Held Hydro rain pants in black

You could buy the jacket and pant to fit snugly over, say, a mesh jacket and pair of jeans. Yet so much stretch did they contain that the same pairing would work equally well over a bulky, winter outfit. They were the most comfortable waterproofs ever, and by buying them a little on the snug side you could avoid all that noisy flapping that went with traditional waterproofs.

We knew that we didn’t want to be without Scotts’ waterproofs. We offered the company a huge order to get them to continue making them for us, but it would seem that Scott wanted to exit the motorcycle market completely. And so we scouted around for somebody who might be prepared to make them for us. And that company turned out to be Held in Germany. 

And I have to say that we couldn’t be happier. Here was one of the most technical brands in the market; and importantly a company with a Gore-Tex licence. And what that meant was that this was a company that understood the demands of making waterproof gear at the very highest level.

Our brief was very simple. We didn’t want them to re-invent Scott’s waterproofs. What we asked Held to do was copy the Scotts as closely as they could. What we did say to them was that we would be happy to improve upon their technical performance, but the basic design had to remain unaltered.

Of course, the first challenge was to find the same outer fabric that Scott had used; or something very similar. We didn’t want less stretch, something less strong or something less waterproof. Held eventually found a waterproof fabric that felt almost identical, but that delivered both a higher waterproofing score and a higher breathability score. 

In fact, in terms of waterproofing the new Held waterproofs score 22,500 mm on the hydrostatic head test. That’s an improvement of 25% over the Scotts in terms of waterproofing. The breathability score has gone up, on average, from 2,000 g/24hr/m2 to 2750 g/24hr/m2. And I say ‘on average’ because the black jackets and pants are marginally more breathable than the yellow versions. But that’s an average improvement of 37%.

Now, in all the years that we offered Scott’s waterproofs, we never came across a single instance of rain finding its way through the outer fabric. But we did very occasionally, and usually some years down the road, see issues where the water had got in through the taping that has to be applied to every panel join on a laminated garment. So we asked whether Held could use their experience with Gore-Tex products to improve the taping. And that's what they did. They specified a better-quality, silver tape like the one used on Gore-Tex products. And they  gave the factory very explicit instructions about how and where this taping was to be applied.

We also agreed with Held that the zips should all be upgraded to YKK waterproof zips. Everybody accepts that YKK zips, although more expensive, are the best. They just don’t fail. They last longer. And their waterproof zips are totally watertight.

We did one other thing to make the Helds better than the Scotts.

The Held pants come, as standard, with adjustable stirrups. We offered this as a chargeable upgrade on the Scotts, but for some people these stirrups can make a huge difference; especially if you ride in short, ankle boots.

The problem is that the elasticated bottoms of the Scott pants were always liable to ‘pop off’ the short shaft of an ankle-style boot. Now, to be fair, this was never a problem attributable to the Scotts, per se. The problem was one that stems from wearing a short boot in the rain. A short boot is always going to be more susceptible to water ingress than a taller boot. But if the elasticated bottom of a waterproof pant does part company with the boot’s shaft, then the rain is simply going to bounce off the road or run down the outside of the waterproof pant, and into the boot.

The solution, obviously, is a stirrup that keeps the elasticated hem of the pant firmly locked in place on the boot’s shaft. And that’s what you get with the Held pants that you didn’t get with the Scotts. Adjustable stirrups.

And so whilst our brief to Held was to copy the Scotts as faithfully as they could, in doing so they have also managed to effect some important improvements. Higher waterproofing and breathability scores. Better quality and more reliable taping. Better quality, more reliable zips. And finally, adjustable stirrups.

To us this sounds like a win-win. Exactly the same as the Scotts. But better!

We have kept the sizing the same as it was on the Scotts.

And what that means is that you should still go down a size on what you reckon yourself to be. This advice applies to both men’s and women’s sizes. And to jackets as well as to pants.

Now there was always a longer leg version in the pants. Many people went for these because they partially overcame the ‘ankle boot’ issue. But that didn’t always work. Anyway, we have also had Held also make a ‘long-legged’ version because taller folk will still need them.

As before, the jacket is available in either yellow or black. The pants are available only in black. 

As far as pricing is concerned, we have been unable to keep the prices down to the Scott figure. And to be honest that’s largely down to the YKK zips. We were given a lower price for off-the-shelf zips, but we reckoned the extra tenner was worth paying. That’s on us, I’m afraid.

Finally, just so that you know, these new waterproofs are exclusive to Motolegends.