waterproof | Motorcycle Accessories and Apparel

I have gained a healthy respect for REV'IT! protective apparel. I have found their stuff to be well designed and well made. However, the company makes a lofty claim with the name of the REV'IT! Ultimate Pants.

On first inspection, these armored textile pants look solid enough. The ...

The Fly Racing Patrol Jacket is a model of dirt apparel versatility. Just listen to what it can do. In cool weather, leave everything zipped and attached. As things cool, you can remove the sleeves and open the vents. If you need to remove the jacket ...

Back to basics. That's how I would describe the Gaerne Balance Oiled Boots. Adventurer tourers and dual-sport riders are decidedly less prone to buy the multi-hued and trendy gear that is so popular with the motocross crowd. These Gaerne boots have a traditional leather look and feel ...

What we have here is an incredible jacket with a Shakespearean fatal flaw.

The Speed and Strength Hell 'n Back Jacket has a list of features and functions I have never seen in any other jacket. It has a body constructed of water-resistant AR-600 textile. That body has what ...

When I begin a review of adventure touring apparel, I first turn to a forum called Adventure Rider Motorcycle Forum (ADV). What I am looking for are early reactions by my fellow rabid adventure tourers. When I searched for notes on the Klim Adventure Rally Jacket (and matching ...

I tried these gloves on several recent winter rides. OK, my winter rides in Arizona may not be like your winter rides in North Dakota. However, I tested these gloves at 65 miles per hour in sub-40 degree temps. The Alpinestars ST-1 Drystar Gloves kept my digits comfortable. ...

I have always found that Alpinestars boots fit my foot well. Because of this, I find myself feeling comfortable ordering the Italian company's boots online with little trepidation. The Alpinestars Web Gore-Tex Boots are a bit of a different fit, however.

The boots are what I look for ...

Held is somewhat of a legendary company in terms of rider apparel. In the 1940s, German glove-maker Edgar Held started the line of high quality motorcycle gloves. How appropriate the company's name is to the English-speaking consumer base is purely coincidence.

The Held Steve 2 is ...

I live in the beautiful Southwest, so rain suits are not typically on the forefront of my mind. For me they are a seldom used, unglamorous item relegated to some recess of my touring luggage.

That is all well and good, but when you need a good rain suit, you ...

When you ride in cold or wet weather, the one area that is typically left exposed is the chin and neck area. This is also an area that is usually in the direct airflow over the windscreen… not a good combination.

Enter the REV'IT! Blaze Balaclava. This head and neck ...

I am intrigued by the premium (and pricey) motorcycle apparel brands as much as anyone. However, in these tough times, finding a company that continually produces quality protective wear at an affordable price is nice. Olympia is just such a company. I have found Olympia gear ...

In some people's eyes, the problem with armored motorcycles jackets is… well, they look like armored motorcycle jackets. The Teknic Women's Diamond Jacket offers a good measure of protection while still looking good off the bike.

Let's start, as we should, with protection. The Teknic Diamond features Knox Lite ...

Speed and Strength (SS) is a company with an eye for appearance but also solid attention to detail. The Speed And Strength Moment Of Truth SP Men's Mesh Motorcycle Jacket is no exception. It is a good-looking jacket that will keep you cool and protected in ...

The Alpinestars Royal Drystar Textile Motorcycle Jacket is a true foul-weather friend. This piece of riding apparel has features that will protect in extreme conditions. It is geared toward the commuter or the full-on touring rider.

The shell is nylon with PU-coating construction for strength and abrasion resistance. It ...

I am in the process of researching ways to run a power outlet to the front of my motorcycle to power my GPS, so this item is of particular interest to me. At first glance, the ForMotion 12 Volt Power Pod seems to be severely overpriced. Most ...

Transition… now that's a good name for this jacket. The Tour Master Transition Series 2 jacket is well equipped to make the transition from warm, to cold, to wet riding conditions.

This three-quarter length touring jacket has a 600 denier shell and a warming 100-gram Polyfill removable ...

