Helter Skelters

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Reviews

Ride On - Jun 12

These three-quarter rain pants pack into their own pocket to stash away until needed. The waterproof HydroFoil fabric is breathable, but leaving your lower leg uncovered is the best prevention for overheating with the added bonuses of no fabric to catch your chain and shorts being easier to put on than longs.

Velcro tabs gather the cuff at your calves and articulated knees and a gusseted crotch make a perfect fit when in riding position. Reflective tabs and piping are ideally situated at each knee for maximum visibility.
The elasticated waist with press stud and zip fly gives a snug fit that is true to the size charts on the Ground Effect website. If you have any problems though, Ground Effect are fantastic at handling exchanges.

The fabric is light but highly durable, as proven not only by the new pair tested for this review by by other pairs used through many seasons by committed commuter friends.

Verdict: 94% - outstanding rainwear superior to full length pants.

What Mountain Bike - Dec 09

"Decent waterproof over-shorts for when it's really tipping down"

The 3/4-length Helter Skelter shorts are waterproof, but not really designed for planned wet rides- they're more for changeable weather days.

The waterproof Hydrofoil shell shorts roll up into their own zip rear pocket, so they're ideal for storing at the bottom of your riding pack for deployment as an over-layer.

You could go with just a liner underneath, but the fabric feels a bit odd so they're better over other shorts. If it's raining you probably ought to opt for something like the Altura Attacks, which are waterproof riding shorts rather than waterproof over-shorts.

By Justin Loretz, What Mountain Bike

Mountain Biking Australia - Jul 09

No one likes riding with a wet chamois but rainproof long pants are simply too hot and cumbersome for anything more than a gentle commute. Ground Effect may have come up with a solution with their 3/4 length 'Helter Skelter' rain pants. They are made from a lightweight, waterproof yet breathable fabric called Hyrdrofoil. It should keep your backside dry and mud free without having full-length legs to get caught in your chain and make you overheat. This New Zealand mad garment features articulated knees, fully tape-sealed seams and Velcro tabs on the cuffs.

Bicycling Australia - Jun 09

We don't normally put 'mountain bike' products into 'Top Gear', but these pants were so impressive, we felt we had to. I spent years sitting on trains with a wet chamois and if these pants were around then I could have avoided so much discomfort. Made from breathable hydrofoil fabric, the Helter Skelters are a commuter's dream. The three quarter length stops them getting tangled in the chainrings, as well as making them easy to put on in a hurry. The tabs at the bottom stop them from flapping around and they fold away into a zippered rear pocket. They have articulated knees and the fabric is good enough that you don't look like a Gumby when not on the bike.

NZ Mountain Biker - Jun 09

Designed for commuting and touring duties; these three-quarter length waterproof rain pants from Ground Effect proved 100% effective at stopping rain and road surface water from ruining my ride to work on wet days. The knee length is bang on: long enough to stop the wind from freezing that oh-so-important leg joint, but short enough that pedalling movement allows enough air circulation to avoid any feeling that you're riding in a plastic bag. Which is why Ground Effect has gone for 3/4 length rather than full trousers: aside from the potential to get the leg caught in the chain, waterproof trousers tend to get hot and clammy pretty quickly.

Adjustable velcro tabs allow the legs to be cinched up below the knee to whatever tightness you prefer - I usually left them with a fair bit of slack, to encourage air flow. One downside versus full length trousers is of course that water runs down your shins into your shoes, but unless you have waterproof shoes, they're going to be wet anyway. Of course, the Helter Skelters are windproof too, so they fend off cold winds as well.

Despite Ground Effect making no claims about their suitability for mountain biking, they made my day on their first off-road outing -which included a bit of standing around in the rain. While my ride mates' saggy wet baggies flapped around and then clung in a cold muddy embrace on their legs, I completed my ride in dry comfort quite happy -smug even.

There's a certain amount of roominess in the crotch region that gave me some concern I might snag them on the seat in a dodgy muddy trail move, but it didn't ever happen, so my concerns seem unfounded. The one small pocket at the rear was perfect for a cell phone or muesli bars, but as it's quite small, I would ideally have liked two of these pockets.

Some might say that three-quarter length looks dorky -but the other option for avoiding wet-butt on a rainy commute would be mudguards, which clearly fall into that same category. And mudguards won't keep you dry from water falling from the sky, whereas the Helter Skelters do. Overall: simply awesome for wet weather riding.
Carl Patton