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My old Marmot ATV Soft Shell Jacket is looking pretty worn and I'm hoping to find an end of season deal. Plenty of Wind-stopper and Goretex stuff out there...Too HOT for 30-40F rides.
What's a good Soft Shell with Schoeller in yellow, red, or orange...OK going for broke in Women's!
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Heyas VR
I have not been to MEC lately to check what softshells they have this year. They usually have a few that are fairly good bang for your buck.
http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_listing.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302704175&bmUID=1207494694392
Click on their comparison link at the top of the page to see what materials they are all made from.
I bought my current softshell from IBEX on one of their clearouts. I liked it soo much it became my everyday jacket off the bike :) www.ibexwear.com
I have not kept up with softshells over the last year or two so cant recommend any good ones for you. Goood luck !
Edit : I forgot about beyondfleece if you have a larger budget. Custom made schoeller softshells http://beyondclothing.com/products/jackets/soft-shell/
The Ibex Pingo looks like a good choice but it'll show grime right away. The c$$tom jacket is exactly that's needed. A two-tone jacket with black in the right places to hide grease stains. The ATV lasted less than 3 years of wearing about 6mo out of each year. I'm not sure if a custom jacket would be worth the price.
I'm surprised at how few choices there are out there.
OK, I get it...it's like HD vs Blue Ray...Schoeller lost out to some new GoreTex thing...looks like GORE-TEX® Pro Shell® Wonder how the two compare?
foxwear lou will make what you need at a very decent price
The Ibex Pingo looks like a good choice but it'll show grime right away. The c$$tom jacket is exactly that's needed. A two-tone jacket with black in the right places to hide grease stains. The ATV lasted less than 3 years of wearing about 6mo out of each year. I'm not sure if a custom jacket would be worth the price.
I'm surprised at how few choices there are out there.
Pingo is a good choice. After 7 years of everyday commuting I have come to the conclusion that a good wind blocking, softshell is the best "main" winter coat. You can have all of those "breathable" water repellent fabrics. The Pingo BREATHES!!!! And is wind resistant. I don't think there are many Pingos left especially in biking colors. Go to Ibexs site and look up the outlet/clearance section. They have orange Pingo fo 110, that's a great price. I would buy one but the sizes are not right. Let me know what you buy because I, like you, am hunting for this as well. I figure a Pingo, wool sweater and poly T gets me through the worse weather Baltimore has to offer. Charlie
PS My old softshell(I wear all through Mid-Atlantic winters) has more grease on it that my chain:D
EDIT: I see you are from Seattle so waterproofing may be of more importance to you than me.
DEAL:
here ya go
http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/appareldetail.cfm?PRODUCTS__PRODUCTID=MA5021
Oh nuts most of those sizes are gone.
Just paid the tax man...I can't see tossing another $100 bucks on another jacket right now. For now the Showers Pass Pertex and some layers are probably OK.
Oh nuts most of those sizes are gone.
Just paid the tax man...I can't see tossing another $100 bucks on another jacket right now. For now the Showers Pass Pertex and some layers are probably OK.
I hear you there on the taxes. I am going to drop a 100+ on this one unless I hear it sucks. So jacket people post up on this beast:
http://tinyurl.com/56tywn
Apparently it's their version of Schoeller. Has good reviews in Europe, softshell design, resist snags, breathes really well, stops wind and is decent against rain. The shoulders have a slightly more rain resistant fabric than the main body. I just like the fact that it breathes. The Haglofs site is a little overwhelming but so is the Schoeller site. I won't have a true field report until end of '08. I was surprised how difficult it was to find out about the fabrics. I think most companys should put up a chart showing their fabrics comparisons. It was hard determining which fabric from an individual company I preferred. Charlie
foxwear lou will make what you need at a very decent price
+1 Lou will custom make your coat to your exact needs with your desired color combinations. Why wpend $80 for a store bought coat when you can have a custom made coat. I have the E-Vap coat for Winter use and LOVE it. It works from 50F all the way down to 2F with only the addition of a thin wind breaker shell. I now need something very light for the cool mornings. I'll have to talk to Lou and see what he recommends.
Happy riding,
André
+1 Lou will custom make your coat to your exact needs with your desired color combinations. Why wpend $80 for a store bought coat when you can have a custom made coat. I have the E-Vap coat for Winter use and LOVE it. It works from 50F all the way down to 2F with only the addition of a thin wind breaker shell. I now need something very light for the cool mornings. I'll have to talk to Lou and see what he recommends.
