Introduction
Like we had mentioned in our introduction report three months back, the Alpinestars Revenant Gore-Tex Pro Riding Pants are the top-spec pants from the Italian gear maker for adventure riders. These have a laminated Gore-Tex lining to help repel water but without cutting out breathability. There are armacore and CE level 2 spec armours for abrasion and impact protection. And there are enough adjustable and stretch materials all round to ensure that there is no compromise on comfort. Or, at least that’s what Alpinestars says.
So, find out how the pants fare in the real world, we got ourselves a Triumph Tiger and put the Revenant pants through commuting, touring and torrential rain. Here’s what we came back with…
Things We like
Storage options
The Revenant pants have four pockets. And these are deep and wide enough to hold wallets to large cellphones and everything in between. The tabs on the pockets make it easy to open them as well. And the pocket closure with the Velcro is so tight; I never felt the need to zip up the pocket. What’s more, these pockets are water resistant. And on the two occasions I rode in the rain (not of the pouring kind, mind), both my wallet and cellphone came out dry.
Adjustability
If you don’t have the perfect body proportions, chances are your riding gear doesn’t fit you as well as it should. I know most of my riding gear doesn’t. With the Revenant pants, though, it isn’t that big an issue courtesy the adjustability options. There’s a pull to adjust waistband; a Velcro strip at the knee to keep the armour in place; and another Velcro based adjustment at the ankle so that the pants don’t flap around in the wind or get caught in something.
Gore-Tex
It works. Even in a heavy downpour. Or when wading through water. The waterproofing is excellent. In fact, in drizzle or light rain, we even rode with the air vents open and no water seeped in. What’s more if it’s raining and the ambient temperature is less than 35 degrees, it doesn’t get hot or sweaty inside the pants either.
Suspenders
I love them. Easy to put on, easy to get off, and there’s nothing around the waist to poke your belly. These are adjustable too, which means these don’t drop down when you stand up and ride, and because of that you don’t need to compensate by wearing them too high. As I see it, especially for riding gear, belts are totally passé.
Things We Don’t Like
Not all season
Now, Alpinestars says the Revenant pants are all season. And, for markets like Europe, this would hold true, undoubtedly. But in India, these would be unwearable in summers. Or on a hot and humid day because even though Gore-Tex allows sweat to evaporate, it just can’t do it at the same rate that we’d be sweating.
More vents needed
Right now the pants only come with two vents. Which is fine on a rainy or cool day. But, having more or bigger vents would have made the Revenant pants more usable for a variety of purposes. Case in point being off-road riding. Even on a cool day, while working hard riding off-road, one does start feeling warm in the pants.
Our take
So far we have used the Revenant pants for touring on the road, commuting to office, and riding in the rain. When it comes to protection – against the rain as well – we think the pants are great. These are comfortable too, and the adjustability options almost make it seem as if these are tailor-made for you. The only real downside, and this is probably specific to our market, is the limited ventilation. But, we will talk more about how these age and how well they are suited for off-road riding in our next report.
Product Details
Seller: Planet DSG
Make:Alpinestars
Model:Revenant Gore-Tex Pro Pants
Price:Rs 45,000 (approx.)
Photography by Kaustubh Gandhi
Gallery
1/8
Double Tap to Zoom
