Help with A Gift

[CBunny]

OK - you have a biking virgin who is married to a cyclist.

I would like to give some winter weather tights, tops, etc. as an X-mas gift but am mostly clueless as to what to buy and where to go ?
I have heard that a material called "capilene" is good.
Have been on the PearlIsuzi site but unless you have the time to look at every item, they don't include any fast facts or searches.
I also know there is Performance and a few other catalogers out there.

If I start asking questions now, it will be suspicious so I am asking you guys what you feel are my best options.

(p.s. We live in the northeast - and I am not afraid of paying $$$ for high quality, reliability and the "best")

Thanks for any responses !

[SamDaBikinMan]

Capilene is excellent. I have some for hiking in N Caroloina when it snows. The lightweight expedition undershirts at REI are good also.

Capilene is too heavy for riding around here but the weather there will be colder.

[Gojohnnygo.]

Well if your not afraid of spending a few dollars try ASSOS Thermax Tights.They work great for me in temps as low as 5F. I bought mine from here. http://www.branfordbike.com/wintwear/wintwr8.html#item1

[Ebbtide]

Honey, is that you?

[mike]

Pearl Izumi makes really nice biking clothes. I don't think their stuff is really designed for very cold temps, though. 18 to 32 degrees F would be the range for much of their winters stuff.

Winter tights are a great gift. My wife bought some for me and I love them.

Just get something heavy/thick and appropriate for winter. He will love you for it.

[pinerider]

Honey, is that you?

LOL!!! Sorry, you're getting the usual dress shirts and ties for Christmas!

[Crankaddict]

Gift certificate or wool.

[singlespeed]

I wear capilene here in Chicago pretty much all winter long, every day. It is the best base layer around in my opinion. The thing that is nice about it is that you can buy different weights of it. You can buy lightweight all the way to what they call "expedition" weight, which is to say that they go from silk thin to basically a light coat in thickness. I wear the midweights here in the dead of winter and I am rarely cold.

The stuff isn't cheap, thirty eight dollars for the shirts, but I have had all of my capilene for a long time, my oldest pair is about eight years old. I need to throw some of it out, but it's just still so warm!