Hi everyone, not sure if BIFL, as textiles are generally prone to wear out. I’m looking for good rainproof trousers. A little background: I’m commuting by bike, 7 km back and forth plus train commute, all year. Due to the geographical region (Germany) there is a good chance of unforseen rain.

Now I’m looking for a well built, stable set of rainproof trousers. I’m not a fan of those standard trousers where you need to put your feet or shoes through, as I’d like to put them on spontaneously and without too much hassle. I recently found out about full zipper trousers which kind of have a side entry rather than a top entry. They seem interesting, but I’m unsure about the practicability.

I’d be glad to hear your experiences with rainproof trousers for commuting, and ideally a buy it for life very long recommendation.

  • Ride Against The Lizard@slrpnk.netEnglish
    3·
    21 hours ago

    I’ve been searching for the same thing - a PFA/PFC free shell to go over my regular trousers. I’ve tried these three and haven’t had any luck with any of them:

    • Patagonia Torrentshell: I could hardly take a full stride in these, and sizing up was like wearing oversized parachute pants

    • Marmot equivalent: Much more mobility, but just not enough for me to pedal on a bike without the pants becoming very taut. I fear they’d rip after a while.

    • Outdoor Research equivalent: Satisfactory mobility, but for some reason the ankle cuffs are really wide - water would definitely splash up inside these if you were walking through puddles, so it feels like they miss the mark a little especially considering these are a bit more expensive than the others.

    I’m still looking, open to recommendations!

    • evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      4 hours ago

      I have a whole rant about “waterproof” stuff that I should really just have at the ready for pasting in places.

      Basically, people used to use waxed/oiled cloth like canvas. When fresh, it is effectively “waterproof” since the wax/oil is hydrophobic, but as you move, brush up against stuff, etc., paths open up to the hydrophilic underlying fabric, and some moisture can make it through. This leakiness isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because it also lets some moisture out. Over time, you can re-wax/oil the cloth to restore water resistance.

      When petrochemicals started getting produced (and/or natural rubber chemistry got better), they made plastics/rubbers that were properly waterproof and flexible: think about rubber gloves. It sounds good to be properly waterproof, but not so much once you understand how it all works as a system.

      When you sweat, which you are always doing to some extent, but especially while exercising, your sweat needs to evaporate to dry you off. If you have a waterproof layer on you, your sweat can’t evaporate, so you even without any water making it through your clothing, you end up wet. This is still worth it in some applications like commercial fishing, where the water that hits you would be really cold, while the water (sweat) on the inside is at least warm. Commercial fishing gear is also usually baggy so you can get some evaporation out the waist. That type of clothing is also bulky.

      These issue were addressed by the use of non-waterproof synthetics, like nylon weaves, coated with hydrophobic compounds of various degrees of environmental toxicity (these usually just say “treated with DWR”). Better versions have multiple layers, so you could have a layer of a water resistant membrane, a stronger synthetic, and a coating (referred to as 2 layer). The best versions have a third layer to provide backing to the membrane since it’s pretty fragile.

      The important thing is these new, lightweight, packable fabrics are not “waterproof”, they are “water resistant”, so they can allow water to evaporate from your body through the fabric. This works because when it rains, the air is at 100% relative humidity (I’m simplifying transient effects), but you are hotter than the surrounding air, so inside the jacket, humidity % is lower, and the water vapor can diffuse through the fabric to outside. The more heat you are generating, the more you can push water vapor out, but you need the jacket to be more permeable. This is a tradeoff, so a jacket designed for running will end up getting soaked through easily if you use it for casual wear, while a jacket designed for casual wear will soak you with sweat if you run in it. The problem is, lots of people want to wear gear meant for hiking cause it’s trendy, but it actually sucks for casual wear. Good brands actually report the permeability of jackets so you can purchase according to your needs.

      In my mind, a really good technical jacket would use different fabrics for areas like the tops of your shoulders that need to really shed water vs other areas, but from a manufacturing perspective, it’s not as easy as just grabbing a big roll of 1 material. You could even have volumetric mesh underneath the waterproof fabrics to allow sweat to flow to areas that can let water vapor out.

