Rain gear

[shinyribs]

What have you used? What did you like? What did you hate?

I'm not looking for raingear made for marathon running if you know what I mean. Something small enough to stuff in my tank bag that'll keep me dry if I happen to get caught in a shower is all.


I've looked into Frogg Toggs. Trying them on I was very unimpressed. Especially for the money. $60 seems to be the best price i can find for a jacket and pants combo. When seated the jacket rode up my back real bad and totally exposed my lower back. Fit as if I had just pulled a garbage bag over my head. But it would fold up small enough you could almost carry it in your pants pockets.So that is a big plus for it.

Frogg Toggs Link

I tried on a Fulmer Stormtrak two piece and it seemed really well made. The ankle cuffs seemed too large to seal up,but otherwise it was really nice. The collar was very high and would actually tuck into my helmet,so no worry of leaks there.Nice long jacket tail. Folds up almost as small as the Frogg Toggs. The waist on the pants dont come very high,though.I can get this setup local for $82. Apparently they are a close out item since I cannot find them online anywhere.

I tried on a buddy's Fieldsheer (not sure of the model name)two piece suit and it was awesome. Super high waisted pants that would never let water between the jacket and the pants. Suspenders were nice,too. Pants were nicely made and easy to get on/off. Boot straps on the pants. But i cant find them anywhere online,either.

Just looking for suggestions and advice. I've never bought rain gear so there's things to look for that I've never even considered. But my main priority is that they will stow away in a very small area.

[dyelawn]

CARHARTT PVC BIBS/JACKET.  Can't beat it.  Like $40 on Sierra Trading Post.

[sgtslag]

We wear vented, waterproof, armored riding jackets.  All-in-one is best, if you want a riding jacket/pants.  We carry vinyl rain suits (jacket and pants), from JC Whitney, around $40 a set, but we only use them if we have to.  We use mink oil on our boots, and leather chaps, which makes them waterproof, as well as conditioning them against everything else.  We only wear the vinyl jackets beneath our armored jackets, if we need the layering for warmth, and windproofing, in the worst conditions.  We rarely put the pants on, unless it is raining moderately (as opposed to lightly), and we have to ride in it; if it rains hard, we stop until it lightens up -- too dangerous to ride in a hard rain due to visibility issues.

In rain conditions, I highly recommend the construction worker, florescent yellow, reflective striped, vest be worn over anything else.  In rain, visibility is very, very poor, for everyone.  Those vests make a huge difference in all conditions, but they are extremely helpful in rain, fog, and at night.

I highly recommend LeatherUp.com, for riding jackets, and pants.  Anything in the $100 range will suffice, unless you have to have the very best.  My son and I went down at 40 MPH in a $100 jacket (me), and an $80 jacket (him):  we both were saved by our jackets, after sliding 40 feet across blacktop.  His jacket was trashed, mine is still in good condition, and it is still serviceable.  YMMV.  Cheers!

[seestheday]

Ditto what Sarge said.  Good tip on the mink oil.  I have some but for some reason never thought to put some on my riding boots.

I don't have a reflective vest either, I'll pick one of those up.  I do have a high-vis helmet though.

My armour is textile, not leather, but is very waterproof.  Leather is better by all accounts.  Textile is cheaper.  I got mine on a red tag sale at royal distributing (Canadian motorcycle/atv store).  $80 for my jacket and $90 for my pants.  I also have armoured leather gloves that a friend gave me.  In the gloves I wear rubber gloves when it is raining and I have to ride for a while.

I also have an armoured mesh jacket for the hot & sunny days.  That one is obviously not waterproof.

At the end of the last season, I found myself riding in the rain a lot.  Never had any issues with my gear, although my hands would get cold if I ran too long in between stoplights (because I would warm my hands by holding them close to the headers whenever I stopped).

[sgtslag]

Sees has some excellent points.  Here's the skinny on leather, and textile jackets:

Leather can withstand abrasion (sliding across the roadway) longer than any other material, including Kevlar; somewhere on the Internet, is an article where a fellow tested different materials wear resistance by putting them underneath a slab of concrete, and dragging them behind a pickup truck.  Denim (blue jeans) lasted around 0.3 seconds before it burned through; all other materials lasted much longer, but nylon had to be in the 600+ Denier thickness range, to be considered "good" for M/C's; leather left everything else far behind, in durability, and time-before-burn-through; never bookmarked the web page, sorry.

