Doing it all the hard way...

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Rapha Pro Team Rain Overshoes Review


The Jedi mind tricks in combination with hypnotic English grammar worked on me again and I picked up a pair of these when they were on clearance.  I had given them a try in some light rain and they performed well.  I had high hopes.

I have a pair of the Giro Blaze shoe covers that are stretchy and fit aero-snug and even breathe a little.  The fabric is similar to the Pearl Izumi AmFib shoe covers and keeps me pretty dry. The Giro covers aren’t hard core rain booties but they don’t claim to be. Still they are among the best.

Feral Dave and I have both made the near fatal mistake of wearing booties in the rain that weren’t targeted for the rain.  The results were predictably tragic.  Feral Dave’s experience has been immortalized amongst our team as a key component of the Medina Marge ride.
I put the Rapha booties to the test in some soggy commutes to and from work.  I double checked online to confirm if they were rated for rain.  Yep. “Rain” is right there in the name.   Ladies and gentlemen; rain booties these are not.

They are thin and have almost a colored condom feel to them. They shed water for a few minutes before wetting out. Then they take on a wet T-Shirt persona. Not good for anything other than looking at. 

If you wear booties in the rain year after year you learn to recognize when water comes in from the cuff, when it comes up from the sole, when it just trapped your sweat and when the rain water just leaks through.  On these, it just leaked through.  I guess that explains the grimaces you see on the faces of the riders pictured on the Rapha website.  Their feet are wet and cold.
They don’t get heavy from absorbing a lot of water and if the rain is light enough or the ride short enough these might be okay.  In less than an hour of light to medium rain these soaked through.

They score well on attributes like stretch, fit and good looks but if they are supposed to be rain booties and they won’t keep you dry does the rest really matter?  No it does not.

I will try to sell them on eBay or relegate them to aero bootie status.

One of five Evos.

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