looking for pants

I'm still riding in jeans and want to buy a proper pair of riding pants. I'll mainly be using these for commuting and the weekend ride out to nowhere and back. Here are the criteria I'm looking to fill:

1. can be worn year 'round
2. waterproof capability
3. won't make me look like the michelin man

If it helps, I am 5'11" and 130 lbs. So yeah, really skinny.

Any suggestions?

Anybody have experience with fieldsheer booster pants? Looks like they might be what I'm looking for. I wonder how well the vents actually work for keeping cool in the heat.

The Shift Havoc pants I have are awesome, except they can get hot in the summer. If they had zippers they would be perfect!

Where are you riding? In Colorado, I use two sets. Joe Rocket summer weight (yes, we see 100+, and jeans/trousers plus full mesh works well while under way, stopped = still sweat like a rented mule), and a mid weight non mesh. Sorry to give you the bad news, but one pair doesn't work year round for me. Best of luck!

Fred
99 SV650 track
99ZRX1000 Street
KTM 520EXC Dirt
03 "CRF" 100 play

If money is an issue, the best tested solution I did was with the First Gear HT Air pants.

Tested means temperature from the teens to over a hundred degrees and also crash tested.

The mesh portion for hot weather and the weather proof liner for rain and cold weather.

I crashed in them, I had added the CE approved auxiliary armor and I can say they protected my hips and knees perfectly.

I was afraid the armor would of shifted but it did its job perfectly.

I'm in DC. It gets cold enough to snow a couple times in the winter and in the summer will get up to the 90s and maybe break 100 on occasion.

What I'm really looking for is a pant that will be cool enough to ride in the warmer months but still be waterproof for those times I get caught in the rain. I realize this is next to impossible considering a waterproof material will also be windproof, but something that has closable vents like the booster pant in theory would work.

It is not impossible read my post above yours ...

It is not impossible read my post above yours ... yes.



The only issue I have with something like the HT air is it is not waterproof without the liner in. So if I'm riding during the summer and it starts raining I will have to take the pants off, put the liner in, then put the pants back on. With something like the booster pant I could just zip up the vents and go. Of course I have no idea how effective the vents in the booster pant actually are. Or how waterproof they actually are.

I always carry a First Gear Rainman outfit with me along with waterproof gloves anytime it looks like rain.

The Shift Havoc pants I have are awesome, except they can get hot in the summer. If they had zippers they would be perfect!

I have these too, great pants.

I always carry a First Gear Rainman outfit with me along with waterproof gloves anytime it looks like rain. You know, the more I think about it I think this is the way to go. My summer gear is a perf leather jacket and vented boots. If it rains I'm gonna get wet even if my pants are waterproof. I might as well get the pants that will keep me the most comfortable in the dry and put on a rain suit when it rains. I doubt I'll be riding in the rain much anyway.

A question about the Firstgear HT Air overpants: At 5'11" and 130 lbs I'm ridiculously skinny for my height. I wear 30/32 jeans, and I would probably want a riding pant to be a little longer to cover my leg when seated. Newenough lists the inseam of the 30" pants as 31.5". Will these pants be too short for me, or are the pants in reality a little longer than the inseam measurement listed?

They fit over a riding boot or in a riding boot, I always put them over the riding boot.
The liner is very thin and fits in a tank bag easily.

I guess I worded my question poorly. Are these pants made longer than a regular pant? I don't want the cuff to be half way up my shin when I'm sitting on my bike.

I really dunno ... I wear a 32 - 34 inseam and the pants go right to the top of the foot.
Pants are very adjustable waist and the length is not an issue for my size ... 36 waist/32 or 34 length

Call Newenough .. they will take stuff back with no questions asked, you pay the shipping if it is your mistake, they pay the shipping if it is their mistake.

Very awesome internet company to deal with.

Look into the Olympia stuff. My next set of gear will be something from them, and they definitely makr something that suits your needs.

I have three pairs of riding pants, and my HT air are the most versatile and most used.

I live in Rockville if you want to come up sometime and try them out. The waste is 34, to fit over my 32" pants, but the inseam is 31.75". It should give you a good idea of which ones will fit.

I'm still riding in jeans and want to buy a proper pair of riding pants. I'll mainly be using these for commuting and the weekend ride out to nowhere and back. Here are the criteria I'm looking to fill:

1. can be worn year 'round
2. waterproof capability
3. won't make me look like the michelin man

If it helps, I am 5'11" and 130 lbs. So yeah, really skinny.

Any suggestions?

I would suggest a removable waterproof lining or cheap rainsuit. I bought some fieldsheer street pants with waterproof breathable lining and it's hot. I know it will work in the rain, it doesn't let moisture out. No air either.

I have these Moto GP Textile Overpants

http://www.newenough.com/closeouts/bargain_basement/moto_gp/gp_textile_motorcycle_overpants.html

They're OK for cooler weather. I don't know if I'd want to wear them in extremely hot weather (85+). The armor is pretty thin also, but better than just my jeans.

go on ridersdiscount.com and get yourself the joe rocket stage one pant. those are pretty good for $90.00

I really dunno ... I wear a 32 - 34 inseam and the pants go right to the top of the foot.
Pants are very adjustable waist and the length is not an issue for my size ... 36 waist/32 or 34 length

Call Newenough .. they will take stuff back with no questions asked, you pay the shipping if it is your mistake, they pay the shipping if it is their mistake.

Very awesome internet company to deal with. I've bought a whole lot of stuff from newenough so I am familiar with their great cs. I sent them an email asking about the pant length and they said the inseam measurement is accurate, but there is an extra inch in the stride (waist to crotch) to account for the riding position. Unfortunately that's probably still too short for me. Why they only make tall sizes for the larger waist sizes I don't know. I guess there isn't much of a market for tall skinny types.

I have three pairs of riding pants, and my HT air are the most versatile and most used.

I live in Rockville if you want to come up sometime and try them out. The waste is 34, to fit over my 32" pants, but the inseam is 31.75". It should give you a good idea of which ones will fit. Thanks for the offer. I'll send you a pm to get contact info. I'm hoping they'll be long enough but have a feeling they won't.

Remember that these are OVERPANTS ...
They are sized generously to fit over street clothes.

Don't make up your mind till you try them out.

I ended up ordering the FirstGear HT Air 2.0 overpants in size 30. I was ordering a tank bag at the same time and the pants gave me free shipping from newenough. I tried them on and like I guessed they were a little too short. My jeans stuck out from under the pants, and the combination of boot cut jeans and tapered overpants made them very difficult to close at the bottom.

I also wasn't a fan of the amount of mesh on the butt of the pants. I feel like if I were to go down on my arse unless I was perfectly straight I'd be sliding on the mesh, which I doubt would hold up very well. The pants are going back to newenough.

I wonder if my only option now is motoport since I can get custom lengths from them.

That is strange ... I have no mesh in the butt area of my HT pants.
I did order my pants one size larger than my street pants.
They are very long, meaning they rest on the top of my boots.

I doubled the armor, kept the stock memory foam and added optional corecomp armor along with the hipprotec armor and the pants fit me perfect over the street clothes.

I crashed in them last spring and found that the pants worked perfectly.
I had concerns that the armor would roll on me and that never happened.

The mesh is kind of on the side of the butt. My fear is that in a lowside I'd start out on my side/hip, then roll over onto my butt. In the process of rolling over I'd be sliding on the mesh part.

The pants are probably long enough for most people, but I have disproportionately long legs for my waist size. If Firstgear made a long version for the smaller waist sizes I'd be in business, but alas, they don't.