Waterproof Jackets And Trousers

With a few months of rain ahead of us, don’t worry, there’s no such thing as bad weather...

- Paul Burwell

If you want to keep warm, dry and comfortable in the winter there are two pieces of clobber you should own — a waterproof jacket and a pair of waterproof trousers. This combo will keep you smiling through the filthiest conditions, and allow you to get warm and dry faster at the end of a ride because you’ll remain clean underneath.

Most mountain bike clothing brands make both tops and bottoms, but we’ve mixed things up a little in this test to give the broadest cross-section possible. The cheapest trouser is the £50 Altura Nevis III and it’s a simple lightweight pant made from a non-branded waterproof material. Jump to the top end and with the Endura MT500, you’re looking at a more sophisticated three-layer fabric and a ton of features. The same is true for the waterproof jackets, with simple coated nylon fabrics at the lower end and Gore-Tex at the top.

Top-end clothing obviously costs more, but it will be more effective at keeping out water, it’ll breathe better and may even be lighter and have more features. All the waterproof jackets and trousers on the test will get the job done, it’s just the more expensive kit will be a little bit more durable and a lot more comfortable to wear.

We’ve got six tops and bottoms in this test and there’s nothing stopping you mixing and matching between brands. In fact, we’d recommend it because some companies’ jackets are better than their trousers and visa-Versa.

USED & ABUSED

How we test