Some days, you get drenched. You just get caught in one of those biblical rain showers. And it may only happen a few times a year, but if you’ve ever experienced that unique cold, damp sensation, then you’ll know that you never want it to happen again.

The answer? Waterproof trousers, of course. If your minds eye is currently thinking of the glorified plastic bags you tied around your legs when doing the Duke of Edinburgh Award… well yeah that’s pretty much what they are.

But there are now some aimed at cyclists, with a female-specific cut, that try as best as possible to keep things dry AND breathable. They tend to have large openings so you can stick them on over your clothes, as well as attention-grabbing reflective bits.

Unfortunately they are fairly utilitarian objects, with black or occasionally yellow being the height of your choices.

Because of how dull that sounds, we’ve stuck in a few examples here of commuter trousers that are water-resistant rather than totally proofed, as well as similarly protective garments that look more like traditional cycling leggings. We wanted to provide more variety in our list, so we’ve clearly marked which items below are not entirely waterproof.