REV'IT! Tornado Pants

We measured and tried on a selection of these pants and the main conclusion was that the pants run true to size in waist estimate and about 1” short in length as compared to REV’IT!’s published size chart.

As you can see in the chart, the pants are available in regular, short and tall inseam sizes, so consider that the actual pants will be about one inch shorter than the chart shows and choose a pair based upon the inseam you normally wear in slacks or jeans. The pants have adjustability of the armor height (independent of inseam length) which can be accessed by pulling each leg inside out. Velcro allows you to set the armor in different spots and you can check how the armor feels on your knee when you are sitting on the bike and decide which position seems best. Neat!

Also, the pants have a set of Velcro adjusters at the waist to help you fine tune the fit. The chart indicates a 2” range which was about what the adjusters seemed to do.

Measurement tips: You’ll want to measure yourself fairly high up the waist because protective style pants like this are cut to ride higher on your waist than a lot of modern jean styles (so relying just upon the size jeans you buy might result in motorcycle pants that are too small). Right below the navel is about the right height on the waist for measurement.

Use as overpants: These pants will likely be used as both overpants over street clothes or as pants over underwear or shorts because many riders will be wearing these in the heat of summer. In colder weather, riders would opt to use the removable liner and also wear them over jeans. Since the waist of these pants is relatively high (as discussed above) the waist will ride above the waist line of normal jeans and therefore, I don’t think you will want to up-size with the idea of using them as overpants. But, I would advise that if you are pushing the upper limit of a size or you are between sizes, to choose the larger.

Need help measuring? Get it here.

REV’IT!’s Tornado pants make the perfect companion to the Tornado jacket. Like the jacket, these pants are largely a full mesh pant. And the mesh material is a larger, open weave that will flow a LOT of air. I checked out the silver color personally and really like the looks. With the silver jacket it is a sharp combo and has a lot of the European styling I spoke about in the Tornado jacket review (link below). The black of course would be good with the black or neon jacket or ANY mesh jacket for that matter, so don’t be afraid to mix/match that color with other brands. I found the pants to be a relatively easy fit and comfortable. Not too baggy, but not too constrictive either. The design of the pants makes them OK for wearing over other street clothes (as overpants), or for wearing over underwear or shorts, and I would imagine that you’d probably wind up doing both. Like other REV’IT! products I’ve reviewed, the Tornado pants use very nice materials and fixtures (snaps, zippers, etc) and the overall tailoring is very high quality. You’ll not see any loose threads, puckers, ragged lining ends, etc, that you sometimes find with lower price gear. So not only does this gear look good, but it should perform well for a long time. You can see how the pants would perform in hot weather, but the pants will work in cooler weather as well. They come equipped with a full length thermal liner. You’d probably be using the liner with the pants in the “overpant” mode, so thankfully the liner has a long inside zipper which aligns with the pants leg zipper to allow you to easily step into or out of these pants with street clothes and boots on. This feature will make them a favorite for commuters to wear over street clothes and with touring riders that don’t often have access to a place to change pants on the road. The liner is also waterproof too, so you will be covered in wet weather as well. Other features which are common among pants of this type: front storage pockets, side waist adjusters, armor height adjustment and night-time reflectives, Overall, I think the Tornado jacket/pants are one of the most versatile outfits for three season wear that we offer. And having a high quality jacket and pants that can cover that much of the year’s weather will save money in the long run. Maybe for colder weather, you could get by with this along with some heated gear? Check out Mobile Warming battery powered stuff for the non-brutal cold… just an idea! :: Paul, 11-06-12

Note About Hip Armor: In Spring of 2014 Rev’It! made a decision to stop including EVA foam hip pads in their pants because they are preparing to conform to recent European standards that will require every part of a garment to provide a minimum level of protection and they anticipate that the foam hip pads previously offered would not meet the requirement. As an option, you can purchase CE certified hip protectors (see below) :: Paul, 04-09-14