Clothing for cold, wet weather
Discussion
lufbramatt said:
Spyder5 said:
Altura Night Vision jacket is the best piece of commuter gear I have. I am always warm and dry, regardless of the weather.
^definitely, great bit of kit.
Also, thermal, waterproof bib longs. I have fantastic Pearl Izumi's, but the padding is non-removeable making them a 'wash each ride' set-up. My endura extreme bib's are a fair bit inferior to the Pearls, but I wear shorts under them...
Oh, and decent boots! The Izumi's have a flap of material that goes over teh top of the boot letting water run off the shoe, not wick through the sock.
I've always used a Altura Night Vision jacket as my commuter, but find that they do eventually give-up on being waterproof.
I do wear it every weekday on my 2 hour commute (1 hour each way), plus on two MTB rides each week, so I give it a fair old bashing.
Each jacket seems to last about 2 seasons (generally don't need to wear it on 3 of the 12 months of the year!) despite me religiously following the care instructions, only washing it with Nikwax Tech Wash and re-proofing it with Nikwax Wash-In proofer.
I find that the interior 'plastic' lining comes away and leaves me with a high-vis, windproof, but not waterproof jacket.
I've now given up with them and got a Gore commuter jacket in high-viz yellow (much better cut than the Altura ones) and an Endura Stealth jacket for the MTB. After 12 months, both are still as waterproof as they were when new, but I can't get them quite as clean as new, despite using Nikwax Tech Wash (don't use washing powder or conditioner etc).
I think both the Gore and the Endura jackets were much more expensive than the Altura one though, so maybe just treat the Altura one as a 1-year jacket and then replace it (depending on how hard you use it I guess?).
I do wear it every weekday on my 2 hour commute (1 hour each way), plus on two MTB rides each week, so I give it a fair old bashing.
Each jacket seems to last about 2 seasons (generally don't need to wear it on 3 of the 12 months of the year!) despite me religiously following the care instructions, only washing it with Nikwax Tech Wash and re-proofing it with Nikwax Wash-In proofer.
I find that the interior 'plastic' lining comes away and leaves me with a high-vis, windproof, but not waterproof jacket.
I've now given up with them and got a Gore commuter jacket in high-viz yellow (much better cut than the Altura ones) and an Endura Stealth jacket for the MTB. After 12 months, both are still as waterproof as they were when new, but I can't get them quite as clean as new, despite using Nikwax Tech Wash (don't use washing powder or conditioner etc).
I think both the Gore and the Endura jackets were much more expensive than the Altura one though, so maybe just treat the Altura one as a 1-year jacket and then replace it (depending on how hard you use it I guess?).
Spyder5 said:
Altura Night Vision jacket is the best piece of commuter gear I have. I am always warm and dry, regardless of the weather.
Agreed. I find it less stifling and sweat-inducing than my Pac Lite Gore jacket that I thought I'd treat myself to.The Gore one is fully sealed with only the one zip up the front to add ventilation - not something you want to be doing when it's pissing down. Whereas the night vision one has a vented back, and zips under the arms.
And unlike Smartboy above, I've found it hard to keep my Gore one waterproof, whereas I've just reproofed my Altura one and it's beading nicely. Mine was bought in 2009, btw. I use Graingers though - so maybe it's better suited to the Altura jacket.
Plus it really lights up. For me, that's a no brainer.
Edited by Kell on Friday 31st January 14:54
Edited by Kell on Friday 31st January 14:55
I use two (not at the same time!!)
Gore Bike Wear Paclite when it´s pouring down
Gore Bike Wear Windstopper the rest of the time. It leaks through the untaped seams after 30mins of heavy rain.
I have Paclite trousers too, MEC Drencher mittens (awesome, but not available in the UK)
and trekking shoes from Decathlon that are surprisingly waterproof.
Keep your extremities warm & dry and the rest should be OK.
I never notice the weather once I´m away and riding - unless it´s a hurrican force headwind.
Gore Bike Wear Paclite when it´s pouring down
Gore Bike Wear Windstopper the rest of the time. It leaks through the untaped seams after 30mins of heavy rain.
I have Paclite trousers too, MEC Drencher mittens (awesome, but not available in the UK)
and trekking shoes from Decathlon that are surprisingly waterproof.
Keep your extremities warm & dry and the rest should be OK.
I never notice the weather once I´m away and riding - unless it´s a hurrican force headwind.
Even expensive goretex jackets that cost 3x as much as the altura one stop being waterproof after a couple of years, especially if you use a rucksack lots. I find the lining starts to break up around the shoulders. I think the night vision jackets are a good compromise between price and performance, at the end of the day I don't want to stack it off my bike a ruin a £200 jacket, but £75-80 for the altura one I can just about cope with needing to replace if I do have an accident.
BTW I'm tall and slim and the Evo version of the night vision jacket fitted me much better than the normal one.
BTW I'm tall and slim and the Evo version of the night vision jacket fitted me much better than the normal one.
stevenjhepburn said:
Thanks for the suggestions so far.
Merino base layer, amazing material.J4CKO said:
I dont worry so much about waterproof as whatever gets through I am fairly waterproof myself and usually generate more moisture of my own anyway. I do worry about cold, nothing more miserable than cold.
What do you wear to stay warm?Despite all the comments on "you can't stay dry" - keeping your core dry helps a lot with keeping warm. I've never found my Jersey wet in even torrential sideways rain apart from cuffs (neoprene gloves).
I've got a trio of winter jackets, one altura and a pair of enduras.
The night vision jackets are great. Not too expensive, not too boil in the bag. Nice combination of price and performance.
Better however is my endura luminite, it fits like a tent but its warmer and dryer and generally better at dealing with unpleasant weather. (better vents, collar etc).
Top of the tree though in my eyes when the weather is nasty is the endura stealth. Dry as a bone underneath, race fit, looks great, arm and side vents - but it needs them. On the upside its very warm. On the downside its very warm.....
I've got a trio of winter jackets, one altura and a pair of enduras.
The night vision jackets are great. Not too expensive, not too boil in the bag. Nice combination of price and performance.
Better however is my endura luminite, it fits like a tent but its warmer and dryer and generally better at dealing with unpleasant weather. (better vents, collar etc).
Top of the tree though in my eyes when the weather is nasty is the endura stealth. Dry as a bone underneath, race fit, looks great, arm and side vents - but it needs them. On the upside its very warm. On the downside its very warm.....
stevenjhepburn said:
Thanks for the suggestions so far.
An old jumper under my Nightvision (or whats left of it) and maybe a t-shirt, but it is only the commute over winter generally.J4CKO said:
I dont worry so much about waterproof as whatever gets through I am fairly waterproof myself and usually generate more moisture of my own anyway. I do worry about cold, nothing more miserable than cold.
What do you wear to stay warm?Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff