Review - Tour Master Venture Air Pants

I bought a pair of Tour Master Venture Air Pants for summer riding. As some of you may remember I purchased a pair of Tour Master Caliber Pants [Read my review] last fall. Those were great pants and I love them, but they are not meant for above 70 degrees. I'll be wearing them again this fall.

Now these Venture Air Pants are cool in the heat. I bought the largest waist size they make (4XL) to fit my girth and to fit over my normal clothes. The Armor-link Mesh shell with 1680 Denier Ballistic protective panels to protect knees and your backside make these pants feel like they will protect you if you happen to go "slab surfing". The soft padded hips are not even noticeable while riding. At that says a lot considering the size of my hips.

They have hard knee armor for maximum protection and with Tour Masters adjustable height kneepad system they stay on your knees. However, for me the kneepads sit off the outside of my kneecaps while riding. I'm not sure why, I've tried twisting the pant legs to move the kneepads but that does not work. I'm not happy about the knee pad location. I'm not sure if this is normal or if I have a mis-sewn pair of pants.

These pants do fit over my jeans, but they are a bit tight and that is mainly my fault. I just need to loose some weight. They also come with a two stage AquaTherm liner system. The first stage is a waterproof/windproof liner and the second stage is a thermal liner. Here's the deal with this system. The two liners nest inside of each other. To me they just add extra bulk that makes the pants harder to fit. If you need to protect your self in weather swings then I suppose these will be good. The liners only go down to about the top of your boots, which may leave your ankles a little unprotected in rain and cold. I personally think the two stage liners are cumbersome. The liners do not have side zippers so if you plan to use them you will need to take off your boots. That is a negative in my book. I don't plan on using the liners with these pants.

The mesh shell itself has thigh length side zippers to allow you to put the pants on while your wearing your boots. If they would have made the zipper go two inches higher it would even be easy do put on the pants. As it is I have to sit down and wrestle my boots through the thigh openings. Maybe they think we all have small feet. My boots are only a size 10 wide.

Overall the fit of the pants are comfortable. I gave them a workout over the weekend of 6/29/07-7/1/07. We rode from St. Paul to Chicago and back in two days with one day spent with family just south of the Windy City. The total miles were 1,100. 500 miles was ridden on the way down via US Highways and Byways. We stayed clear of the interstates for most of the trip south. The summer sun was beating down and the pants kept me cool and protected. When it got dark the reflective side piping and panels helped make us visible. For the trip back we took the interstate the whole way for the sole purpose of making the trip fast. Even while sitting for extend times at 70mph the Venture Air pants kept their cool and comfort.

To be honest I tried to exchange the Venture Air Pants for a pair of First Gear HT Airs that I had tried on when I was deciding which pants to buy. The local cycle shop that I bought them from wouldn't let me since I had worn these pants. The HT Airs from First Gear have zipper side liners and larger opening to make putting them on easier, but lack hard knee protectors. I did find that the Tour Master knee protectors fit just fine in the First Gear HT Air pants. So, since I was denied the exchange I will keep the Venture Air Pants. I'll just have to get used to the cumbersome routine of putting them on to go riding.

Pluses: Good protection, extra liners if you need them. Very comfortable and they keep you cool and protected.

Minuses: Hard to put on over my boots and the liners require you to take off your boots which makes side of the road or rest stop liner changes very cumbersome.

Overall rating 3 out of 5 stars.

Did you buy 1 size bigger than normal to fit over your jeans? And then would all the liners still fit with jeans with 1 size bigger? I have the Tour Master jacket and wondered about those pants too.

:2cents:I have used the Tourmaster Venture pants since February in cold weather and hot weather with no problems. I have no problem getting the pants on over my boots (Tourmaster Solution). I have been caught in heavy down pours and stay as dry as toast. The liners are alittle clumsy but the knee pads are located right over my knees with no shifting.

Do they come in any color but BLACK? Seems to me you would want to steer away from dark colors to stay cool.

Do they come in any color but BLACK? Seems to me you would want to steer away from dark colors to stay cool.

As far as I can tell they only come in black. I have not seen and other options.

Did you buy 1 size bigger than normal to fit over your jeans? And then would all the liners still fit with jeans with 1 size bigger? I have the Tour Master jacket and wondered about those pants too.

I bought the largest size they make. In order for them to one size bigger I need to loose a few pounds. However, that still doesn't change the fact that the liners don't zip up the sides and that leg zippers on the shell don't go high enough. I didn't buy these to wear with the liners. I wanted cool protective riding pants.

I have a silver Tourmaster jacket, and went with silver Fieldsheer mesh pants, as I don't want black anymore. Only 2 pockets, and the knee armor off the knee a little(going to remedy myself), are the only 2 things I would change.