Mt. Kilimanjaro is an extreme mountain environment in Tanzania. The Firstgear Men's Kilimanjaro Waterproof Jacket is a jacket designed for extreme motorcycling conditions. If you spend much time around touring and adventure motorcyclists, certain jackets tend to come up in conversation. Premium and extremely pricey jackets like ...

Having lived in Arizona for over 4 decades, I know a little something about heat. Having been a motorcyclist for almost as long, I know a little something about hot weather gear. I don't know if Joe Rocket invented the armored mesh jacket, but they are at least ...

Leather is protective, heavy, and expensive. Cordura textile is versatile, waterproof, and relatively affordable. An increasing number of quality motorcycle jackets are mating these two materials with very positive results. By placing leather in the impact-prone zones of the jacket, like the forearms and shoulders, the ...

Big names in scooter boot manufacturing come largely from Italy, these days. Gaerne's made a good name for themselves in the mid-price range. I first heard of these back in the '90s from a friend who has enough money to buy whatever he likes, but chose a pair ...

Riding to work at this time of year has its appeals. You tough out the cold morning, the street still untouched by the warming massage of all those particles of light, and you receive your afternoon reward of a beautiful fall ride past fields and fauna. These are, at least, my circumstances.

Tour Master ...

The necessary evil of rain gear has come into its season. Sure, there are summer torrents, but a hearty rider can grit her teeth and tough it out 'til the next stop. In these cold days, the wet leads to a chill that extracts all the joy from a ride ...

Once on a ride through northern California, I came around a corner in a small canyon, only to find the landscape open into a flatland on my left, and running toward me was a small herd of wild horses. It was one of the most beautiful things I ever saw. ...

Of those who are bad at estimating the time, there are two kinds: folks who get everywhere late and folks who get everywhere early. I'm of the latter end of that spectrum, and it drives me crazy. If you're late, you can at least jump right in when you get there, but ...

Chase Harper's Dual Purpose bags will fulfill almost any functional needs you have for a set of saddlebags. A long feature list accompanies this product, so beyond the short time we are about to spend together, you should look up all the specs.

To start, the one feature that Chase Harper is ...

I've discovered that there are entire forums devoted to motorcycle seat cushions. People get into heated debates about what brand is best to keep your butt comfy. We certainly live in a weird world.

What's even weirder is that the average motorcycle is only ridden a little over 1,000 miles per year, ...

It has rained every day, save one, for the last couple weeks. I love my oiled leather, but it can't take this much, so out comes the rain gear and luggage covers. You can save yourself a few minutes with waterproof luggage, like these PVC bags.

Bikeaccess' T Bar bags ...

If you have to resurrect a dead battery, you've been neglectful. Shame on you. Okay, so I'm being harsh, but to prevent this kind of situation, or recover from it, the TecMate Optimate 4 charger has a few features that are pleasantly surprising in a charger that only costs around ...

Where I live, riding year-round is out of the question due to iced-over roads, but there are other lands where the bold-blooded can ride all year. Sounds like a mythological fantasy land to me up in the northlands, but it's very likely you live in such a place.

If the frigid ...

Alpinestars has a much greater reputation in motocross and sport riding than they do in the cruiser world. I am not suggesting in any way that their quality is not recognized, but long haul riders tend to be a suspicious and diverse lot. Having a look at the Ridge boots, I ...

As long as the weather holds, I will be doing every chore on my bike. That can get cumbersome, but I'm stubborn and still pretty sure you can transport a 6-foot piece of conduit on a bike. There's got to be a way...

Regardless, a good bag will hold most of what ...

Riding apparel isn't known for its capacity. Yes, my jacket has pockets, but putting much of anything in them creates great, uncomfortable bulges. What's the point of all that armor and leather if your ribs get broken by a cell phone in a crash?

Chase Harper to the rescue. The Manta X2 is ...

Everyone appreciates a good product at a good price, and the Emgo portable travel trunk is one of these. A simple and highly functional design which does everything you hope it would do and for not much money.

On most bikes, its less-than-8-pound weight will be unnoticeable -- although if you fill it ...

