Viaterra M200 rain pants review

The M200 is the latest offering from Viaterra when it comes to rain protection, and these pants have some thoughtful features built in.

With rain pants for use on motorcycles, it’s crucial to be able to quickly slip them on once the rain arrives, and the M200 is built with that in mind. Both legs have water resistant YKK zippers at the rear that run all the way up to the knee, which makes it a breeze to get them on and off even when wearing full-size riding boots. The pants themselves are quite lightweight and pack down to a nice compact size, which can be tucked away into a backpack when not in use. Other thoughtful aspects include a pre-curved shape to the legs – to make them more comfortable in a seated position – and large reflective panels on the sides of the hip and knee areas. Viaterra has also used a rip-stop material, which they say makes the pants more durable in the long run.

Tall zipper at the rear makes the pants easy to get on and off.

A couple of interesting features are the grippy elastic panel on both the waist area and at the hems of the pants. At the waist, this works well, and it gives you a good sense of the rain pants staying in place over long rides. However, it is not as effective at the hems because they don’t close down tightly enough around the boot, and I have found that over longer rides, they can actually slip off the top of the boot altogether, which would allow water to seep in.

Effectively, my issue with the Viaterra M200 pants is similar to the Austin pants we also reviewed this month: they are not long enough for tall riders. I would have preferred some sort of a velcro closure around the hems, which would allow you to tighten the pants around the boots more securely. This is a system you’ll find in the Decathlon Btwin rain trousers that I have used for a number of years now with good results.

At Rs 1,849, the B200 rain pants are on the expensive end, but they offer you some motorcycle-specific features for that price. They’re a good buy as long as you aren’t too tall for them.

Where: www.viaterragear.com
Price: Rs 1,849