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How do you stay dry?


rlambke19

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In the almost 30 years that I’ve been riding, I’ve always done the over-jacket and pants rain  suit (2-piece). I’ve had many different ones, all with varying degrees of effectiveness.

I’ve owned dozens of jackets over the years, fom waxed Belstaff to A-Stars leather to mesh...you name it.

For gloves I wear Rev’It Goretex gloves and my Puma (yes Puma...you’d be surprised how great they are) boots also have GTX. So I do know first hand how well that technology works (both for keeping the water out and letting the vapour out). I also know how much $ it adds to the cost of a jacket and pants.

Lately I’ve been contemplating getting a jacket with a built-in (or removable) waterproof membrane but am not sure I’m ready to go full 3/4 length ADV style just yet. I’m also not sure about the concept of the waterproof layer sitting *under* the jacket (I get that it’s probably better to have the stronger material and armour on the outside) and getting soaked even though I will stay dry. Soaking wet leather or textile materials aren’t ideal especially on longer rides or tours.

I’ve been trolling all the sites and am now thoroughly overwhelmed with all the options...but the gear freak in me loves the choices available to us riders.

So - how do you (attempt to) stay dry?

Cheers,

Rob

PS. Some food for thought and a really well done video around the various WP technologies from various brands:

 

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17 minutes ago, rlambke19 said:

So - how do you (attempt to) stay dry?

Stay home and watch Netflix...  😉

Seriously, riding in the rain is miserable.  Occasionally I will get stuck in an unexpected shower, but to ride in the rain on purpose would never happen for me.  I ride for leisure and to have fun. 

My winter riding gear is Tourmaster Transition Jacket and Caliber pants with Alpinestars Goretex gloves.

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***2015 Candy Red FJ-09***

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2 minutes ago, piotrek said:

Still searching for good gloves.

Held has some pricey ones that are great for summer AND wet weather.. however, if it's a cold rain, I just use my gerbing heated gloves because wet warm hands are still better than dry cold ones. lol  Heck, it seems to rain on every trip I take no matter what time of the year... if you aren't riding in the rain, you aren't riding. lol

Held-Air-n-Dry-Motorradhandschuh-schwarz
WWW.REVZILLA.COM

Inside this glove you will find two compartments; one lined with Gore-Tex to keep you dry and the other one vented to keep you...

 

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1 hour ago, betoney said:

Stay home and watch Netflix...  😉

Seriously, riding in the rain is miserable.  Occasionally I will get stuck in an unexpected shower, but to ride in the rain on purpose would never happen for me.  I ride for leisure and to have fun. 

My winter riding gear is Tourmaster Transition Jacket and Caliber pants with Alpinestars Goretex gloves.

100% agree Betoney. 

It’s hard to avoid rain during long weekend and week long tours. If you tried to, you’d never go anywhere.

Rob

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What @betony said.  I've been caught a few times, and I have a decent-ish 1 piece rain suit because Stuff Happens, but I HATE riding in the rain.  Or the cold.  Or too much wind.  Or too hot.

Riding is supposed to be FUN.  If I'm miserable, I'm not having fun.  One reason the whole Iron Butt thing eludes me.  If I'm tired and my butt is numb clear to my eyebrows, I'm not having fun, I'm enduring.  Not what I ride for and after 50+ years of riding, I got nothing to prove.

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When riding I do not wear cotton, only wicking fabrics.

For long-duration rain Frogg Toggs and Aerostich Triple Digit overgloves are my preference.  They go on easily and are effective.  Nothing is perfect.   Boots have been a problem for me.  I never seem to keep my feet dry for long.  Helmet face shields are another sore point in the rain, especially at night.

On one two-week tour It seemed to rain for a half hour, then stop for an hour and repeat for several days.  This was maddening.  Rain suit on, bake when the sun comes out, rain suit off, etc... I have never worn leather since.  I currently wear an Aerostich Darien.  It is less fiddly than most rain resistant suits.

When the weather is HOT and I encounter a passing shower, I just get wet (I live at low altitude where it is humid).  The wind will eventually dry me again except for my feet.

I also tend to look at the weather radar and alter my plans by heading for the clear skies.  An hour passing through the rain to get to 6 hours of dry roads is worthwhile.