Having nice things is risky business. An iPod, for example, is made for portability, but taking it out into the world risks damage, especially when you're riding out into unknown lands with unknown weather conditions. Numerous cases and bags are available for just these devices, but few have the strong-box hold of ...

I am not meticulous in the way that I pack. I tend to take everything I want to bring on a trip and place it in a pile on the living room floor. Once the pile is complete, I shovel it into my bag and go. Knowing this, you can probably ...

No one is going to steal my motorcycle. I love my bike, but it is a 1983 Honda and worth very little to anyone aside from myself. Also, I've taken liberties with the paint job, so it's probably worth even less. I feel no shame about my beauty's resale value, but ...

Here's something for the ladies: A textile riding jacket that is soft yet rugged and replete with CE-approved armor in the elbows and shoulders. Tour Master's Trinity Series jacket offers the rider more flexibility than leather, and nearly as much protection. No textile jacket is going to give the abrasion resistance ...

The world through which we ride is inconsistent. If it were not, the road would be far less fun. The weather can have a strong effect on the quality of your ride, even when conditions are not extreme. A warm day can quicken the onset of dehydration. A chilly day can numb your ...

Riding with a good waterproof coat, or even a 2-piece rain suit, won't stop a torrent of rainwater from running down your back, into your pants, or through any tiny gap in your gear. If you know the weather will be foul on your trip, suck it up and throw on ...

Sometimes, you have to see something to believe it. If someone described the Power Trip Stiletto jacket with the zebra design, all I would think would be, "Yeah, that will catch some attention, a zebra on fire!" Power Trip seems to have pulled off the design better than I could ...

The Tour Master Saber Series 2 jacket is prepared for anything. The design makes this a great riding jacket for rain, shine, cold, hot, day, or night riding. My first response to any textile is to balk at the thought of replacing my leather, but I've had to spend time under ...

Three words used by Firstgear in the description of their Fargo gloves confused and amazed me: waterproof, breathable leather. Leather is not known for its breathability. If you oil it, you can usually expect some water resistance, but waterproof? Really? Apparently, yes.

As the name suggests, these are for the kind of ...

Joe Rocket's Meteor boots are some of the best looking, most understated riding boots I've seen in a while. These are full function street or cruiser boots with molded plastic side protection and a reinforced, padded shin panel.

Reflective patches on the heels will give upcoming motorists two more chances to ...

Anyone who's ever had a job climbing telephone poles knows what lineman's boots look like. For those of you who don't, they are a waterproof, leather boot that comes up to the knee, and the laces must pass through thirty-six eyes and hooks to properly secure these things. One of my ...

When you ride 500 miles north or south, you experience a lot of weather. When I set out on my current journey, I would sweat in my leathers every time I had to stop to fill up, but by the end I had closed my vents as I was still ...

Icon calls this bit of footwear their Accelerant boot. It is hardly a boot. I know short boots are all the rage, but this is almost more of a shoe. The Accelerant is, however, one heck of a rocking shoe.

The exterior is constructed of durable leather and nylon. This provides excellent abrasion ...

I do everything I can on my bike when the season is right, so it's no surprise that I ride to the grocery store. Usually this means I run lots of small trips, but if you've ever been to the store hungry, you know you can buy more than you need, ...

Staying dry on a ride is high on my list of priorities. But then I don't really know anyone who actually enjoys becoming soaked to the bone. Even ducks don't like it. That's why they're… well, you know… waterproof.

Meanwhile, Nelson-Rigg has been supplying rain protection since 1972. Their ...

Serious riders demand serious protection. The Cortech GX Air Series 2 jacket is a high-end jacket that combines a bit of flashy style with top notch materials and protection.

The GX Air Series 2 uses a combination of natural and synthetic materials. The back, shoulder and elbow panels are all decked out ...

It took one trip in a downpour to learn many lessons. One of these lessons was that my saddlebags were not waterproof. My bags were leather, and they probably held the water at bay for a while, but eventually they started sopping it up like a couple of old, dry sponges. I had ...