Leather is the only thing worn by/approved for use in professional racing.  It is hot, shrinks when it gets wet, as well as stiffening horribly when it dries out, and it is expensive...  Racing leathers typically start at $800, and rise to the sky from there.  Regular leather is hot, has terrible ventilation, and just is not comfortable for long rides; however, there are new forms which are perforated, with small holes across the majority of its surface, which have better ventilation, and are cooler to wear long distances -- they also tend to be higher priced.

Textiles have come a long way:  nearly all are waterproof; there are perforated/mesh types, which offer good protection, but tremendous air flow, so the excuse, "It's just too hot to wear my armored jacket," doesn't hold much truth anymore.  The mesh jackets vary widely in price, and quality.  With 600 Denier, and up, you get protection which comes closer than anything else, to leather (still far inferior for abrasion endurance, but plenty good for the real-world of amateur M/C'ing).  Even the bargain-priced jackets and pants offer excellent protection for the money spent (remember:  denim lasted around 0.3 seconds before the concrete slab was in direct contact with the roadway behind that pickup truck...).


If you have the cash, you can get a one-piece riding suit, waterproof, armored, ventilated, can be put on in less than 20 seconds/removed in around 10 seconds, if you are willing to make the investment (upwards of $600-$1,200).  Aerostitch makes some excellent suits, as described.  Although the price of entry is very steep, they will last for many years, barring an accident, or significant weight change.  They tend to develop a 'patena', over time, but that is a badge of longevity, and something to be proud of, IMO (I'm too cheap to invest in these, so far...).  Cheers!

[TOOLS1]

I want to see a "one-piece riding suit, waterproof, armored, ventilated" fit into a tank bag.
TOOLS

[nilsthenomad]

I bought a pretty simple set off of Amazon in the Fall and it has worked great all winter. Nice and rugged, but rolls up nicely in my tank bag (10"x10"x6.5"). Jacket and pants fits nicely over my armored gear. Jacket is nice and long with a high collar and seals nicely at the waist, wrists and ankles. Great for blocking out any wind or wet and nicely cheap ($20 for the set). Comes in a variety of colors.

Here's a link: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Dautomotive&field-keywords=Motorcycle+Rain+Gear+RS5031&rh=n%3A15684181%2Ck%3AMotorcycle+Rain+Gear+RS5031

[Piute]

                                             Copyed from OLD Post

Off flea-bay 35 bucks,needed bad for here,My H.D. rain gear , Just looks good cause don't do the job after 20+ yr's unless I silicone coat it 1st.



    Zipper on coat broke addd some stick-on velcro works good but zipper did break
            pants still good ,being carefull with the zipps

[shinyribs]

Thanks for all the input guys.

Both of my riding jackets are textile with CE approved armor. One is a BILT with zip open vents. It does OK,but I did find myself using the ''it's too hot for this'' excuse a few times. So a few weeks ago I picked up a River Road "Baron" mesh jacket. It is ballistic nylon,but I have no delusions that it is as good as dead cow. But the armor should help. I good on armor ( well,except my legs) so whatever wet suit i get will just go over that. My BILT jacket actually does really good in the rain,even with the vents open. It's not marketed as waterproof but I once road 30 minutes in about as hard a rain as I'm willing to ride in and was perfectly dry. My legs were soaked of course. My full mesh jacket obviously is gonna let water in.

Piute,that suit you posted looks a lot like the Fulmer I was looking at. I really like that one.

That $20 special that Nilsthenomad posted looks like a heck of a deal for the money! At that price it's almost too good to pass up for an occasional use rain suit.Like I said,if i ever take up long distance touring I'll pick up some solid rain gear. I just need something for the ohcrapitwasntsupposedtoraintoday instances.

Sees',what are the gloves you use? I cant find any good armored gloves with a good,long gauntlet my sleeves will tuck into.