Caught in a Cascades Downpour: Why the Stormrider Lives in My Tank Bag

The rain started about ten miles east of Elk Lake, the kind of cold Cascades drizzle that does not look dangerous until it soaks through your collar and finds the gap between your gloves and your cuffs. I was on my 2017 Gold Wing, headed back toward Bend, and I had maybe forty minutes of mountain highway ahead of me. I pulled over, unzipped the tank bag, and pulled out the Nelson-Rigg Stormrider rain suit that has lived in there since I bought it.

I am Ray Holloway, 58, retired heavy-equipment mechanic, and I ride about 8,000 miles a year around Central Oregon. My wife Linda rides pillion on the longer trips, and we have been caught in more than our share of mountain weather. This particular afternoon was not the worst storm I have seen, but it was the kind of steady, cold rain that makes you question every gear choice you have ever made. By the time I got home, I had a few honest things to say about the Nelson-Rigg Stormrider.

The suit is not fancy. It is a two-piece rain suit, jacket and pants, made from a coated nylon that packs down small enough to live in a tank bag without taking over the whole thing. It has sealed seams, storm flaps over the zippers, and an elastic waist and cuffs that keep the wind from finding a way in. None of that sounds exciting, which is exactly why I trust it. Rain gear does not need to impress anyone. It needs to keep you dry when the temperature drops and the sky opens up.

What sold me on the Nelson-Rigg Stormrider was not a spec sheet. It was the way the jacket went on over my regular riding jacket without a fight. Some rain suits are so tight you have to wrestle with them on the side of the road. This one has enough room to layer, the sleeves are long enough to cover my wrists when I reach for the bars, and the pants go over my boots without me having to sit on the curb and contort myself. That matters when you are already cold and wet and the light is fading.

By the time I got home, my base layer was dry. Not damp. Not mostly dry. Dry. That is the whole job, and the Stormrider did it.

The rest of that ride was uneventful, which is the highest compliment I can give rain gear. The temperature sat in the low forties, the rain never let up, and the wind pushed hard across the open stretches near the pass. I stayed dry through all of it. The Stormrider's storm flaps did their job over the front zipper, the elastic cuffs kept the water from running down my sleeves, and the pants shed water all the way back to town. When I swung my leg over the bike in the driveway, my jeans underneath were dry.

I have owned rain suits that kept the rain out but felt like wearing a trash bag. The Nelson-Rigg Stormrider is not that. The material is substantial enough that it does not flap wildly at highway speed, and the fit is cut like actual riding gear rather than an emergency poncho. It is not insulated, so it will not keep you warm on its own, but it blocks the wind completely, and that is most of the battle when the temperature drops. I have worn it over a heated liner on colder days and over a summer jacket in a warm downpour, and it worked in both.

The one thing I will tell you honestly is that the suit is not completely silent. The coated nylon makes a soft rustling sound when you move, and you will hear it when you swing your leg over the bike. It does not bother me, but if you are the kind of rider who notices every little noise, you should know it is there. The other thing is that the suit is meant to go over your regular gear, not replace it. If you are looking for a standalone riding suit for cold weather, this is not that. It is a rain suit, and it does the rain suit job very well.

Linda has her own Stormrider now, and we have used them together on trips through the coast range and the high desert. She is not a gear nerd and does not care about fabric weights or seam construction. She cares that she stays dry on the back of the bike, and she does. That is the test that matters. When your passenger stops complaining about the weather, you know you have the right gear.

What I'd Tell You If We Were Sitting at My Kitchen Table

If you rode with me for a season, here is what I would tell you about the Nelson-Rigg Stormrider. Buy it for the fit and the coverage, not for the brand name. It packs down small enough to live in your tank bag or saddlebag, so you will actually have it with you when the weather turns. It goes on over your regular riding gear without a fight, which means you will not skip putting it on because it is too much hassle. And it keeps you dry in a cold, steady rain, which is the whole point.

I would also tell you to try it on with your regular riding jacket before you commit. The Stormrider runs true to size for me, but everyone layers differently, and the fit is what makes the difference between a suit you use and a suit you leave at home. If you are between sizes, I would size up so you can layer underneath on the cold days. That is the advice I give anyone who asks, and it has not steered me wrong yet.