they throw in crotch bath for free! :cheer:

 

[MG-242]

For over a year now I've been riding in an Aerostitch Racecrafter Lite suit. I have no need to ever buy another piece of motorcycle clothing unless I tear this one up. Totally waterproof, good in both cold and hot weather. In the summer I usually wear shorts and a tee shirt under it. The initial price is a little pricey, but like I said, I'll never have to buy another jacket, pants, rain suit, etc.

 

[tejkowskit]

I have heard nothing but great things about aerostitch.

Eric, I noticed your thread about cageless living, too. Coincidence these two threads are made at the same time? I think not lol

 

[payneib]

As has already been stated, nothing is fully waterproof, especially at speed. Water will get in, it's only a mater of time. If you can get your kit to keep the water out longer than your journey, then fantastic.

My normal kit is a Spada Dyno waterproof textile jacket, Rikka Hurricane textile trousers with waterproof lining, Spada Eclipse waterproof boots and Spada Enforcer waterproof gloves.

In "drizzle to normal rain" conditions, this is good for an hour, maybe an hour and a half of riding.

In heavy rain (surface flooding, that kind of heavy) the gloves last about fifteen, the boots about twenty, the trousers 25 and the jacket, maybe 45 minutes if I'm lucky?

For those days, I put on a no name one peice waterproof suit over the top. That gives me an hour on the jacket and trousers, maybe slightly longer, and the extra layer over cuffs and boot seems make them last half an hour, or there abouts each.

Pros:
One peice: no gaps to let water in
Plenty of room to slide a boot down a trouser leg, so no undressing to get it on.
Good velcro straps on the legs and good elastic around the cuffs.
Tons of hi-viz for low light rainy days

Cons:
Size: you need to order two or three sizes bigger to stop it giving you the turbo moose knuckle once it's on.
Baggy sleeves: because it's a 2XL for the length, it's baggy round the sleeves, so I have to keep some elastic straps in the bag to tuck them in so my mirrors are still useful.
It's bulky.

As a side note, you need to look after your kit. My leather gloves and boots get brush polished once a week and my waterproof kit gets treated with NikWax every three or four months.

And it doesn't matter how good your kit is, if the flood is up to your footpegs you're getting wet feet!