Happy riding,
André
So please educate me on Lou's stuff. I want a jacket that BREATHES and blocks wind,then I'll take whatever rain resistance is left. I want a jacket for winter, don't mind (actually like) using a wool sweater under it for colder days. I am in the Mid-Atlantic region so temps can be cold tho' not "Canada cold" I do like Lou's prices. His site doesn't look good on my monitor at work. It's black on dark gray. I'll check it at home. Thanks Charlie
+1 Lou will custom make your coat to your exact needs with your desired color combinations. Why wpend $80 for a store bought coat when you can have a custom made coat. I have the E-Vap coat for Winter use and LOVE it. It works from 50F all the way down to 2F with only the addition of a thin wind breaker shell. I now need something very light for the cool mornings. I'll have to talk to Lou and see what he recommends.
Happy riding,
André
I personally have to give two thumbs-up to the J&G softshell jacket for something "light" in the mornings. Not the waterproof or waterproof/breathable jackets, but the light nylon shell. It is really light, and works perfectly for me on those mornings where it is 40-50's out, and a jersey alone would be too cold. You know, those leg-warmer kind of commutes.
I"ll check his stuff out a little closer. Fox may be the way to go.
Saw an new Orange pingo jacket on my route home. We've had a lot of rain this week. The arms were heavily soiled the rest of the jacket had that new crisp look. Cool jacket but not for me.
This jacket seems to do all (for a soft shell). Here's a 2006 review on this jacket....
http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/news/article/mps/UAN/4089/v/2/sp/332632698792330338428
Men's on Sale here: http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/206,92380_Haglofs-Demon-Stretch-Jacket-Soft-Shell-For-Men.html
http://tinyurl.com/56tywn
Apparently it's their version of Schoeller. Has good reviews in Europe, softshell design, resist snags, breathes really well, stops wind and is decent against rain. The shoulders have a slightly more rain resistant fabric than the main body. I just like the fact that it breathes. The Haglofs site is a little overwhelming but so is the Schoeller site. I won't have a true field report until end of '08. I was surprised how difficult it was to find out about the fabrics. I think most companys should put up a chart showing their fabrics comparisons. It was hard determining which fabric from an individual company I preferred. Charlie
http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/news/images/demonjacket01.jpg
for aerobic activity, those non laminate softshells are usually all good.
So many new fabrics, all some sort of nylon. When reading a web description, how can you tell whether it's laminate?
for aerobic activity, those non laminate softshells are usually all good.
A laminate will usually say somewhere in the description "membrane" or "waterproof". All the schoeller type softshells, and other bicomponent weave are wind and water resistant only. This new one thats linked looks to be a copy of schoeller type fabric with decent reviews. It also has a drw coating so thats what would make me question its breathability.
Lots of internet research, lots of shopping to local outdoor stores. Unfortunatly most internet reviews dont cycle in these type of jackets, so they never get taxed to the extent we put them through.
So please educate me on Lou's stuff. I want a jacket that BREATHES and blocks wind,then I'll take whatever rain resistance is left. I want a jacket for winter, don't mind (actually like) using a wool sweater under it for colder days. I am in the Mid-Atlantic region so temps can be cold tho' not "Canada cold" I do like Lou's prices. His site doesn't look good on my monitor at work. It's black on dark gray. I'll check it at home. Thanks Charlie
The nice thing with Lou is that you can discuss your specific needs and he can help steer you to the right materials. In my case I wanted a coat that could handle cold weather, but I desperately needed something that could also breath well enough to get rid of all the moisture (aka sweat) I produce while riding. I wanted the coat to be yellow for visability though the material is not the hi-vis yellow/green, the yellow is more like school bus color, it still makes me stand out in traffic. The main body of the coat is very wind resistant and sheds snow easily. During a sleet storm my whole body was actually coverd with about a 1/8 sheet of ice. I was still comfy and dry in the coat. For extra breathability I made the side pannel of the thin black material that he provides. The strip runs all along the side and along the arms as well. The thin strip lets in a tiny bit of wind, but once you get moving you don't notive it other than you stay nice and sweat free.
Happy riding,
André
The nice thing with Lou is that you can discuss your specific needs and he can help steer you to the right materials. In my case I wanted a coat that could handle cold weather, but I desperately needed something that could also breath well enough to get rid of all the moisture (aka sweat) I produce while riding. I wanted the coat to be yellow for visability though the material is not the hi-vis yellow/green, the yellow is more like school bus color, it still makes me stand out in traffic. The main body of the coat is very wind resistant and sheds snow easily. During a sleet storm my whole body was actually coverd with about a 1/8 sheet of ice. I was still comfy and dry in the coat. For extra breathability I made the side pannel of the thin black material that he provides. The strip runs all along the side and along the arms as well. The thin strip lets in a tiny bit of wind, but once you get moving you don't notive it other than you stay nice and sweat free.
