Should my motorcycle pants be waterproof or not?
Welcome back to OVERDRIVE's no stone left unturned guide to motorcycle pants. This is one of the sections of the comprehensive guide - you will find links to the other sections as they come online at the bottom of this page. And now let's get on with the guide. This time we're discussing why waterproof pants are usually not the end-all and be-all of pant buying.
We want waterproof gear for the rains. But I'd tell you two things from riding daily in India for over eighteen years now. Full-on waterproof pants just don't work in Indian weather as your primary or only option. They're too warm and slowly nudge you back into denims or worse.
So what you should get is waterproofing from a layer and remember that waterproof is also usually windproof and ergo warm. Internal waterproof layers can be great but are hard to add or remove on the side of the road and more importantly, the exterior of the pant will get wet first, no matter what. This isn't a problem, just something to keep in mind in terms of your mental discomfort at the idea. External waterproof layers - like a cheap rain suit - can be cheap and useful but they're also usually fragile and not very good at lasting for a long time.
I prefer the latter for most things. I rode to Leh wearing mesh pants adding my rain suit bottoms for warmth and waterproofing when I needed it. They were more duct tape than pants by the end but it worked. Rs 300 well spent. But I'll happily swap to internal layers if I'm going to be on the bike the whole day with unpredictable but not very warm weather.
More from OVERDRIVE on motorcycling gear: -
Cheapest motorcycle boots in India
Top five cheapest motorcycle jackets in India
Top four cheapest motorcycle gloves in India
Materials used to make motorcycle pants
Motorcycle pants - normal trousers or overpants?
Buying guides: -
The motorcycle boot buying guide
Motorcycle jacket buying guide
Helmet styles: How to pick a helmet that works for you