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Quick Reveiw Richa Typhoon One Piece Waterproof Suit
Review Date 30 July 2017
By Stephen Latchford
I've had this oversuit for 18 months now, and is cheap at £39.
It is a bit of a pain to put on in a hurry. You need a plastic bag over each boot to get your legs through, then you have to get both arms in the sleeves and hoist it up over your shoulders. I reckon I must look like Houdini trying to escape a straight jacket when trying to do this.
Once you are in you have to close the Zips on each leg and then Velcro the securing straps together. Next you have to zip up the front and *carefully* position the inner flap before securing the Velcro all the way up the front. I found this out to my cost when in the Alps for a relentless rainy day, my crotch became wet quite soon which was my own fault for not making sure the inner flap was positioned properly.
But get it right and it keeps you dry as I found out this month travelling home some 255 miles in a downpour from Portsmouth. I would highly recommend this product.
Things I like,
Hi viz to exterior
The suit is lined
It has an inner pocket which doubles as its own container/pouch
The price
Elasticated wrists
It is waterproof
Things I don't like
Tricky to get on
What's your clothing of choice to help keep you dry? We'd like to publish your own review on your own kit here on Bikes And Travels. Drop Ren a line - ren@bikesandtravels.com
Reader's Comments
Ross said :-
+1 for the Richa suit, I've had mine a couple of years and, although me and the Inazuma don't often venture out in the rain (southern softie!), it's never let me down. As you say, not the easiest to get into, and it can get a bit hot and sweaty inside at this time of year but great value for the money! It'll be going with me to the VMCC West Kent classic bike show tomorrow but hopefully will stay in the topbox!
05/08/2017 14:59:33 UTC
Ian Soady said :-
I had a one piece oversuit once, and wore it precisely once.
It was made of some vinyl stuff and getting it on was a real struggle. Getting it off unaided was impossible. I had to enlist the help of a couple of female staff at a roadside café who could barely stand up they were giggling so much.
I chucked it straight in the bin afterwards.
When I was riding throughout the year, the best bit of kit I had was Helly Hansen overtrousers with a bib front and elastic braces. They closed the gap with the jacket nicely as they came up nearly to my armpits, were absolutely waterproof, and were easy to get on and off. In fact I used to step out of the trials wellies mentioned elsewhere complete with the overtrousers and leave them in a damp malodorous heap in the corner of my office. A bit like you see firefighters do.
It definitely stopped people overstaying their welcome.
I never had a decent jacket till I went to gore-tex. I stuck with a Belstaff for years but to be quite frank it was never really waterproof. And it smelt even worse than the HH trousers.
05/08/2017 16:29:01 UTC
pocketpete said :-
I looked at the suit but being a bit wide I really struggle to get these things over my shoulders and fat backside. So in the end went with the Richa Rain Warrier Jacket which I did a bit of a review on for Ren and I must say the Jacket has never let me down but but always kept me dry and for less than £ 40.
I to fell foul of the not folding in the front flap part. Lesson was learned and since then Bone dry.
05/08/2017 17:13:04 UTC
Borsuk said :-
My biking jacket is Richa as well, a Phantom I think. I find it excellent and like yourselves I fell foul of the rain flap fold one time. After the ride out to meet Ren and Sharon and getting a crotch full of water I now wear a pair of cheap Tesco over trousers under my biking trousers so anything that gets through doesn't reach to my normal trousers. The only size they had at the time was XL so they fit snuggly under my armpits. not the greatest arrangement but the do keep me dry and as no one can see them, when the crotch wears out I can reverse them, assuming the bum doesn't wear out at the same time or just stick patches on them. I'm almost as stingy as Ren.
I'll eventually replace them with Goretex ones but for now they are doing well enough.
05/08/2017 22:32:35 UTC
Boatingbiker said :-
Having read this article I'd like to add my experiences, after having a £30 one piece suit from eBay that lasted one downpour I returned for refund.
Then I bought a Hein Gericke one piece and that failed after a few soggy crotches but no returns as they went bust !
Then bought the lightweight Richa fluorescent waterproof jacket, material is thin and rubbery !?! I wear it over leathers, although it has no pockets, I would recommend it as it does the job well :-).
The same can't be said for their £20 overtrousers, leaked on the first heavy downpour. Manufacturers referred me to seller but bought miles from home that proved a waste of time!
What next for me ? Helly Hansen fishermans gear me thinks :-)
28/08/2017 13:02:43 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Tain't cheap that Helly Hansen stuff, I hope it's as good as everybody says it is!
28/08/2017 20:03:43 UTC
Pocketpete said :-
My mate took ren's advice and got the burghause over trousers and a richa rain warrior jacket total spend £ 67.
He then travelled for 3 weeks across Europe. He said he was the only rider in the group not to get wet. The only bit that let him down was his boots. One let water in constantly.
I laughed when he told me how much some of these riders had spent on waterproof gear.
28/08/2017 21:25:00 UTC
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