RevIt Poseidon Gortex Suit

[clarke]

On 05 March this year I purchased a Rev It! Poseidon Gortex Suit, costing close to £1,000, including a back and hip protectors (not included in the price of jacket/trousers).

Note: Prices have increased since I purchased the suit to £599.99 for the jacket and £439.99 for the trousers, excluding any back armour or hip armour.

Normally this is far more than I would spend on a suit however I commute daily by motorcycle and my previous waterproof suit finally gave up this year on a commute down the M1 to Sheffield, leaving me arriving at work pretty wet. My previous suit (a Hein Gericke Sheltec) cost around £350 in total and lasted 6 years, so I was looking for a replacement of equal or better quality.

During my search, I visited GetGeared in Leeds and the sales person eventually showed me the RevIt Poseidon suit and explained 'it's one of the best waterproof jackets you can buy' and 'definitely worth the extra money' over the other Gortex suits I'd been looking at. I was also told as it's laminated Gortex, the water will sit on top of the suit, rather than soaking into the fabric and so will remain light and be dry in a very short space of time. Result. And 0% finance, even better.  

Having used the suit for March it was warm and dry (although I use a heated jacket during winter). It has good adjustment and good pockets, although I would have preferred the internal pocket on the jacket to be side opening rather than top opening for ease of accessing my mobile phone.

In April I didn't use the suit much due to being on leave, and from May onwards I moved to my vented summer jacket, only using the RevIt suit on occasion. I did notice however that on warm days the venting system (not suitable for anyone using a Pacemaker as has magnetic seals) isn't the best at cooling you down, but that's why I have vented summer gear. (Also my brother reckons the chest vents/flaps look like some kind of sex suit for showing boobs off)

Anyway, fast forward to the end of summer, Saturday 03 September, and I had to go to Screwfix in heavy rain. On went my RevIt suit, for the first time in two weeks, my TCX Infinity Gortex boots (£185) my Richa Gortex gloves (£80), and my Shoei Neotec helmet, and I jumped on the trusty Strom. Ten minutes later I'm in Screwfix, picking up a replacement heat alarm then back on the Strom. Five minutes later my jacket is leaking   nothing else leaked...

Long story short, the RevIt jacket is now somewhere [Italy?] with RevIt for repair which may take 6 weeks (c. mid-October). I've now been without a waterproof jacket for two weeks, relying on my vented summer suit and as a result got soaked riding back from Liverpool on the M62 earlier in the week.

Obviously I'm very disappointed with the RevIt jacket as I don't believe it should leak with less than 6 months use. 

On my experience I wouldn't recommend the RevIt Poseidon suit to anyone. I'd suggest you save yourself some money and buy a different suit/brand. 

Rating: Could have had four/five stars, however due to the poor quality waterproofing I'm going to give it one star.

I would post you some pictures of my jacket, but I don't have it, so here's some I found on the internet. 

[slice]

Sorry to hear that Clarke, tho to be honest any cloth material jacket will leak, it's just the nature of the things, leather is about the only thing that keeps the water out. Even leather jackets leak in very heavy rain through the zips and air holes, if you ride in the rain your gunna get wet. I bought a cheap over suit thing some years ago, big zip from ankle to arm pit and it made you look like a Michelin man but it was the only thing I have ever found in 40 plus years of riding that even came close to keeping me dry. Just as an aside that is an awful lot of money for a suit that leaks and if it was me I would be looking at a replacement rather than a fix, just sayin.

I have been known on long trips to put a large black dust bin bag with holes for my head and arms under my jacket, it keeps your core dry and warm but you look a tit when you get off your bike and tear your kit off!!!

[cotterpot]

Leather, by itself, is NOT waterproof. The tanning process strips out all the fats and oils that are present when it's on the animal, and makes it open to be damaged by water. You can add those fats and oils back and give the leather a bit of water resistance, but it will never be water proof. Leather also gets very heavy when wet, and if you're moving, with nothing warm underneath, it gets very cold.

I have a gortex jacket and trousers which, haven't leaked yet, but then I try and avoid the worst of the weather when I can.

[Ttaskmaster]

Leather is a sponge.

It's great for protection against sliding down the road, but will only keep a light drizzle off you and then only for a short while.

Best thing is an actual waterproof all-in-one suit. Get a couple of cheap ones in the Aldi/Lidl annual sale, since they're only a fiver a go and cheap enough to replace every year... which used to be my own plan, except neither of mine have failed in the 9 years since I actually bought them!!!

[KevtheRev]

Doesn't matter how much you spend on riding gear . If you spend a wet day in the saddle , you will get wet . Best jacket I had was a "Clover". I can't remember who made 'm but it stayed waterproof for years .

[clarke]

My £350 Hein Gericke Sheltec textile suit survived 6 years of daily commuting without leaking, including a tour of Scotland where it rained for 3 days and I was riding 8+ hrs a day.

This one failed on its 1st encounter with heavy rain in less than 15 minutes of riding. Very poor.

Next time I'm buying the cheapest gortex suit I can buy, and maybe a 'boil-in-the-bag' over suit for riding long distance in bad weather.

Hopefully this review will help others think more money doesn't equal better kit, and this particular suit isn't worth the money.

Also, buying local doesn't equate to better customer service. I had to abandon going into my office today as I was caught in rain on my way in and my summer kit turned into a sponge. I stopped at GetGeared Leeds dripping wet and asked if they could give me an update on the jacket coming back from Rev It (I took it back 2 weeks ago this Sunday) was told they'd check and call me by 11am. Still heard nothing... next time I may shop online.

Looks like a bin bag for next week.