Advice: Wet weather gear explained

Wet weather riding may not be most riders' idea of fun, but with winter upon us the time has come to dust off your warm and hopefully waterproof gear.

While the effectiveness of our gear is all-important, most of us are not really aware of just what the stuff is constructed of. We simply trust that it will deliver that elusive ideal that we really need – to be waterproof.

It all sounds pretty simple, but to make something totally waterproof is not easy. Even submarines take in water. Toss in the human needs of comfort and wearability, and the whole deal becomes quite a science.

Let's take a look at some of the materials used for wet-weather jackets, pants and oversuits, and what you can expect from them…

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The simplest sort of rain wear is a type of two-layer material sandwich. The outer layer is typically nylon or polyester and provides strength. The inner one is polyurethane (PU), which provides water resistance at the cost of breathability.

Polyurethane is lighter and more flexible than PVC (polyvinyl-chloride) but less durable. Unlike PVC, polyurethane is normally applied on the inside of a nylon fabric or substrate. The plus side of this is that PU is more breathable than PVC but at the same time it is also less water resistant.

Versus PVC, the more expensive PU rain gear has multiple bonding to increase water resistance. This is the stuff that full oversuits are made of. They have the added advantage of folding up to a relatively small size and can be kept under a seat. For storm protection, a full polyurethane oversuit does a great job but lacks breathability. For a long ride in very wet conditions, a polyurethane oversuit is not the answer, due to the material's tendency to hold in perspiration.

The most durable coating used is PVC. PVC is light-abrasion and oil resistant; it's also relatively lightweight and inexpensive.

There's no doubt PVC keeps the water out, in fact it probably wins the 'most waterproof' award. It's what you see posties in Australia's southern states getting about in, come winter time. It is also the cheapest alternative.

The downside to both PVC and polyurethane? Well, wrap your arm in Glad Wrap and run it under a hot tap for a few minutes. Feel how steamy that feels?

Yep, you can get almost as wet from your own perspiration wearing PVC or polyurethane as you would if the rain came through. They simply do not breathe.

Either, however, will keep you warm and the elements out, and if you are not relying on them every day or for long periods of time, PVC and polyurethane jackets and pants are by far the economist's choice.

You don’t have to spend a fortune on wet weather gear that also offers protection in the event of an accident.

We recommend that you opt for gear that will not only keep you relatively dry (we say 'relatively' because a severe soaking will just about get through anything but the very top-end gear), but will offer some protection from impact.

In the midrange category, jackets and pants are available with built-in armour. Look for shoulder, elbow and knee protection, sewn in.

Construction of a typical mid-priced jacket or pants should feature a good-quality textile exterior (Cordura or equivalent), plus removable armour, plenty of pockets (with flaps over closures), a zip-in liner, and some reflective striping for added visibility.

We consider the above the bare minimum if you are looking for a stand-alone wet-weather product. By this we mean gear that is also doing the job of offering impact protection, rather than being worn over your dry-weather protective kit.

Be aware that this is the price-range where you are most likely to 'get it wrong'. How so? Well, the PVC/polyurethane-based stuff is like an industrial-strength garbage bag – it won't leak but you wouldn't want to live in it. And the expensive stuff just has to be good or its manufacturers would be run out of town in a hurry. With a baying group of dissatisfied rich people on their heels…

That just means you have to delve and dig to get the facts. Ask the salesman questions, look closely, try the stuff on and take your time. Get this one right, however, and you'll be very pleased with a smart and effective purchase.

If price is no object there is a fabulous range on offer from the biggest names in the caper. While it may seem like an extravagance when you are handing over the readies, good stuff lasts and lasts.

Get it right and it's highly unlikely you will need to buy again in the next five years and you may indeed get 10. Doesn't seem like that much to spend in that light, does it? Of course, you have to possess it to spend it and we can't all afford the best. And, if you are not using it on some sort of semi-regular basis, well, you may very well not need to go this way.