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https://ridemsta.com/oh-tmr/  Riding makes me happy. "Do it or don't do it - you'll regret both." - Soren Kierkegaard

2015 FJ-09, 60k miles, Hord Power ECU, K-Tech suspension, MC Cruise

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Until recently, I commuted daily in Seattle to work.  Usually my commute was at least one hour each way.  The only times I didn't commute were when it was snowing.  I've retired, but I still ride my bike everywhere I go unless it is snowing.  That means rain.  As one woman rider said, "If you don't ride in rain in Seattle, you don't ride."

I wear Olympia gear.  I wore the AST2 for many years till the Ranger was on close-out.  They aren't much different except for the name.  What makes it work as a great three-season jacket is the waterproof liner is built into the jacket.  But the vents allow air to flow through to your body.  It takes more effort to do that, but you get better cooling than if the vent just dumps air into the area between the jacket and the waterproof liner like some do.  And if done right, it doesn't leak.

I took Mellow's suggestion and bought the Olympia Dakar mesh jacket for the summer.  It comes with a wind and water-proof liner.  Not Gore-Tex...but it works.  Olympia designed it such that you can wear that over your riding jacket, or under it.

For pants, I have the predecessor to the current Olympia X-Moto pants.  I really like how they designed these.  They have become my all weather (16F - 105F) pants.  The outer layer is textile and has a zipper portion that opens up a mesh area over your thighs.  In cold or wet weather, zip it up.  In hot weather, unzip it and tuck it into the lower leg portion.  Under that is a separate wind and water-proof pant liner.  As the weather gets colder or wet, you just put it on.  When the weather gets warmer or dry, stow it in your luggage.  You can attach those to the inside of the outer pant, but I just leave them loose.

A real advantage to this design is you never get a wet crotch.  In the past, I used Tourmaster Caliber pants.  My boots would catch a little as I was putting them on and eventually the stitching would pull apart enough to give me a wet crotch.  With the Olympia design, there's enough give that in about five years of use, they haven't leaked.  And if they ever do, I can just buy rain pants at a local sporting goods store.  And since you can wear them separately, when the family went to Iceland on vacation, I took those as my rain pants.

Gloves...for about six months of the year, I wear Gerbing heated gloves.  As it gets warmer, I change to some Cortech gloves.  They have a Hipora liner that works well.

One suggestion for whatever you buy.  I wash my gear a couple times a year.  When it is dry, I hang it up and spray it with a waterproofing spray like you'd use on tents.  Fred Meyer sells the cans for a little over $8 a can.  While the gear I buy is rain proof, by doing this you keep the outer layer from getting soaked.  It'll dry a lot faster and won't be as heavy.

Since I've been using the Olympia gear, I haven't needed a separate rain jacket and pants.  And in Seattle, it has rained, or is raining, or will be raining.

Chris

Edited by daboo
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I love riding in the rain. Not that it does that a lot in SoCal, but sometimes it does, and it's always a riot. A few weeks ago we had enough rain to cause some decent flooding of my normal roads, and my feet were dragging in the water I was riding through! Still kicking myself for not bringing the GoPro. Flooded streets means oncoming traffic throws a wall of water in my face, and I always stay mostly dry. I have the Klim Latitude jacket and pants, Forma Terra boots for heavy rain Aplinstar Sektor WP shoes for everyday/light rain, and Spidi Rainshield H2Out gloves. Everything works great but the gloves. Even with Barkbuster Storms they will soak through after an hour of heavy rain, but heated grips make it not too bad. One of the more annoying problems is my neck. I have yet to find a neck gator or other option to keep water from going down my jacket collar. A touring screen in the high position helps though. So, usually I'm completely dry when I finish my hour long commute, but if I'm not I'm only a little damp around the neck and sleeve cuffs. Everything else is perfect. This same setup has also served me well when I ride back home (Wyoming) and inevitably end up in snow storms. It's scary, but I'm mostly dry, and that makes me a happy camper.

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28 minutes ago, angrygirafe said:

I love riding in the rain.

Flooded streets means oncoming traffic throws a wall of water in my face, and I always stay mostly dry.

Um...  OK...  Good times.  😄

***2015 Candy Red FJ-09***

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I use Goretex gear and it keeps me dry. It's the only thing I've tried that works.

Boots are Daytona GTX, some summer touring boots. Quite new but have been tested in lots of water. Completely dry.
Rukka Virium GTX Gloves. New for me, and maybe a bit to hot in the summer. I always have an extra airy and non-waterproof gloves with me on touring.. 