      I think in most cases, people would be better off using either old-school oilcloth/waxed canvas or newer jackets that are actually waterproof for their casual wear, and save the “performance” fabrics for performance. Biking is tough, though. I don’t bike in downpours, so I think my ideal biking rain pants would just be waterproof on the top of the thigh to the knee, something abrasion resistant on the butt, and water resistant everywhere else.

    • Hnery@feddit.orgOPEnglish
      1·
      4 hours ago

      If you remember, could you tell me a bit more about the Marmot trousers? I found the PreCip Eco Full Zip on sale (80-ish € instead of 120€) so I’m very tempted to buy right now.

      • Ride Against The Lizard@slrpnk.netEnglish
        2·
        3 hours ago

        Those are the ones I tried, they were definitely the best in terms of price and the mobility was good enough for walking etc. I just found that they got a bit too tight for me in a full squat for example. I did purchase them but ended up returning them, I was very close to keeping them. I’d suggest trying them on/ordering them and see how you feel, and you can always return :)

  • ODGreen@slrpnk.netEnglish
    10·
    1 day ago

    A cheap solution is to wax some thrift store or old trousers. Beeswax and paraffin, there are different ratios to experiment with, and premade bars you can buy. You rub some on and heat with a hair dryer or clothes iron (with parchment paper so the iron doesn’t get wax on it). It’ll darken the cloth. The more you put on the more waterproof and wind-resistant it’ll get. For bike pants you could focus on the front of the upper thigh and coat the rest less, leaving some breathability on the back.

    • Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafeEnglish
      5·
      1 day ago

      This is called tincloth, if OP’s interested.

      My experience with it - makes for a heavy material that is rain resistant, not proof.

      If you’ve ever tried on a Western Duster coat, you know how heavy that stuff is.

      I have a couple tincloth hats, works great for that, but I’ve had to retreat them annually, use a lot of wax when doing it, and they’re still only rain resistant. Water will eventually work it’s way in.

      • rbn@sopuli.xyzEnglish
        3·
        23 hours ago

        If you go for linseed oil, make sure to put it outside to dry. During the oxidization process it can get so hot that it’s self-igniting.

      • ODGreen@slrpnk.netEnglish
        3·
        1 day ago

        Yes, it’s used to make oilcloth but as far as I know, you’d have to leave the garment to dry somewhere with ventilation for a week or more. However I’ve not done it so if that isn’t the case please correct me.

        • moody@lemmings.worldEnglish
          2·
          1 day ago

          I’ve never done it, but I believe you can iron it to set the oil, kind of like seasoning a cast iron pan. It’s worth looking into.

          • Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafeEnglish
            1·
            1 day ago

            I’ve found using a blow dryer works pretty well, and helps keep the wax liquid until the cloth can absorb it (often it’s linseed mixed with beeswax, the linseed really makes a difference). The extra heat seems to help the fibers remain soft and the liquid flowing, while driving off the excess solvent

    • Hnery@feddit.orgOPEnglish
      2·
      1 day ago

      Cool idea, thanks! Not sure about the feasibility, but I’ll definitely check it out.

    • Hnery@feddit.orgOPEnglish
      1·
      4 hours ago

      Thanks, good video. I have mixed feelings about ponchos. I always feel uncomfortable wearing them. On the other hand, you have a rainproof jacket, and pants-ish in a single unit, so less weather surprises…

  • Drusas@fedia.io
    2·
    22 hours ago

    Check out Outdoor Research, Patagonia, Marmot, Mountain Hardware (not sure which of these are or are not available in Germany, but you probably have comparable brands there as well). You can find some really good water-resistant gear from them. You could also consider getting hard shell rain pants to wear over top of your regular pants and just take them off once you’re back inside.

    • Hnery@feddit.orgOPEnglish
      2·
      5 hours ago

      Thanks for the recommendations! I think, hardshell is what I’m looking for but didn’t know the name of, so that should help my quest a bit :)