Nukeproof's Blackline DirtSuit is Inspired by Snow Sports
Not a moment too early, Nukeproof throws its hat into the ring with a waterproof onesie for MTB. Both a onesie, and not a onesie, the Nukeproof Blackline DirtSuit is a modular affair. It is comprised of a waterproof hooded jacket, and waterproof pants with optional braces, with the capacity to connect and disconnect the upper and lower garments with a zip at the rear. Nukeproof calls it the Dirt Skirt.
Effectiveness of the Dirt Skirt is sure to be contingent upon how well-sealed that rear zipper is. Nukeproof use a waterproof YKK Aquagaurd zipper here, and everywhere else for that matter; the jacket's main zipper, its three pockets, the two pockets on the front of the pants, the armpit ventilation pockets, and the zips on the lower legs.
Velcro secures a non-elastic waistband, with optional braces as extra backup
Key clip for safe keeping
The Blackline DirtSuit has been in development for 18 months, with the designers in Belfast taking inspiration from snow sports gear. The resulting piece of kit is pretty versatile. To our knowledge, most other waterproof suits are a dedicated one-piece construction. Some, like the Endura MT500 II One-Piece, can be fully unzipped in the jacket portion allowing for more air flow, but remain fixed to the pants at the rear such that you can't properly de-layer.
The jacket's hood should fit over a helmet
Braces are removable and adjustable
The DirtSuit's main fabric has a 3-layer construction, with a 4-way stretch blend of nylon and spandex. Hydrophobicity is conferred via a layer of DWR, or durable water repellency. As with any DWR-coated fabric, its continued water resistance will be dependent on how regularly one re-proofs the fabric. Nukeproof says water repellency should be good for around 20 washes (critically, without use of regular detergent), and will thereafter require washing with a high quality proofing product, such as Nikwax.
The waterproof rating is 10,000mm, with the breathability at 10,000 g/m². Going by those numbers alone, it's equivalent to the Leatt HydraDri 3.0 Mono Suit, but less waterproof and less breathable than Endura's equivalently-priced MT500 II One-Piece. The latter's DWR coating is also PFC-free, whereas Nukeproof's DWR is a less environmentally-friendly DWR that does contain perfluorinated compounds.
The Nukeproof Blackline Dirt Suit retails at £450. That's equivalent to the Endura MT500 II, but significantly more expensive than one-piece options from Leatt and Dirtlej.
It is available in 5 sizes, from XS-XXL. Only the regular leg length is available for now, though there are plans for short and long versions to come. The DirtSuit does not have a women's specific fit, though we are told a women's version is planned for 2024.
For the moment, Nukeproof is unable to ship to North America, though business continues in the UK and the EU.
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Heads up @hardtailpunter - and my apologies - that 99.9% US riders on PB here are not dicks like pargolf8 and this slow-creep of white-guy nationalist greivance on a bike artilce truly has no place in the comment section or anywhere on PB.
I never try to insult riders here but paragolf8 - your comment is junk - this is a clothing article. Pull yr panties up and man up. The context here is clothing and not sniping on entire nationalities.
Anyway, “Es gibt kein schlechtes Wetter…” You can fill in the rest.
It's been chilly and wet here, hit -7 yesterday on the way to the Scottish cycling awards ceremony.
These more waterproof offerings are attractive to us northern folk
Most of us are sick of the serial victimhood expresses by hackers with no humor like pargolf.
If you have to say that stuff Truth Social is always taking new subscribers.
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Problem is most DWR coatings are anything but durable, and all those fancy (and expensive) products to 'reproof' it are rubbish too.
Bloody woke brigade stopping latex-clad people writhing on the ground in public
Breathable fabrics work best for snow in dry climates, but make that fabric wet enough and it’ll soak through.
The other side of this issue is sweating, which you will do if you exercise in water proof gear. Vents and layering are your friends.
So save your money.
I've been riding out here for almost 30 years and been through many many sets of gear. Most of the quality stuff does exactly what it says. Frankly it has to or millions of skiers/snowoarders over here wouldn't be able to handle the conditions if it didn't.
I often am snowboarding all day in "wet snow" conditions where it's snowing heavily either just below freezing or just above and turns to water as soon as it hits you. Riding the chair up, you're getting covered my melted/melting snow Or riding in what ends up just being rain. We ride fast so we're basically getting jet streamed by wet snow or rain, often blasting through deep wet powder that is getting sprayed up and all over us, falling and rolling around in it.
As long as it's quality gear, yes the outer layer will eventually get soaked as it overwhelms the DWR, but the inner layer always keeps the wet out... day in and day out.
We're also generally working hard, we'll do full laps of peak to creek at Whistler with very little stopping and work up a huge sweat. Again, good gear does an incredible job of breathing this out.
