Hideout Leathers Hi-Pro Textile Trousers Review

After almost 3 months of waiting, my custom made Hideout Leathers Hi-Pro trousers were ready for pickup. Since the summer heatwave came to an abrupt end with many recent bouts of heavy showers, I’ve been eagerly awaiting them.

Upon collection, final fitting checks were done and positioning of knee armour was fine tuned to ensure everything fits perfectly. First impressions are very good, they’re definitely a heavy duty trouser, but once donned you don’t notice the weight and they fit well. For me the length immediately stood out as they drag on the floor when bare foot – don’t think I’ve had trousers that do that since I was a kid! Of course, once boots are on or I’m sat on my bike the length is perfect. They do have a slightly looser fit than previous trousers I’ve had, but past trousers have always been very tight to pull over my boots and had much thinner thermal liners. Hideout have obviously tailored these trousers better for me and whilst wearing them in the summer with no thermal liner they will be looser.

Traditional textiles tend to be a 3 layer design; an outer abrasive protection, a middle waterproof liner (e.g. Gore-Tex) and then an inside thermal layer. Fine, until the outer layer soon becomes sodden in a storm, where upon you feel cold and the damp will slowly wick through. Worse, that outer layer can take ages to dry out, so expect to be putting back on half wet gear for the commute home or next mornings ride. The laminate textile design avoids this by bonding the outer and waterproof layers together into one layer that water runs right off, then adding full abrasive protection underneath which never gets sodden. The downsides? It’s a tough fabric to construct and so costs a premium. Hideout use the Schoeller C_Change fabric in their laminate which is waterproof, breathable and exchanges heat well. Beneath this Hideout place a full Kevlar layer, followed by the optional zip in Thermalite quilted layer. This is then supplemented with D30 armour in the hips and knees to give a very high level of protection should the worst happen. In in that unfortunate scenario, Hideout can often repair your gear.

In practice the Hi-Pro trousers hold up very well as I recently found out on a stormy ride up to Wales. No leaks whatsoever, even when splashing threw deep puddles, surface water, getting sprayed by trucks or drenched from heavy rain above. Only the outer layer got wet, my legs only felt slightly chilled through the trousers and they dried out pretty quickly between storms. My old Rukka jacket in comparison, while it did keep me dry was soaking on the outside, heavy with water which cooled my body and arms right down and it was still damp the following morning.

Price wise, with the my choice to include armour and thermal liner the Hi-Pro trousers came in at £700 fully tailored. It’s a lot of cash, but compared to other premium trousers with a laminate construction from Rukka, Klim, Dane etc, it’s only a little more and you’re getting a fully tailored made to measure service. Extras Hideout offer are additional pockets for a more adventure style version and vents for use in hot climes. That said, being tailored you can discuss pretty much any option you like with them and they’ll do their best to arrange it.

If I was to pick any criticism it would be the pocket. Firstly I would have liked a second pocket on the left. I turned down the option of extra adventure style pockets on the thighs, but didn’t realise that would leave me with just a single pocket. I’m sure Hideout could have added it upon request had I realised. Secondly, the pocket has a seam crossing it, which can make it tricky to slide your phone in, feeling like a false bottom halfway up (see video for more detail). That said, the pocket is actually pretty roomy.

Overall, I’ve been really happy with the trousers, dead impressed with the quality and effectiveness when out in a storm. If you’re in the market for a set of high quality all weather textile gear that will fit perfectly and last well, definitely give Hideout’s fully tailored Hi-Pro range consideration. I’m now just saving up to get a matching jacket…

Review Score: 4.5 /5

Find out more about Hideout Leathers Hi Pro textile range here.

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