Is any spray on waterproofing worthwhile?

[onchiman]

Since all it seems to do around here is rain anymore I'm trying to see if it would be worthwhile to try some spray waterproofing on my riding gear. Seems that while the duds are water "resistant", they don't put up much resistance to rain at 55mph. I have a Cortech GX Sport jacket and Tourmaster riding pants. Now granted, I don't expect them to be 100% waterproof but it seems to me that the shells could do a bit better at repelling water before it reaches the membrane liner and eventually soaks through. Silicone spray seems to be the most common option available. But before I cross that bridge, I wanted to see if anyone has had good results and if so, with what?

[KPac]

The only way Ive ever sucessfully stayed bone dry in driving wind and rain was in a military issue rain suit made of the same rubber/vinyl stuff the ponchos are made of ( only sewn into a suit ) My gore tex is usually good at about up to freeway speeds, but only if its less than a driving downpour, get into thunderstorm type torrents, and its gonna start to seep.
For my Dos Pesos, no nylon/gore tex/cloth is gonna be 100% waterproof no matter how much teflon or silicone you spray on it. They've got pores.

[bwringer]

I've never had much luck with any waterproofing treatments, but I can say that the Nikwax line of products costs more and does less than anything I've ever encountered. Don't get suckered into the hype surrounding this worthless crap.

Scotchguard, VERY heavily applied, does help a little. But only a little.

On leather boots, Snoseal (heavy greasy beeswax based stuff) does a decent job if you warm up the leather a little beforehand and take your time.


Frogg Toggs work very well, but only if you get their plainest pants and jackets. Their more intricate stuff, including the Road Toad suit, has too many pockets, zippers, etc. and will leak badly through all the openings at speed.

However, the Road Toad suit does a fantastic job of routing cold rain water directly onto your ******* and retaining it there.

[bwringer]

Heh. The GSR naughty word filter is pretty selective about certain clinical terms... I'll leave the asterisks there -- it's dirtier that way.

Rest assured, I was only reporting the plain, scientific facts.

[themess]

My motorcycle rainsuit keeps most of me bone dry, even after hours of heavy rain. My collar and wrists will get a bit damp. I wear Totes foldable rubber boots over whatever else I have on.

[onchiman]

I guess it's as I kind of expected then, waterproofing sprays and the like will have limited effect with the type of gear I have. I think I'll give it a shot on my riding pants. Rain seems to run right down the seat to my bum where they leak almost immediately. I don't care so much if it rains on the way home but getting to work with a wet arse isn't very much fun.

[Dogma]

The windbreaker/waterproof liners do seem to be rain proof on my Cortech jacket and First Gear overpants, at freeway speed in moderate rain.

The only leaks I've found are at the gaps. Up until recently, the waterproof hiking boots I wore let rain in through the socks. I have taller boots now, and can't wait to try them out in rain.

The other major leak was where the jacket and pants met in the front. Due to my um, excess morphology, the jacket cannot make a good seal against the pants, so water wicks in via my shirt and soaks my front side. I plan to try sealing this with a plastic bag next time. There is also a possibility that water pooling in the crotch area soaked through the seams of the pants, but I can't be sure of that.

[Zook]

I have a Fieldsheer Cordura armored jacket that has kept me bone dry after 1000 miles in a steady to hard rain after spraying it with Campdry. It's made for tents and the like.
Spray on once, let dry overnight, spray again and let dry overnight again.
It's worked on two different jackets and the time I forgot to use it I got a bit damp. It hadn't been sprayed for about a year.

Costs about $5 at Wally World in the sporting goods dept.

This reminds me...I need to spray my coat for my trip next month.

[earlfor]

I've had good luck with spray on Scotchguard. But it takes a lot of it and multiple coats. I soak one can into each leather boot, another can into my Gortech jacket and about half a can into my gloves. Waterproof for about 6 months.

Earl

[ironsheik]

The only way I've ever been able to stay dry, and I have ridden in 6 hours of rain on plenty of occasions, is with over pants and a jacket. The liners all leak at the seams and waterproof spray only works so-so on heavy duty leather like my boots. I don't mind my wrists and feet getting a little wet. I also wear Olympia gloves designed for wet riding that work great so far...

What is up in the NE this Summer? I'm about to go to Nova Scotia and already I've pushed the trip back 2 days to try and miss some of this friggin rain!

J