Commuting - Goretex jacket

Commuter buds,
This is a pretty sweet deal on a Goretex jacket with hood and pit zips. Doesn't say whether zipper is 2-way, but I am getting one anyway for commuting use as well as travel. Black only, but I usually wear my orange reflective vest over my jacket if it is raining for maximum visibility.

http://www.bargainoutfitters.com/cb/cb.asp?a=46184

Regards,
Raymond

Sweet deal, too bad it's 2-layer and not 3-layer goretex. Hehe, none the less, it's a steal, grab it while you can!

Sweet deal, too bad it's 2-layer and not 3-layer goretex. Hehe, none the less, it's a steal, grab it while you can!

What's in the 3-layer VS the 2-layer?

What's in the 3-layer VS the 2-layer?

Basically goretex is a teflon polymer that has tiny little holes in it, too small for liquid water, large enough for water vapor. So say you're exercising, as sweat comes off your body and evaporates, assuming you're wearing the right layers of wicking fabric, it will get wicked through your clothes to your goretex jacket. The water vapor will then disperse through the fabric. Therefore you stay dry on the inside even if you sweat and it's raining outside.
The goretex layer is laminated to the inside of the face fabric that the jacket's made of, usually polyester or nylon. Since the goretex is still exposed on the inside, there's usually two ways to protect it from wear and tear from your clothes rubbing against it. One is called 2-layer for some reason, there's an open mesh layer sewn into the jacket that hangs off the goretex. 3-layer has a wicking fabric laminated onto the goretex on the inside of the jacket.
In my experience with a 2-layer jacket, there's a hanging layer that clings onto my skin when I'm just wearing a thin wicking shirt underneath. With the 3-layer, it's like one sheet of thick crinkly fabric, I just find it more comfortable. Plus the mesh liner in 2-layer sometimes gets snagged on the zippers and pitzips. I got rid of my 2-layer after I wore it out and got a 3-layer. The difference to me is like going from a t-shirt to a jersey. Keep in mind though, goretex only breathes so much, its not designed for highly aerobic activities. Walking and hiking is fine, running and biking will usually overwhelm the goretex and you end up being wet from sweat. Pitzips help since it helps evacuate the moist air as long as water doesn't get into them.
I'd rather just get soaked on the bike, the rain'll cool me down and wash away the sweat since I'm usually sweating like a hog. Since goretex jackets are usually really expensive and the ones with pitzips add a lot of production cost, that link really is a good deal if anyone's just looking for a goretex jacket.

Yeah, I only put on a rain jacket when it is cool enough that I am getting chilled by the rain. Otherwise it is more comfortable to just get wet from the rain than from the sweat inside even a Goretex jacket. So I look for the lightest weight jacket I can find. I can vouch that Goretex is definitely superior to a simple coated nylon or plastic jacket. At the same marginal temperature/rain combo that I find I need some to keep me warm, I am comfortably dry in Goretex when I used to be sweating inside nylon. I will confess that when it is raining/cool enough for me to wear a jacket, I take it nice and easy. I feel safer and it helps reduce sweating. I am actually quite happy with the Goretex jacket I have, which is apparently 2-layer, but I like having a hood so I am springing for another. I also plan to use it for travel when I want to take a light jacket.

You can get a Burley from Lick Bike for little more than that. And the Burley is made for cycling and works great.

http://www.lickbike.com/productpage.asp?PART_NUM_SUB='3139-10'

This is the new version, Burley says it's even better.

http://www.lickbike.com/productpage.asp?PART_NUM_SUB='6580-21'