Textiles - Waterproof, for Communting.

[garth]

Hi

I'm getting a bit fed up of getting wet on my ~15 mile commute each way to work and back. I ride all year round.

I'm after reviews of what kit people have, and I really want some properly waterproof gear, ideally not costing the earth either.

Ta


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You ain't a has been if you never was

[Wil]

I just bought an Alpinestars El Nino one piece waterproof oversuit. I wear it over my textile gear as my textiles let me down in heavy rain. Rode home last night (20 miles of motorway) in a reasonable shower, and was bone dry. Would like to test it in proper heavy rain, but so far so good.

Easy to get in and out of as well, as I got a large size one, but doesn't flap around too much at all on the move.
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'07 Triumph Speed Four

Aw look, a baby driving a car. And look, there's a dog driving a bus!

[qpop]

Well I bit the bullet and purchased a £240 Hein Gericke gore-tex jacket the other week, and its fantastic. My old one was shelltex waterproofing, that didnt remain waterproof very long, but this jacket comes with a 2 year wear and tear warranty, and a FIVE year waterproof warranty, if it stops being waterproof in five years they'll fix it!

In comparison I'm using cheap and cheerful Spada overtrousers, and they're about as waterproof as a sponge, but suitable for short stints in the rain.

Ignoring brandnames etc. I think you get what you pay for regarding bike gear.
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Past: 96 P Aprilia RS125 - 97 R Honda CB500 | Current: 00 W Suzuki SV650s
Why tiptoe through life only to arrive safely at death?

[B_A_B]

+1 for the el nino.
I`ve not got mine anymore but it more than did it`s job for the 12 month i had it.
Used it in light showers and serious downpours and never got wet once.The side pockets and the detachable bag aren`t as waterproof as the rest of the suit though so don`t put anything in them if you want it to stay dry.
I always wore the bag on the inside if it was pissing it down and i had my phone etc with me.
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https://www.UK-BODYBUILDING.co.uk

[Jumile]

That El Nino suit looks good. Will have to look into it when I get to the point of commuting all year round. Then I can wear Draggin jeans and an armoured casual jacket to work, without having to worry about changing from power ranger into normal clothes.

At the moment I have a set of Akito Desert armoured jacket and trousers, both with detachable internal waterproof membrane and thermal liner. Mine are the black/bone coloured set shown on the front page of the Akito website. Though wearing the waterproof liner without the thermal liner can make you a bit damp through sweat, though. But it's fine when it's wet and cold as the thermal liner does the job nicely.
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Matt
Yamaha YZF600R Thundercat
The greater the difficulty, the more the glory in surmounting it. --Epicurus

[yambabe]

I have a 2-piece oversuit bought for £19.99 from Aldi.

I've had it for over a year and while I TRY not to ride in rain too often I've been caught out many many times.

So far it's never let me down. Even 100 motorway miles to the Bulldog this month and touring France at Easter this year in the snow it kept the water out.

The jacket does tend to puff up with wind a bit if you go over 70 on my bike though, and it blocks the mirrors a touch. Other than that it's great.........
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Sod falling in love, I wanna fall in chocolate.

[B_A_B]

[delboyqpr]

I have a one piece rain suit that I bought on the Get Geared site last year - I think it cost £30 - it's bulky but so far totally waterproof - although you need some good storage area for riding back home from work when the rain has stopped, especially in the summer.

[Charlie]

I have a a Gore-tex Dainese jacket, very good and very waterproof, been in some really heavy rain and it didn't let any through, well only either down the neck or up the front. Then have some draggin jeans which I put over trousers on and gore-tex TCX boots. Gore-tex is what you need
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Past: Honda x8rs, Honda City fly, Honda Hornet 250, Honda VFR750, Yamaha xt600e.
Current: Honda CBR929RR & Yamaha XT660Z Tenere

[Gazdaman]

I bought 2 piece textiles from Aldi last time they were doing bike gear.

It's waterproof enough, even in heavy rain. But the stuff will be wet. So it'll be a right pain to get it dry for the next day's commuting.

SO! My answer is a waterproof oversuit. When I bought my bandit the guy chucked one in. It's XXXL and is plain black. It's fugly but keeps me bone dry.

Then all I have to worry about is drying my gloves/boots when it pisses it down.

Gaz

[Wil]

Yeah, that's another great thing about a dedicated oversuit - the plastic-y material drys out in no time, I used to hate putting on wet textiles the morning after a wet ride to go to work.
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'07 Triumph Speed Four

Aw look, a baby driving a car. And look, there's a dog driving a bus!

[Villers]

[B_A_B]

[Jumile]

[Seb]

My Gericke suit (Tricky 2 textiles) has never let me down yet, the only part of my 'wet suit' that tends to leak is my gloves (Astars tech road GTX) which was a little disappointing considering they are goretex etc. I'm half tempted to grab the jet roads and use them as a wet weather glove, keeping the techs for sunnier days. Not tried the new 365 GTXs but they look like a rehash of my techs, just with a stiffer cuff.
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2010 Triumph 1050 Sprint ST

[Smooth]

You don't need expensive kit.

My combination of Aldi 'Crane' Textile jacket, BikeWearDirect Textile trousers and Frank Thomas Aqua gloves kept me warm and dry in an absolutely monsoon-like downpour (Including a lot of deep, standing water) last night.

Hanging everything to dry meant that it was fine to wear this morning.
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TDM850

[Carl Howell]

I just went to HG and bought the cheapest good textiles there. They have been fine up until recently when the let a bit of water in in a massive downpour. I washed them and treated them with 'SDoc Textile Proofer' which stops the water getting to the lining. Also they don't need leaving to drip dry as the water will just shake off and not fill the jacket up. Not leaked at all since.
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Owned: 2002 Gilera DNA 50, Yamaha DT125R

Own: Yamaha FZX250 Zeal (FZR250 engine as a similar shape to a Hornet)

[Villers]