Suits Rain Suit suggestions?

After trying many, Frog Toggs get my vote. I have heard that the newer ones are not as user friendly, but I really like mine. Very reasonable, and easy to store.
 
I have a Rhyno rain suit. Have ridden in some pretty horrific rainstorms and the only parts of my body that got wet were my hands and feet. I have cured the wet hands by covering my gloves with rubber kitchen scrub gloves. Works great! Still looking for rain booties:eek::
 
Be advised there appears to be at least two different types of material used by Frogg Toggs.

The basic suits are a soft material and the more expensive are a more typical feeling nylon that is still very flexible. I have the second type and find it great. Maybe not perfect for day long heavy rains - but then what is - but works well.

There are a lot of mixed - read poor - reviews of Frogg Toggs out there. I suspect they are from owners of the softer mateial suits since mine has been a winner.
 
Too bad you are just looking for rain gear. If you are ready for new stuff tho, a Roadcrafter will keep you 98% dry. The crotch is a small leaking area if it is a prolonged heavy rain.
 
klaproth said:
After trying many, Frog Toggs get my vote. I have heard that the newer ones are not as user friendly, but I really like mine. Very reasonable, and easy to store.
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Frogg Toggs get my vote. I have the 2 piece and they will keep you dry inside and very comfortable. I've been in 3 Toad Floaters, one lasting 2 days, and never had a leak. Mine are 2XL to fit over everything else.
 
Frogg Togg Road Toads - just tested mine on a 17 day trip to Alaska and BC. Can't beat 'em for the price. That said, I wished the jacket was little longer or the trousers had a bib. Kept me dry in some long, heavy downpours but I did have to careful about making sure the jacket was pulled down. BTW, I got 3X so I was sure they would fit over my FirstGear riding suit.
 
I keep Frog Toggs in the Vespa, just in case but with the ST, I just use Darien jacket & pants (Aerostich). They're more flexible with all the venting and whatnot and do quite well in the rain really. A lot easier than caring a separate rain suit.
 
I used an Olympia jacket and Tourmaster pants with great success in heavy rain. A can of Scotchguard from time to time on the pants seemed to be the answer.
When dual sporting in really wet and nasty, a Pioneer jacket and pants over dual sport gear was so far ahead of anything else tried that there was no comparison. Fell off and slid down the road many times, dumped into water, rocks, name it and the stuff was just fine. I still have a 10 year old pair of Pioneer pants which saw at least one 50 mph slide down a gravel road, a couple down pavement and so many falls on trails that there would be no counting. They have a few scuffs but still look quite presentable and are dry as toast.

Pioneer are often available in work wear stores at a discount. They were out in high viz before many others too.

HIH

Norm
 
I have two different ones that I use, here in Florida.
The first is for summertime use, where the temperature is up into the 90's and unbelievably hot; it's a Frogg Toggs - Dri Ducks model.
It is the same stuff that Frogg Toggs regular stuff is made from and has a built-in hood that you put on then your helmet. I keeps water
out of the the jacket.
The second is more of a storm suit. It's by Fieldsheer. It looks kind of dark, and has lightening print on it. At first I thought it would
be too dark to wear in a storm,but the lightening print is reflective and really lights up when lights hit it. It's too heavy to wear in a hot,
Florida summer rain storm. A rain storm here can cool the temperature from 97 clear down to 92 degrees, too hot for the Fieldsheer's two
layers of protection.
 
Both the wife and I use the Frogg Toggs. As everyone has said-unbeatable for the price. I've ridden in some very heavy down pours for extended periods of time and have stayed DRY!!! What more could a person ask for???
 
Another :plus1: for the Frogg-Toggs here. I had the original pro-action suit that didn't do well in a get off on another scoot I had (concrete and any riding gear usually don't slide together with good results, concrete wins every time, armor under it all saves the skin though). Frogg-Toggs company replace the shredded pants for half price even though I didn't buy directly through them originally and they were 3 years old. Now have the next gen Pro-action suit that my wife gave for a gift a few Christmases ago. Better material than the original. Still keeping me dry in the rain.
Have been in very heavy rain with my Frogg-Toggs. One time the only part of me that got wet was my hands and little siphoning to the wrist cuff since I didn't have any waterproof gloves on, just plain deerskin leather. A few other times in heavy rain I stayed dry (wearing the wp gloves those times).

I've also tried a Dry Rider suit (way too hot and water always found a way in), and even started out with a cheap K-Mart vinyl suit that was definitely not made for moving forward through rain.

Choko makes some fairly good rain over-boots. Worked well for me before I got some real mc waterproof boots. Would still be a good extra layer. They also make over-gloves but those have a tendency to leak after a few wearings in the finger-thumb seam area (tried these twice).
 
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Waterboiler said:
There are a lot of mixed - read poor - reviews of Frogg Toggs out there.
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Add me to those who aren't Frogg Togg fans. I have not worn them myself but I have ridden with a few people who've worn both the original style and the Road Toads in the rain. Bottom line, they got wet underneath. I have not ridden with anyone wearing the newer variety (Horny Toads or Highway Toads).

I had a cheap-o "ProSport" rain suit from a long since defunct local bike apparel shop. Rubberized nylon. It lasted the better part of 20 years before the seams gave up. Among the best performing bike gear I've had...simple and effective.