Construction of high-quality wet-weather pants and jackets include an outer of Cordura or similar, plus a Gore-Tex liner, reflective stripes or panels, removable armour, effective zippered ventilation.

All closures should be flapped, the exterior should be constructed of a brand textile known for its strength and longevity (like Cordura, for example) and there will usually be a much wider range of adjustment and fitting features.

Consider purchasing at this level as 'custom fitting'. If it is at all uncomfortable, don't buy it. That's why you are in this market – it's all about your total satisfaction.

In short, you are looking for top-notch construction and this is usually evident on close inspection.

It makes little sense buying good jackets and pants if your gloves and boots let you down.

Most of what we said applies to these areas as well. Look for gloves that suit your hand size, but go a size up.

Close-fitting wet-weather gloves can become very uncomfortable on a long ride and, if they happen to leak (and in a super-storm, trust us, they will), they can be a nightmare to get off, and more importantly, get back on. Gore-Tex or Sympatex is the way to go for winter gloves, it's as simple as that. Around $100 is where we would start our price range here, through to around $300 for the very, very best stuff.

When deciding on boots, we opt to buy waterproof at all times. They are no less comfortable than non-waterproof items and are not much dearer. Once again, 'waterproof' is a big claim.

Look for a boot that has a liner behind the zip, one that reaches at least as far as mid-calf. I'm yet to see a zip that won't leak, so if that area is not isolated from your leg, it will leak, guaranteed. Moulded-sole boots are better – sewn areas can leak through the stitching.

Expect to pay at least $300 for a half-decent pair of waterproof boots.

1. Guess what? Golfers and sailors wear similar stuff. Don't limit yourself to the motorcycle retailer.
2. Buy what you need. If you do 2000km a year, you really should look to the cheaper end of the market range.
3. If you do more than 20,000km a year, we'd be shopping at the top-end of the market.
4. Do you have carrying capacity? This stuff takes up space. If you are limited in this area, look to versatile gear that can be worn year-round (zip-out liners are good in this regard).
5. Do you carry pillions in bad weather? A hypothermic passenger is a crook look. Kit loved-ones out appropriately too.
6. Leather suits do not hold heat well. You may look a million bucks, but race suits are designed to cool the rider and offer little thermal assistance. And wet leather weighs a tonne and takes ages to dry out.
7. Avoid products that quote terms like 'water repellent' or 'water resistant'. The Titanic was 'water resistant'.
8. If you do a lot of night riding, go for gear with good reflective features. The decreased visibility in bad weather makes riders very hard to see.
9. Remember to buy sizes a little larger than you would for normal clothing. You are probably going to wear this stuff over some bulky clothing, including a well-armoured jacket (in the case of PVC or polyurethane gear).
10. Read up, do your homework. Word of mouth is good here, so ask your mates. I've owned many jackets that claimed to be waterproof, which turned out to be anything but…

Gore-Tex materials are typically based on thermo-mechanically expanded polytetrafluoroethylene and other fluoropolymer products. Yeah, we are not sure either, but that's the tech-guff.

Gore-Tex is best known for its use in protective, yet breathable, rain wear.

Early Gore-Tex fabric replaced the inner layer of polyurethane with a thin, porous fluoropolymer membrane (Teflon) coating that is bonded to a fabric. This membrane had about 9 billion pores per square inch (around 1.4 billion pores per square centimeter). Each pore is approximately 1/20,000 the size of a water droplet, making it impenetrable to liquid water while still allowing the smaller sized water vapour molecules to pass through.

However, it was found that when used in clothing the exposed Teflon membrane layer was easily damaged, as well as being compromised by exposure to the wearer's own perspiration. As a result a third, monolithic polyurethane layer was added. Finally either a loose fabric shell layer, or a bonded coating (typically a grid fabric, or occasionally a carbon layer as in Gore-Tex Paclite Shell) is added to the garment to protect the membrane sandwich.

In short, it's good stuff, and it's typically used in your higher-quality motorcycle apparel, with higher prices to match.

This article was originally published on July 23, 2019.