Afternoon folks,

Having spent a (not instustancial) number
Of years buying leathers and waterproofs,
Either gortex or boil-in- the bag,

Has anybody had first hand knowledge
Of the new generation of " fully waterproof leathers"
Such as the Rucor ones?

haven't come across them.. "fully waterproof leathers" eh? Do you have a link / details? Mine need replacing (like years ago) but doubt I can afford to do that right now.. still interested though
                                                                                                                                                                             

A link?
Ha ha, it's nice that someone (anyone!) thinks it's
Possible that I'm technically adept enough to not only
Find a "link" but also manage to transfer it to here!!

I've seen the rukour leathers (£2000 plus for jacket/trousers)
And held (£1600 ish plus)
Which seems pricy, unless you could replace both summer/ winter
Kit and leathers/ gortex. AND last @least 5-8 years of my kind of
Milage.

Have you tried Flexalan Leather Dressing ? 

You 'paint' it on with a paintbrush & it waterproofs leathers ... not as good as the textiles, but better than most leather ones I have found                                                                                                                                                                              

In Ride Sept' 2011 edition they did a leather jacket test.

They really liked the "Triumph H2 Sport" jacket and were impressed by it's waterproofing and test results, scoring it 8/10 and placing joint 3rd in a test of 16 leather jackets.

I've seen it in my nearest Triumph dealer with matching trousers, too.

Here's a link to it:

http://www.a1moto.com/content/pages/triumph/clothing/Ja...ktaw10.htm

                                                                                                                                                                             

Thats not a bad price really for a new jacket - but its a shame that it only seems to be in black - I don't really do black leathers (nothing to do with hi-vis - just always worn red black and white).   I just tend to go for suit over the top - but I would think if you could really get dependable fully waterproof leathers then we might have seen them in either WSB or MotoGP - but they still go for the full waterproof oversuits - or those wierd transparent leotard thingys . .                                                                                                                                                                              

As an amendment/ update.
Whilst up the road with time to kill
(westgate road, getting heated grips. For free on mulit as "warranty")
I window shopped both the rukkor and held leathers.
Neither are cheep!!
But was surprised how light/ flexible the leather still is
Given a totally weather proof claim, and winter removable lining

It seems quite shapeless though (less panels=less joints)

Maybe why not on s/b or wsb. As sponsors deals?
Also only ib black (but is all I wear)

armour good too, but will have to raid piggy bank and go
Back up when not on bike.
Watch this space!

OY - it's called GoreTex Pro-Shell.

Recently they discovered how to bond GoreTex directly onto materials rather than having an outer shell, a GoreTex lining and an inner lining.  And now you can get textiles with Pro-Shell and even leather.

I have a Hein Gericke Master V jacket which is Pro-Shell and apart from the fact that the sodding thing has faded it is brilliant.  It's warmer than normal GoreTex textiles, lighter and more comfortable.

But the best thing is that with ordinary waterproof textiles, in heavy rain the outer material becomes soaked and heavy and can take ages to dry out, even if the rider inside is still dry.  This can lead to the jacket becoming uncomfortable due to the weight and the hanging and can also make the rider feel cold due to evaporation cooling the GoreTex lining.

But with Pro-Shell all the water literally just runs off, so you get to where you are going dripping wet and within half an hour your jacket is totally dry again.  I have ridden in some of the most appalling weather you can imagine, sometimes for long periods of time and yet have always remained warm, dry and comfortable.

The downside of Pro-Shell is that if your jacket or whatever gets slightly scuffed, such as in a minor off, the waterproofing is wrecked due to it being effectively part of the outer material.

Hein Gericke and Rukka and some others do Pro-Shell bonded leathers and they are supposed to be just as good as the textiles.  But they ain't cheap by any means.  A HG "Tour Cool" two piece suit will set you back £900 and a Rukka "Arma-S" suit nearly twice that.

But it depends on what you do.  We made the decision that because I ride every day and because I do a lot of miles, I needed decent gear and so I got my jacket in one of HG's sales for around £500.

It's very good stuff is Pro-Shell.  So if you can afford it and perhaps more importantly, if you can justify it, I'd say get it.                                                                                                                                                                              

Way out of my league.. couldn't justify it, either.
Tks for the explanation, Geoff.  I'll look for some standard leathers methinks!
                                                                                                                                                                             

@Geoff, thanks,
Yes having spent the last 35 years teaching
In the outdoors, I'm kinda well aquatinted with
Gore product, and remember the issues re
2ply goretex vrs 3ply, lined vrs unlined.

The rukkor stuff is lovely, but just so pricy!!
The HG and held look/ feel similar. And think
If I can find either in "sale" conditions.
Are not too bad compared to dainese I usually
Get.