Gore Tex Jackets - Again.

[Mr Scruff]

Sadly I'm not in the market for a top end/£800 jacket but I'm after something that will actually keep me dry over longer rides (2-3 hours).

I've seen a couple of jackets that have a goretex layer but not necessarily a waterproof outer jacket. In particular the Triumph Beinn GTX, which states:

Removable inner jacket with lightweight GORE-TEX® 3-Layer technology and Non-waterproof outer jacket

Are these going to be a nightmare, with the outer jacket getting totally saturated? Better going laminated?

[CAPP0]

Yes, yes and yes, I'm afraid.

[Mr Scruff]

CAPP0 said:

Yes, yes and yes, I'm afraid.

Bum - thanks! Problem is I only do a couple of thousand miles per year, but it's either touring or longer work journeys (my office is 3 hours away up the M6) so don't have the option of ducking out if the weather is terrible.

Laminated - Gore Tex Pro, is that right? This is a minefield!

[Max5476]

You can get breathable laminated jackets for £300, but they won't be gore-tex.

Some of these are also rated as AA to the latest CE approval for protection, which is as good as any textile gets. I've only ever seen leather jackets at AAA. A lot of the laminated gore-tex jackets are only rated A or not at all.

~£240
https://www.spadaclothing.co.uk/products/camber-ce

~£300
https://oxfordriderwear.com/product/hinterland/

Spidi do one for ~£400 but I can't remember which for now.

[CAPP0]

Mr Scruff said:

CAPP0 said:

Yes, yes and yes, I'm afraid.

Bum - thanks! Problem is I only do a couple of thousand miles per year, but it's either touring or longer work journeys (my office is 3 hours away up the M6) so don't have the option of ducking out if the weather is terrible.

Laminated - Gore Tex Pro, is that right? This is a minefield!

Yes, that's what you need. I used to commute an hour each way and I could ride all the way home in pouring rain and still be dry underneath, in GTX Pro kit. Also, if you get into the office soaked, the non-laminated stuff is still going to be soaking wet when you set off home again, whereas the Pro stuff dries very quickly because it's only surface water.

People will always say "my XYZ non-laminated kit has never let me down" but the truth of it is that Pro is the only real solution. In your case, with 3 hours on the M6 to look forward to, it's a complete no-brainer. Most places will do interest-free credit if that helps get you over the line.

[Heartworm]

Max5476 said:

You can get breathable laminated jackets for £300, but they won't be gore-tex.

Some of these are also rated as AA to the latest CE approval for protection, which is as good as any textile gets. I've only ever seen leather jackets at AAA. A lot of the laminated gore-tex jackets are only rated A or not at all.

~£240
https://www.spadaclothing.co.uk/products/camber-ce

~£300
https://oxfordriderwear.com/product/hinterland/

Spidi do one for ~£400 but I can't remember which for now.

The enginehawk textiles are expected to get aaa rating, they are in the process of getting them tested now along with the leathers,

[Wildfire]

If you're spending near £1k, go the Proshell direction. It really is far, far better.

My old HG laminate suit was great, 50k in it, never wet and feature wise it is brilliant, it was £250 (back in 2009) but after the DWR gives up, it gets heavy and cold. If you are putting it back on to go home, you're not wet, but the damp out is not great and at motorway speeds you get cold pretty quickly.

I picked up a Dane Proshell suit and aside from the features not being as good as the HG (pockets etc. and questionable placement of some ribbon and elastic) it is way better. The water doesn't penetrate, so it is lighter and you don't get as cold as quickly.

On a tour of Wales, in a bad weekend, it was great to walk in, shake the suit off and know you're putting on a totally dry suit and not a heavy, cold and water logged lump of cordura.

Check out Dane and some of the other lesser know Proshell suits if you don't want / can't afford Rukka and Klim etc.

[black-k1]

There are two approaches to waterproofing for motorcycling, You can either buy a suit that offers crash protection and is waterproof or buy a suit that offers crash protection and have a separate waterproof over-suit. I prefer the second option!

[Mr Scruff]

This is the struggle I guess - I could probably stretch my budget a bit but £800+ for a jacket that only does a couple of k PA is tough to justify!

