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Camping Equipment and all Clothing Tents, sleeping bags, stoves etc. Riding clothing, boots, helmets, what to wear when not riding, etc.
Photo by Lois Pryce, schoolkids in Algeria

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  #1  
Old 20 Mar 2008
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check out "MOTOPORT" made in California...I was REALLY impressed with the Kevlar claims, and the mention that some physicians indicate the melted plastic caused more damage than the slide on riders who had to get off.
Again, they are multi-layered. But the 40 to100+ degree capability, the molding of the armour, and the durability of Kevlar (think bulletproof) are what impresses me. As one guy said, one get-off with an improper suit is worth a lot of armour.
Costs seem reasonable-$300 for fitted pants ,$400 for jackets, and-oh yes, they have accessories. My interest is travel to Central America, so the ultralight is my aim.
Don't mean to be picky, but my body is worth protecting at any cost-jackets will dry, as you said. And yes, those Rev' It's are heavy!
good luck!
greg
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Old 21 Mar 2008
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In my experience NONE of the textile jackets made out of fabrics like Gore-Tex or cordura are truly waterproof and will leak after a couple of hours.

For the last 25 years I have owned a yellow rubberised oversuit which cost me around $25, looks absolute crap, however, it is absolutely waterproof. The only problem is over the years I have bulked out, I've melted the legs against exhaust pipes and the zip is gone in the jacket, but if I could buy another I would. That still left me with leaky boots though.

Unfortunately they don't make those yellow suits any more so I have to find something else. For my legs I've bought a pair of fishing waders - guaranteed dryness, not just for the legs but also the feet.

Now I have no doubt many of you will say the boots in the waders are not going to protect me in case of a fall but I can live with that (my argument being that if I have nice dry feet then I have already significantly reduced my risks of having a fall in the first place). I still haven't worked out what to do up top though and right now my thoughts are a Helly Hansen sailing jacket, but they are bloody expensive too.

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Old 21 Mar 2008
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Gary, Helly Hansen also do sailing bib trousers which I can say do seem very waterproof, having once spent a week in them almost constantly while facing the equivalent of constantly having buckets of cold salty water thrown at me.
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Old 21 Mar 2008
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Helly Hansen
While I can see that for off-roading, you may work up a sweat and therefore Gore tex clothing might be useful, for just riding on the road through the showers, I can't see why you'd need breathable fabrics. You just want something to keep the rain off, not work the sweat out.

I still have a set of Rukkas from the '80s, the sort of shiny plastic kind which are genuinely 100% waterproof and they're still fine, although the jacket's a bit tight now and they're not particularly stylish anymore.

Like farquhar, I used to have a set of construction workers yellow jacket and trousers that did the same as the Rukkas. Didn't look as pretty, but I got them for nothing and when you're courier riding throughout a long sodden (sodding?) day in London, who cares what you look like, you're never going to sweep Elle Macpherson off her feet on the back of a CX500.

As for Helly Hansen stuff, these look pretty good and only $30 (and you don't have to have dayglo yellow).

Tvedestrand Bib - 70511

Found similar stuff on ebay too, just search 'helly hansen'.
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Old 22 Mar 2008
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Thanks Alex and Indoors. I reckon the Mandal jacket and Tvedestrand bib would be a perfect combination. You know that anything made for sailing is going to be the bee's knees when it comes to waterproofing, and they're cheap and nice and bright for cars to see you.

The only problem with buying clothing is that you have to try it on - I find mail order a waste of time as maunfacturer's sizes vary so much. I'll see if I can find a local stockist.

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Old 22 Mar 2008
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For those whose clothes must breathe Helly Hansen do breathable stuff as well. Sure it's much more expensive, but it doesn't soak up water like a lot of bike stuff does, and being made for salty and sandy conditions it doesn't let them in to grind away at the breathable coating either.
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