I replaced the ProSport with a FirstGear suit from the sale section at motorcyclegear.com. It's kept me dry except for the time I neglected to pull up the under-hood helmet before putting my helmet on. As a result, water dripped down my back, not a dry day. That was on the way to CTSTOC a couple years ago...frog strangler, eh Patty? Major PITA to get the pants on because they have no zippers, just elastic in the waist and leg openings.

I recently tested a Harley Motor Clothes rain suit for Rider (see page 80 of the September issue). That kept me dry in steady, moderate to heavy rain during the 2+ hour test on my Versys. Also kept me dry in frog-strangling rain in Washington last June riding a Blackbird, except for a small spot on my chest where I concluded that wind was driving water around the sides and over the waist of the pants which is on the large size for my boney torso. Had I left the suspenders on I don't think there'd be a problem. The pockets with the waterproof zippers weren't waterproof, but the pocket without a waterproof zipper but hidden behind the main storm flap kept contents dry. Easy on/off with multiple adjustability. Way bright high-viz and all kinds of reflective material...even that enormous HD logo across the shoulders is ScotchLite so you can't miss it. (Bonus! ;))

My $.02 on rain suits is to focus on something that (a) keeps you dry, and (b) is easy to put on quickly.
 
I have spent 5 minutes under an overpass putting on my Frogg Toggs more times I care to count. They are made large to go over other gear and I normally wear XL so I bought 2XL. They have been great for me on several occasions except when I forgot to put the hood up and got wet around the collar, but that's better than wet behind the ears, which I ain't!
 
I just got the new Horny Toad Jacket and a set of the Bib pants made out of the new Toadskinz material. So far I really like them but I've only spent 2 days in the wet with them. I don't like how the collar is so bulky when the hood is still inside the collar. I have not tried putting the hood inside my helmet yet. I love the bibs so much better than straight pants for rain gear.
 
I am not a fan of rain suits...my experience is they are bulky to store, hard to put on/take off, require stopping to put on/take off and in warm weather they are hot.

I prefer the Aerostich Darien and Roadcrafter stuff. Although I don't ride much in hot weather I find that the ventilation they provide (zip open cuffs, pit zips and a massive back vent) keeps me comfortable until the temps reach the 80's. At that point, the suits are OK if you are moving. The big advantage is that when it starts to rain, you keep riding and when it stops raining, you do the same. Not cheap, but neither is a decent rain suit.
 
Rider33 said:
I keep Frog Toggs in the Vespa, just in case but with the ST, I just use Darien jacket & pants (Aerostich). They're more flexible with all the venting and whatnot and do quite well in the rain really. A lot easier than caring a separate rain suit.
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+1 on the Darien Gear. I gave up my rain suit many years ago for the versatility of Goretex and not having to pull over/dismount to get the gear on.
 
ST-DocLizard1 said:
the versatility of Goretex
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I recently had an issue with Gore-Tex and a pair of Held gloves described by the manufacturer as waterproof and breathable. (Thread discussion here.) It turns out they are one or the other, but not both simultaneously.

Gore-Tex is a micro-pore membrane that gets sandwiched between layers of textile. Water vapor can escape out through the membrane but liquid water cannot leak in. All works well until the outside textile layer gets wet, as it does when it rains. When that happens, although liquid water still won't leak in, the water vapor your body is constantly creating -- in increasingly higher quantity as your body attempts to cool itself -- cannot escape. As a result, you get clammy underneath the Gore-Tex. Of what value is breathability if it ceases when it rains?

For me it was a question of cost/benefit. A pair of $3 Aerostich rubber overgloves worn over Held Steves have kept me dryer riding in the rain than $150 Held Gore-Tex gloves. The kangaroo leather of the Steves gets clammy underneath the rubber overgloves, but not as bad as the fabric inner liner gets in the Gore-Tex gloves. All of which is to say, my experience is showing me that Gore-Tex isn't all it's cracked up to be.

After a not-especially-satisfying discussion with a Held rep about my disappointment with their costly Gore-Tex equipped product, I did some digging into the subject and found that "Gore-Tex Saturation" is widely discussed among hikers and campers who find out the same thing I did: Gore-Tex is breathable or waterproof, but not both at once.

My riding gear has Gore-Tex so when it starts raining I don't necessarily have to stop right away, but if it looks like it's going to keep raining I will pull over and put on a dedicated rain suit and my rubber overgloves.
 
Gloves on the other hand are a different matter. Unless you have hand guards, your hands are more exposed to the airstream and elements. It also makes a difference as to your forearm angle with respect to tucking the gloves under the jacket cuff or over as a gauntlet. I tried SealSkinz, but were not impressed.............hands always felt clammy and they were tough to re-don once wet. I am back to using a pair of fisherman's gloves with the rubberized exterior (Kermit Green) with a cloth liner.
 
I decided to strike a compromise on the gore-tex/raingear debate. To me, the pants are the biggest PITA to put on roadside. I went with Aerostich AD1 pants to avoid that hassle. For the jacket, I decided I did not want to compromise comfort at high temps, so I went with the Olympia Moab 3/4 mesh jacket and an Olympia rain jacket. The Moab comes with a rain liner, but I'm not a fan of those. Not too difficult to slip the jacket on in the rain. NOW, if someone can make a waterproof glove I'd be content.
 
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