During the last swamp age (circa late December 2020), with all my waterproof trousers in the wash, I pulled out these new Scott Trail Storm WP pant to try out.

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I’ve always considered Scott’s clothing range to be unfairly overlooked in the UK. Not only is it vast, with everything from arm-warmers to short liners on offer, it’s usually functional, well made and stylish. But I hardly ever see anyone wearing it, possibly because it’s not on people’s radar, but probably because it’s not considered an aspirational clothing brand in the same way as Troy Lee or Fox.

With, er, unique contrasting lower leg panels, their harlequin looks won’t appeal to everyone, but the Dryosphere three- layer fabric is, from previous experience, excellent quality and the fully seam- sealed construction seemed impenetrable when I first put them on. Fit is also good, with the medium recommended by Scott’s online Fit Finder tool proving to be the perfect size for me.

Then I started riding, and barely 100m along the first (admittedly soaking) trail and I could feel a stream of cold water on the back of my legs. Putting it down to splashes coming up through the open ankle cuffs, I rode/surfed on, trying to ignore my soaking limbs and concentrate on the positives. Such as the two-way stretch, rip-stop fabric that gives decent articulation when getting loose on slippery trails and doesn’t get bunched up around knee pads or hooked up on saddles. I also really liked the hip pocket with its waterproof zip and internal phone sleeve that stopped it from slapping against my thigh, as well as the zip and Velcro fly closure that is always preferable to a press stud in my opinion. But by the time I’d got back to the car an hour later, my legs, socks, knee-pads and feet were completely drenched in muddy water.

When I peeled off the Scott pants, I discovered the reason why: massive mesh vent panels at the back of the knee, perfectly placed to capture water and channel it down the back of your legs. Now to be fair to Scott, these are mentioned in the key features on its website, so it’s not something it’s trying to hide, but quite why they are there in the first place, I have no idea. The Scott Trail Storm WP Pant is billed as offering ‘advanced weather protection’. They are called ‘Trail Storm’ pants. But they are anything but.