Happy riding,
André
Thanks. I am sold on Foxwear. I like the whole idea. Talked(email) w/ Lou this wknd. He will be gone for a few months. The one problem is that he only has black in the Power Shield cloth. He says he has to buy 100 yards(something like that) of cloth to get the yellow. This is enough material for 600 jackets or pants:eek: I also (THINK) he gets smaller pieces when they are available and yellow hasn't been available lately. So I told him I will get one when he gets back, hopefully yellow will be available by then. If not I'll settle for black w/ 3M reflective tape and wear a vest OR get the windbloc.
They have yellow in wind bloc but I think that is the laminated type. I really want the best breathability(I don't think that's a word) which is power shield. Later, Charlie
PS Anyone else that is interested in this should contact Lou by email. Maybe if enough bicyclist show an interest he might spring for the 100 yards of cloth.
So many new fabrics, all some sort of nylon. When reading a web description, how can you tell whether it's laminate?
A lot of the sites mention laminated. Fowwear's/Malden Mills windbloc is laminated. I don't know about their wind pro tho'. With all of this reading and thinking I am leaning towards cotton and watching TV:D
To give a little frame of reference, I decided to shop for some Schoeller fabric - make my own. A jacket like that takes about3 yards. Current cost for Schoeller is .....$29/yard - not including postage, zippers etc.
$29 * 3 = $87 just for the Schoeller fabric!
$29 * 3 = $87 just for the Schoeller fabric!
Wow. I guess paying 250-300 bucks for a fully finished one isnt too out of whack then :)
Wow. I guess paying 250-300 bucks for a fully finished one isnt too out of whack then :)
$300 is out my price range because the jackets get alot of use and last about 3 yrs.... Some people can keep a jacket for 20 years?!
Like Lou, I'm not seeing much in yellow or hi-vis colors. The Canadians have a knock-off brand similar to Schoeller that's $12.99 and has better colors. The Power Stretch runs about $7.99 per yard - not sure if that's laminated.
$300 is out my price range because the jackets get alot of use and last about 3 yrs.... Some people can keep a jacket for 20 years?!
Like Lou, I'm not seeing much in yellow or hi-vis colors. The Canadians have a knock-off brand similar to Schoeller that's $12.99 and has better colors. The Power Stretch runs about $7.99 per yard - not sure if that's laminated.
People that don't ride a lot can keep a jacket for 20 years but everyday commuting destroys gear.
I'm fairly certain Power Stretch is the lite fabric. Lou recommends Power Shield for the main wind block and Power Stretch for the back venting material.
Jarey: Paying 250-300 for a jacket might not be out of whack, just out of range;)
Buyer beware. Power Stretch and Powder Stretch are not the same thing. You have to read his ads very carefully. He uses PowderStretch
Evap Jacket Quote "The heavy-weight version can be made from Retro-X with heavy-weight PowderStretch panels"
http://www.foxwear.net/Fabrics%20lou%20edit.html
PowderStretch is a 4 way stretchy fabric that is mostly used for tights and t-shirts. One side is fleece and the other side is a stretchy lycra® with a smooth durable backing for better layering of clothes. The fabric has wicking/siphoning properties for moving moisture away from the body. It also has odor reducing treatment to inhibit the growth of odor-causing bacteria. Clothing made from PowerStretch is ideal when superior abrasion resistance and maximum freedom of movement is desired such as for climbing/running/cycling/cross-country skiing tights and equestrian pursuits.
There are five weights of PowerStretch...blah blah blah
... I'm not knocking his credibility here...just stating
Power Stretch <> PowderStretch
Buyer beware. Power Stretch and Powder Stretch are not the same thing. You have to read his ads very carefully. He uses PowderStretch
Evap Jacket Quote "The heavy-weight version can be made from Retro-X with heavy-weight PowderStretch panels"
http://www.foxwear.net/Fabrics%20lou%20edit.html
PowderStretch is a 4 way stretchy fabric that is mostly used for tights and t-shirts. One side is fleece and the other side is a stretchy lycra® with a smooth durable backing for better layering of clothes. The fabric has wicking/siphoning properties for moving moisture away from the body. It also has odor reducing treatment to inhibit the growth of odor-causing bacteria. Clothing made from PowerStretch is ideal when superior abrasion resistance and maximum freedom of movement is desired such as for climbing/running/cycling/cross-country skiing tights and equestrian pursuits.
There are five weights of PowerStretch...blah blah blah
My bad. I thought the name was Power not Powder:o BUT I was making a point about Stretch and Shield. Shield is the better wind blocking material. Stretch is less so. Shield is the material he recommends for high winter aerobic activities for winter jackets. I wish they just called the stuff 1,2,3....
+1 It's just some marketing jazz (in the part of the Mfgs) Not Foxwear's fault.
I wish they just called the stuff 1,2,3....
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