Rukka Pants and Held Jacket. Both Gore tex, but I will upgrade both to GoreTex Pro Shell! Right now, the jacket can take in water on the surface, and it becomes heavy.. But it still doesn't let it through the gore tex membrane..
On the Pro Shell, the Goretex is baked into the outer most layer. So it will always just be completely dry and light. 

https://www.gore-tex.com/technology/original-gore-tex-products/pro

 

I will probably buy everything from Rukka. Nice stuff, although expensive. But easier to get in Denmark than Klim.

 

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Same here.  Klim Goretex gear and Alpinstar or Gaerne Goretex boots.  The only issue I have is gloves.  Still have not found any decent gloves.

Suggestions for good gloves that actually stay dry?


Rob

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31 minutes ago, motopumps said:

Same here.  Klim Goretex gear and Alpinstar or Gaerne Goretex boots.  The only issue I have is gloves.  Still have not found any decent gloves.

Suggestions for good gloves that actually stay dry?


Rob

I have a couple pair of older Rev’It GTX gloves - the Phantom which are my main pair for wet weather riding and the Alaska which are heavier and double as cold weather riding gloves. Both have kept me dry in wet weather. 

Rob

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Stay home and watch Netflix...now that is just silly!

I don't go looking for rain but have never shied away from riding because it might rain or is raining for that matter.

Over the years I have made a number of attempts at finding waterproof gear starting with my Barbour gear, no ventilation, icky waxed cotton, not nearly waterproof enough but hey all the cool guys were wearing it. Next up was a custom made leather suit(my mother was a seamstress who did leather work and she made a suit for my brother so I guilt her into making me one) protection was great, kept me semi warm but not even remotely weather-resistant and leather tends to sag over time and in places that just made you look odd. Skip forward a few years after numerous attempts to find happiness to no avail I finally discover the Tourmaster Defender rainsuit that has provided me with excellent reliability and withstood some spectacular storms, but alas, the zipper went south so the set now occupies space on the rack.

I got to a point where I wanted the space in my top box that the rainsuit occupied so I started the look for a "waterproof" outfit. I have gotten to the point now where I am close, real close but yet no cigar. I have a Revit Legacy GTX jacket that is goretex lined that has held up rather well but depending on the wind direction tends to leak at one of the vent zippers but is a great jacket if you are riding with a "chance" of rain. My next gamble was a used Klim 1st generation Latitude jacket and 1st gen Traverse pants. The pants are perfect apart from the weight and the fact that I have lost 40 lbs and still losing, so they have become a tad uncomfortable when sliding around in the saddle and tend to bunch up on ya....awkwardly. The jacket was bulletproof, heavy, a little bulky now but the collar is nothing but deplorable. You spend that kind of money and get such a mickey mouse set up...sad so sad cause it was always rains down my neck...always.

So I have this Olympia Airglide mesh jacket with in my opinion the best liner jacket that is waterproof apart from the low collar and a pair of Tourmaster Transitions that I now wear and if the rain should appear I now don my Klim Forecast Jacket and pants that throw right over my gear and away I go, no boot removal required due to the full length zipper. 5 minutes tops and I am back on my way. I know it is not what I was after but buying name brand goretex apparel without the desired result you tend to move on. The Forecast(s) have worked well for me just need to find a way to seal up the collar a touch and I will be very happy, and besides I bought them from a chap that purchased them but all of his HD buddies gave him grief so I got them for what it would have cost to replace my rainsuit.

I wear Forma ADV Tourer boots that have been remarkably WP and I picked up a pair of Scotts Goretex gloves about five years ago that have been great inclement weather gloves but started to leak this past year on the LH fore finger seam which have been replaced by a pair of Racer GT(the GT standing for goretex) gloves and the jury is still out on them.

Sorry for getting a little too involved with the post but waterproof/weather resistant gear is a bone of contention of mine. If you went down to the TSC(or where ever it is you buy your wellys) and you slip them on and head out only to step in a puddle and your socks are soaked you would be outraged. why is it as motorcyclists we fork out large money for gear that claims to be "waterproof" only to fail in one form or another and we accept it as our fate and move on to something else(guilty as charged) without batting an eye, outrageous! Why is it that once the product fails we can not just return it and request a refund without issue, you claimed it as waterproof so stand up for your product and give me my money back!

 

Cheers

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