We'll also do a couple multi-day/night ski/split board touring trips through the same conditions. Again, good gear = dry inside.
youtu.be/GGEzJJYiROk?si=ucnyG9tS6Fr4fX-B
www.pinkbike.com/u/elyari/blog/what-i-learned-after-3-winters-riding-in-ireland.html
If there are better and cheaper alternatives out there, great. I'll let the anti-sheep find out which is actually the one working. Until then I'll happily wear my 300, 400 € GoreTex jacket and leave buying 5 200 € jackets to other people so I can buy only one 200 € jacket.
Also,FYI, Gore also makes automotive membranes enabling waterproofness and venting of internal cavities in automotive parts (lights and the like). Or eBike motors for the electrical fans out there. The Gore from GoreTex. And the membrane is, of course, Teflon. And we are talking about applications that have to work for years and Gore stuff is considered the best in the field.
We'll see that the PFAS ban will bring about, there are PE and PU shell alternatives out there (Futurelight being one of them), but like I said, I'll leave it to other people to test it out for the time being and run my GoreTex jacket to destruction.
EDIT: one of the comments from under the video:
"@wtfdinges
11 days ago
I thought it was already common knowledge that GoreTex is pretty much the same thing as a lot of the others. However, the problem with the others is that, unless you're really into this stuff, it is extremely difficult to know which ones are good and which are garbage. All things considered, GoreTex is at least consistent in its quality and still among the best in the market (your graph at 8:50 even shows it to be the most waterproof of the bunch)."
This goes along my comment that I don't want to try out 5 200 € jackets and prefer to run a single 400 € one.
Gore-Tex was invented in 1976 by Bob Gore, and had the patent for 20 years until it expired in 1997. So it's just the most well known and marketed brand.
I've used many products that aren't GoreTex. Some have been better, some worse and some about the same.
10Ks or 15Ks, doesn't really matter once it's wet, nothing is gonna breathe well at that point.
doesn't need to be goretex
Currently it feels risky ordering from an insolvent company.
Unlike the large majority of bike brands around, Nukeproof is selling more and more and quality product.
Be sure there is queue of dozens of possible buyers for the brand. No need to worry.
You are talking nonsense, don’t buy from them if you don’t understand the situation and don’t expect them to communicate the unknown.
What do you prefer, 50% off and will definitely be shipped or 70% off but order may never be shipped and you have a long battle with your bank or credit card to try to get the money back.
You know it’s in administration, they have declared it now it’s up to you if you order at not understanding the clearly communicated risk.
Just accept how it is and purchase or alternatively don’t, it’s as simple as that. Lots of bargains for those that so though.
Certainly could be risky. Though I hope some company buys just Nukeproof and elevates the brand. I think they have some great stuff. But you could see how bad CRC implemented the US nukeproof. Nothing was ever available at shops that signed up or even on their US website but you could click on the CRC website and find the bike you wanted in stock. They will blame the pandemic but I think they clearly did not care if shops or the US website was well stocked (or price competitive with the CRC site).
They clarified that they're about to cease the international stores but "The business is committed to honoring all outstanding sales, returns and warranty obligations for international customers through the usual processes."
They made it clear the UK site is still functioning too
(Although it does make my wife hate me...)
Personally I much prefer riding in the wet, two wheel sliding through every switchback and a constant delivery of semi-manageable "oh shit" moments.
www.pinkbike.com/u/elyari/blog/what-i-learned-after-3-winters-riding-in-ireland.html
When it’s raining it’s all about keeping warm, not dry.
When it’s cold it’s all about keeping dry with good thermoregulation.
The onesie by design does not offer good enough thermoregulation.
Root of pant meaning trouser - check out your English/ Latinate language influence
Pants go under trews, underpants is an amercicanism.
The word 'Pants' when used correctly is an abbreviation of 'Pantaloons' which is a type of trouser that was popular in the early nineteenth-century.
Pants are a type of trouser, not a type of underwear.
I don't see how this has any bearing on either of our previous points. You're still wrong.
The history of the words is still:
1 - Pantaloons are a type of trouser that became popular in Europe and the US about the time of the French Revolution.
2 - Over time pantaloons is abbreviated to pants. Over an even longer period of time the word pants, like trousers, becomes a generic term for leg-wear.
3 - Modern underwear was developed in the US in the 1930's. In 1930's America and Europe pants and trousers are the same thing, these new clothing items (boxers, briefs, y-fronts, etc) are to be worn under your pants, hence the generic term of 'underpants'.
I wear trousers.
I will never pop to my trunk to grab a wrench for the faucet that I got from the store.
Mitmot.