Review: Joe Rocket Phoenix 2.0 Overpants

[gfloyd2002]

Overall, a solid choice for a mesh overpant. The convenience, fit and comfort means it is much more likely that I will wear ATGATT on my daily work commute. There are some drawbacks which keep them from being the best pant on the market, but for the cost they remain a very good value and a decent choice. I'd probably buy again for a commuting overpant, but not as stand-alone pant for weekend rides.

Pluses:

• Venting. They vent amazingly well, and are extremely cool in hot weather. I ride with them daily in humid 80-90 temps and am very comfortable, even when I have them on over work pants. When on as only protective pants, its like wearing a kilt on a breezy day. Venting is near ideal for summer riding.

• Price/Quality. Build quality exceeds the price point. Seams are done well, zippers are good quality, and they look like they are going to hold up well to daily commuting. They definately feel more solid than they have any right to as a value-priced mesh pant.

• Fit. Large/standard worked perfect for my 34/32 size and can be worn either as an overpant or alone. The knee armor snugs up to the perfect position when I'm on the bike. The length is longer than standard 32 inch inseam they are designed for so they still fit with legs bent on the bike. They also come in a long and a short length to fit everyone.

• Adjustability. You can buy these and not worry about needing to return them for sizing. They have an adjustable waist that makes fit a breeze, including both an adustble belt and two velcro side adusters that will give about 3 inches worth of overall give. There is also a rubber inside the waistband that keeps them in place. They zip easily to Joe Rocket jackets further help keep them in place.

Minuses:

• Heat protection. The negative side to the great venting is that there is no heat protection on the inner legs, particularly needed on the right leg. In traffic or at lights, you can really feel the heat of the engine. Oddly enough, when stopped in traffic, my armored jeans feel cooler because of the engine heat protection. That immediately changes when you get rolling, though, and isn't a danger or even too uncomfortable. But I would do it differently if I were to redesign the pants.

• Incognito. You really can't walk around a store or show up at work with these and feel remotely incognito. It's like wearing ski pants, and when combined with the jacket feels a bit like a costume. Designed as an overpant, they don't have a clean look, either. I prefer to look more like a normal person off the bike, and really don't with these -- my gear screams "I ride a sportbike and am proud of it." However, this could be said of any overpant, and the reality is that I need one for my commute.

• Creeping. The "Rock Tex" seat protection material is probably good abrasion resistance, but it sticks a bit to the ninjette's seat. When you slide around the seat with stopping or cornering, the pants don't necessarily slide with you, creating the potential for a bit of tug in the nether regions. Nothing too uncomfortable, but something I'd do differently if redesigning them. Overcome by preadjusting a bit of slack in the crotch area or by simply zipping the pants to the jacket.

• Holding padding in place. The wide legs you need for an overpant are great for getting on over boots and slacks, but I wonder how much they would stay in place in an accident. This is the same weakness of most overpants, and really a potentially vital flaw. If I were to redesign the pants, I'd add cinching buckles on the legs, like Joe Rocket has for its jacket arms to hold the crash protection in place.

[arnette]

I have these overpants as well. They are my first ever so I don't have much to compare to, however I would like to add:

The waist is a snap buckle and velcro adjustable but has oval rings to link those adjustable velcro tabs. These rings sometimes get twisted around and because they are oval-shaped (more like elongated rectangles) it will change the tension set on the waistband. Also, it seems like cheap plastic so I'm sure they will break one day.

The cuffs have zippers to widen the opening as well as a full-length zipper down the side of the leg making them very easy to get in and out of. However, if you aren't careful you could easily rip the inner mesh lining with your boot tread.

I don't notice them at all while on the bike. That's with jeans underneath. They do look like skipants and I feel like a goof walking around off the bike.

If anyone has any other recommendations for overpants I'd love to hear it! These are the best I've found on the web by merely surfing around. I have some kevlar jeans that I may double up with wearable armor (Bohn or other) but that's my only other option at this point.

[KURT]

I wish I'd have known you were looking at these. I have a pair, I bought from NewEnough. They have been a real disapointment... zipper broke after only a month, and the belt rings are well-known to twist with use.

NewEnough got them repaired for me, although it took about 5 weeks to accomplish the task. I would have rather gotten credit toward a better-quality pair.

[arnette]

Yeah I saw your other post in a different thread about being disappointed in them but didn't see why. I guess now I do! It's not the end of the world - I bought them fairly cheap and they work for now. But I'm always on the lookout for better riding pants. I may look for a Scorpion dealer in my area and check out their cuts. Looks promising from the website.

[KURT]

If they require repair again, after the warranty period, I may try to have them modified. I can have the belt rings replaced, with something more substantial.

I will say one thing.... they are great for slipping over my uniform shorts, in the summer commute.

[gfloyd2002]

I can see how the oval rings could twist, but I haven't had any difficulty at all with them in the past two months of use. Basically, I set those side adjustments once for my personal fit and don't fuss with them anymore, using the front buckle and zipper. Doing it that way gives me a great fit and I haven't had any movement from the oval ring adjustment.

My zippers have been perfect and are clearly high quality. No snags, very smooth and pretty tough. Either they've addressed the issue with a new zipper, you got unlucky or there is a consistency issue. Whichever, I feel fortunate.