Loeka Princess Pin Waterproof Pants
Loeka is a cool little Canadian company that makes women’s cycling apparel. I got to test their full length women’s waterproof pants, made particularly for rough, wet, downhill mountain biking. What I discovered is, they don’t want to be shoehorned into a niche – they’re good for just about anything you’re doing outdoors when it’s cool and wet.
I got to try out the natty pinstripe version of these pants, called the Princess Pin, but you can get them in basic black and chocolatey brown as well. That balance between not getting rained on and creating a sweaty rain inside your clothes is a delicate balance, but these pants have a nice mesh liner that helps prevent clinging when you start to warm up and generous side zips let you ventilate on the fly.
Although they’re cut generously to allow for downhill padding underneath, they work just fine on a rainy day commuting ride. You can keep a pair rolled up in your bike bag and when the clouds let loose, zippers along the ankles let you pull these pants on in a hurry, over your bike shoes. Because they’re built for pretty rough downhill treatment, they’re plenty thick and sturdy. I’ve noticed that most rain pants I own start to fail to keep water out after about two seasons of riding. I don’t think I’ll find the same wear factor on these pants thanks to the 320D polyester they’re made of.
Off the bike, they’re just as cool for wet hiking and camping. I recently spoke to one of the company owners at Interbike and she told me her mom uses them for paddling. So don’t let the rain stop you from getting that daily dose of the outdoors.
Loeka Waterproof Pants $159 Canadian www.loeka.com
PS! I had these pants on when I got hit by a car the other day. I skidded across the road and blew out my rain jacket but these pants didn’t have a scratch on them. The tights I had on underneath them ripped but these pants were completely unfazed. They’re bombproof! Wow!
