Nelson-Rigg unisex adult Reflective Stormrider
There are others out there that are better quality just looking for something under $100 and found a lot of motorcycle rain suit, just wonder if there is a giant difference between them that makes one special over the other.
I’ve seen people use similar. Or Walmart rain poncho is effective too if taped up so it isn’t flapping. I think it would work fine.
Having just toughed it out in my regular suit, what’s the advantage of a rain suit? Comfort only, or less water weight added, or ??
I’ve been tempted to scotch-gard my regular suit, with the theory that it would make grease clean-off easier also…
You know how you get all of the puddles in your lap when racing in the wet? And how your feet get full of water? The rain suit makes that less worse. It’s basically a body condom.
I did try a 2-piece motorcycle rain suit once since it was cheap. It did not work at all for me. I think it’s cut/fit in such a way that it rides oddly on you when sitting in a kart position. Also, it didn’t play nicely in terms of filling with air from that seating position.
I find the rain suit to be less comfortable actually. It’s bulky and plastic so it can get really warm. But it keeps your suit clean and dry which is nice when the sun comes back out and you don’t have to drive in a sopping wet suit.
I’ve never raced with the luxury of a drying track! LOL All my rain races have been sloppy the whole duration, including reloading the trailer and trying to manage the canopy teardown… I wish I had stock in WD-40…
Thx for the insights.
I use a 1-piece motorcycle suit. It’s quite a bit heavier than the clear karting ones, and possibly not the ideal shape, though I seem to have a lots of leg to try and find space for anyway.
I’ve used it primarily in endurance karting. Spending an hour in the rain once you’re fully soaked through isn’t a lot of fun to me, and it also stops the wind cutting through and freezing you. I’ve even put it on over the top of wet race suit after getting stuck on track when the rain hit, to stay warm next time out.
I can well imagine that water would find its way in under the top of a 2-piece, as Dom attests.
Couple reasons to run the rain suit. Number one is driver comfort. When its hot it may not matter, but when its 38-40F and raining like it was at TSRS last month…then the suit is priceless!!! Also running a multi-day or long event where the track is dry but the suit is still soaked, flat sucks. Number two is suit protection. Running a suit with light colors on it in the wet will ruin the colors forever, especially in certain locales. Amarillo last year had some rain roll through and it is an extremely dusty environment. The amount of dirt picked up by the suit was unreal and never completely washed out. The suit has never been white again!
I’m old enough to remember a time when kart specific set suits weren’t very common (way before the clear suits). I had a motorcycle wet suit (which for clarity we had to wear over the kart suit).
One thing mine had, which kart wet suits I’ve had don’t have, is a bunch of adjustability and vents, rather then just being a big clear condom.
If there is puddling it seems as though the one piece would be best, however I like that you can get a motorcycle rain suit made out of different material other then plastic poncho material like polyester or synthetic with lots of adjustability. Plus the savings would help me replace my dry suit which has a bunch of holes in it.