Alpinestars Rj-3 Jacket And Rp-3 Pants

Alpinestars RJ-3 Jacket and RP-3 Pants

CW EVALUATION

Ready for rain

GONNA LET A LITTLE RAIN GET IN THE way of a good ride? Not if you're wearing Alpinestars' RJ-3 jacket and RP-3 pants.

Designed for street and off-road use, these generously cut pullovers are as waterproof as anything we've tried, shedding precipitation like a freshly Rain-Xed windscreen. No surprise, since they're made from coated, rip-stop nylon and boast sewn-and-taped seams. The jacket has a large zippered opening that fits easily over a helmet, while the pants feature an elasticized waist and zippered leg openings with velcro ankle closures.

As with most two-piece rainsuits, continuous high-speed street riding may allow water to find its way past the waistband to your mid-section. Off-road, however, there's sufficient overlapping to keep you dry in even

the worst condi tions. The down side, of course, is breatheability; on a hot and hu mid day, you'll sweat plenty. F Besides its ability to keep you dry, the suit's best quality is its crushability. Rain gone, we were able to stuff both jacket and pants into the former's front pouch. If only there were a strap to turn it into a fannypack... Overall, though, the RJ-3 and RP-3 serve as simple, affordable pro tection for those times when you can't decide "weather" to ride.

DETAILS

Alpinestars USA, Inc.

$49/$39