AA protected Gore Tex Pro is a lot of money but doesn't seem like many other options.

Are there any over-jackets that actually work?

[black-k1]

The point with an oversuit is that you don't wear it when it's not actually raining. That means that for the few times you will need to wear it then it doesn't need to be breathable. There are lots of "Ride Recommended" products that will do the job. https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/...

[KTMsm]

I'd take a look on ebay / FB and see what's about used

There are plenty that have bought all the gear and then given up

I've probably got £3k+ of gear at retail price and I doubt I've paid £400 for it

[CAPP0]

black-k1 said:

The point with an oversuit is that you don't wear it when it's not actually raining. That means that for the few times you will need to wear it then it doesn't need to be breathable. There are lots of "Ride Recommended" products that will do the job. https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/...

I've stood underneath a motorway flyover struggling to get a boil-in-the-bag oversuit over my boots and trying to pull the back up over my jacket, enough times to make the GTX Pro option a bargain at any price

And there is indeed the boil-in-the-bag aspect to consider, if you get caught in heavy rain on a warmish day.

[black-k1]

CAPP0 said:

black-k1 said:

The point with an oversuit is that you don't wear it when it's not actually raining. That means that for the few times you will need to wear it then it doesn't need to be breathable. There are lots of "Ride Recommended" products that will do the job. https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/...

I've stood underneath a motorway flyover struggling to get a boil-in-the-bag oversuit over my boots and trying to pull the back up over my jacket, enough times to make the GTX Pro option a bargain at any price

And there is indeed the boil-in-the-bag aspect to consider, if you get caught in heavy rain on a warmish day.

If you get the right suit, that fits easily over boots etc. (I always get a size bigger than suggested) then putting on/taking off is pretty easy. As I've paid for made to measure BKS leathers I don't want to miss out on their comfort and protection so have used the oversuit approach for a long time. It really isn't a problem and I can count the number of UK days that re wet enough to require the oversuit but hot enough to cause "boil in the bag" issues, on the fingers of one hand.

[conkerman]

I bought one of these a week or two ago.

https://www.infinitymotorcycles.com/product/halvar...

No backprotector as standard I put a Furygan Viper in there as the Halvarssons one looks a bit bulky. Not really tested it yet, in fact it still has the tags on, but looks to be a decent bit of kit.

Motolegends were doing a Richa laminated jacket for very reasonable money.

At £800 the world is your oyster though

[Krise]

My Alpinestars Drystar let in water all-over after the first shower I got caught in, sent it back got another and over the last year its became less waterproof to the point I wont have another.

I bought a Oxford Quebec 1.0, jacket and trousers, whenever it looks like rain I wear it and it has never once let in water, I had to ride last year for about 6 hours in pretty horrendous rain and I was bone dry when I got home. Its quite generous in its fit. Cost me £130 quid in a sale on e bay.

[Mr Scruff]

conkerman said:

At £800 the world is your oyster though

Ahh, see, that's my point though, ideally my budget would be half that.

[CAPP0]

Mr Scruff said:

conkerman said:

At £800 the world is your oyster though

Ahh, see, that's my point though, ideally my budget would be half that.

If you were 30 minutes into your 3 hours on the M6 and it was absolutely hurling it down, and your water had started to seep in through your new non-Pro kit, if someone then said "give me £400 and I will make this all go away", what would you say?

[Mr Scruff]

CAPP0 said:

If you were 30 minutes into your 3 hours on the M6 and it was absolutely hurling it down, and your water had started to seep in through your new non-Pro kit, if someone then said "give me £400 and I will make this all go away", what would you say?

Been there, done that!

It has to be a balance, unfortunately. Will ponder more, but something like this from Halvarssons is potentially interesting

[Wildfire]

CAPP0 said:

If you were 30 minutes into your 3 hours on the M6 and it was absolutely hurling it down, and your water had started to seep in through your new non-Pro kit, if someone then said "give me £400 and I will make this all go away", what would you say?

Years ago this happened to me with cheap kit. 40 minutes down the M5 trying to get back to Surrey and I was soaking and miserable.

After I got over my cold I got out the Visa and bought my HG Goretex suit.

[Wildfire]

https://daneclothing.uk/