breathable rain pants

The REI Taku Pant is pretty awesome it has good vents and is stretchy. I am in Denver also and have worn them on the bike and snow shoeing. They work out pretty well for the Colorado freak out weather we have in the spring.

No way breathable rain pants, inexpensive or not, will work for riding at anything more than a snail's pace. You'll wet out from the inside, and rain pants are pretty bulky and obnoxious when pedaling. You're better off to HTFU and wear tights, then dry off and change after the ride.

Frankly, I find wet feet much more uncomfortable while riding in the rain than legs. You just need to keep pedaling hard to keep your legs warm.

if it was warmer where i was planning on using these, i wouldn't mind it. in the summer on a longer ride, things will dry out overnight and rain pants aren't needed. In early spring, if its an overnight excursion, my wet pants/tights will freeze, so thats why i want something.

im thinking about the patagonia torrenshell pants or maybe the golite pertex pants. both are more than i want to spend though. if i could get some for closer to $30 that would be great. Novara has some "breathable" rain pants for around $40 with the 20% discount, but most of the REI reviews are saying they aren't very breathable…

The EMS Stasher pants (mine are right at 6 oz.) are about as bare minimum as they come. They are listed as a "wind" pant, but will repel a decent rain (I treated mine with a little spray on), They have no zipper at the cuff and a minimal drawcord at the waist. This is what I carry backpacking and they have worked out pretty well so far.

I tend to agree though that biking with any type of rain pants would be pretty clammy after a while.

If they MUST be waterproof Cabela's $99. PacLite Rainy RIver rain pants are a bargain.

I'm not much of a rider, so I can't speak to that, but for backpacking, why carry pants at all?

Rain pants are heavy, whether in your pack or on your legs. If you're moving, the rain's not going to make you cold unless it's near freezing. Once you get to camp, wring out your hiking pants/shorts, sleep with them, and they'll be dry by morning. This saves you weight and saves you from having to go in and out of your pack when it rains.

Unforunately most inexpensive rain pants are going to use a polyurethane laminate or coating on the inside. These are "wet layer transfer", which means that sweat has to condense on the inside in order to "breathe" through the laminate/coating. The only real "breathable" pants/jackets are going to be made with a material like goretex, event, that new eddie bauer jacket (at least they claim it is), etc. So if you really are looking for something for biking, just about everything made for biking right uses a PU layer. Any kind of hard riding and you'll be drowning in sweat, but you won't feel the wind.

well, if im SOL unless i get something expensive like eVent, i think im better off just getting a cheap set of rain pants like the sierra designs microlight pants, and see about maybe modifying them by replacing a strip of fabric in the back of the leg with some bug mesh for breathability.

Sounds iffy but best of luck

Ted,

Most "breathable" ski pants have zippered side seam vents of heavy duty mesh at the upper thigh area just by the side pocket.

When I need to vent that works well on my TNF ski pants. Heat rises, taking the sweaty vapor with it out the top side of the legs.

"maybe modifying them by replacing a strip of fabric in the back of the leg with some bug mesh for breathability."

I did the opposite: added waterproof fabric to frontside of very breathable running pants. From waist to just below knee.
I'm happy with result, they are ugly but perform well for biking. Acceptable for hikes too. Waterproof fabric was cheap polyurethane coated waterproof-breathable.

I have used these and know many top riders that use these for fall/early spring training sessions. Rich Hincapie is great to work with and will help you if these aren't what you are looking to use. These are very breathable. I am not sure they are exactly what you are looking to use hiking but you could.

http://www.hincapie.com/products/menswear/tights_knickers/?product=RPT-EQUP09&type=1

The best WPB for cycling are the Showers Pass eVent pants. Not only are they super breathable, they also have an 'air scoop' vent at the knee joint that brings a lot of venting while not letting in any rain. I have a pair. They are surprisingly of a reasonable weight too.

They're still heavy and bulky for hiking though – I bring non-breathable waterproof pants for incliment weather hiking. Serves dual-duty as a vapour barrier.