Chuck - a riding buddy's old Frogg Toggs wore out - started leaking after 5-6 years. He just bought a brand new set & LOVES them. Redesigned. They seem to fit a little better. The earlier versions sometimes appeared to be tailored by Omar the Tentmaker....
We too had the original, paper towel looking stuff since 2001. They served us very well and were the perfect sets for us because the packed extremely small which was ultra important. They too wore out and started allowing water in at the seat, probably sitting on them had detrimental effect on the material.
For Christmas, I was given the new FT Elite Highway suit. It is nothing like the original FT stuff. It's a real rain suit. The outer shell looks like nylon, but it is their Gore tex like stuff. There is a mesh inner liner and you would never recognize it as FT product if you were familiar with the original.
Their garment design still isn't North Face design quality, but it is light years ahead of the circus bibs I had before. The elastic drawstring at the waist is a joke and the neck opening is still way too big. the new stuff of course does not pack nearly as small as the paper towel stuff, but improvements come at a price. Overall, it's great stuff. It's affordable and still packs a lot smaller than most.
