Wind Stopper Jackets.Any Good.?
 

Soon it will be my birthday.. Hope it is not celebrated by re-inventing the "Happy Birthday, CZ," thread, please !
Anyway.. Anyone here have a Gore Inc.. "Windstopper" Jacket.. Supposedly, they are thinner, rainproof, completely windproof and keep you warmer with less layering..
Anyone have one? what do you think of it.? Very soon, Maybe- Happy Birthday to Me..

I would be interested in knowing about that jacket, too. Brrrr!
Hey, not to stray too far from the subject, but what happened to the push for that Gear & Equipment Thread?
Wasn't there a movement afoot to consolate all the scattered threads like this into one place? It would make this already well organized forum an even nicer place :)

Since there are several models of Gore Windstoppers around, I am not sure whether we are talking about the same one. I *had* one briefly this winter--two rides worth--but I exchanged it because it was too large for me and I could not get a "small" (strange but true). The model that I had is cut very long, which produced too much bulk around the waist in a riding position.

But, as to its warmth, I can give it a positive rating. Although everyone is different, I would say that with a just a long-underwear shirt on underneath, you can ride in temps as low as 2-4 Celsius (mid-30s F). Put on another layer and you can go below freezing. I am reckoning here with riding at, say 25-30kmh (15-20 mph).

It does stop the wind. But, as with all Gore products and with most of its competitor's similar stuff, it does not "breath" as much as they promise. If you are warm enough to stay warm, you will sweat and your long underwear shirt will be pretty wet in the end. If you get too hot in it, the best way to get "breathability" is to zip down a bit.

I ended up exchanging the Gore jacket for one by Löffler (Austrian) which also contains Windstopper (tm) in it. This jacket fit me better and is slightly thinner than the Gore jacket I tried. That means that I have layer at slightly higher temperatures, but I don't mind that, it allows me to control my temps better.

I don't think you'll be dissappointed.

Cheers,
Jamie

I picked up a Gore "Windstopper" jacket made by The North Face and I love it. It really does stop the wind well and provide insulation. This acts like layer 2 and layer 3 clothing with just one garment.

As far as breathability it works much better than a conventional unvented fleece/nylon layer configuration, but it is not great. Nylon/fleece with vents works bettter.

I use this mostly for running, so it is more than adequate for cycling.

As far as pricing, I picked this up at a second-hand store, so I really don't know what the thing costs new. If you can pick one up cheap, I would recommend it, but I doubt I would spend more that $50 on one, but then again I am "cheaper than the average bear" (just ask my wife) :)

regards
Dan

I second everything Jamie says. Great jackets, but if you are cycling a bit hard (me on my commute :)), you will still sweat up.

Don't know about the cycling specific jackets
but the hiking/running types with the
underarm zips for venting are really helpful when
things get steamy under the top layer.

Marty

Dont over due it.If its used for cycling you want to be sure it not overboard.I have a vest without the sleeves and only use it when its the coldest out.My long sleeve base layer and long sleeve jersey works 90% of the time.

Judging by the fact that you're in CA, I would recommend a Race Face Aqualite. I can't get you a direct link to it but this will get you most of the way there: http://www.raceface.com/clothing
I have the Aquanot, which is good to about 10-20 degrees with proper layering. Best jacket I've ever owned.

Thanks all. It arrived yesterday.. Wore it today.. it was great.. Breathed about best of any jacket I have.. Early in the Am, rode through a really light sprinkle.. Do like the jacket.. Now look for a snow storm..

Has anyone tried the Tyvek Jackets? They are fairly cheap(around $15 to $19). I use one of them on my commutes and wear only a long sleeve shirt and a light fleece vest under it. The temp is usually around 17 to 26F when I leave in the morning. Also weatherproof and they wad up into a small pouch that is sewn on the inside of the jacket. The longer you wear it the softer it gets.


Rick

I have a pair of the gloves and they work well. Personally I cannot ride with cold weather gear as I get too hot unless it is truly sub zero out.

I'm in the market for a jacket for wet weather...not needed for warmth...just water resistant. There seems to be such a huge price variation...from $20-$100. any recommendations. it rains a lot here and want an easy to carry breathable jacket. an online source would be good.

Oh, I have a windstopper jacket...like it for hiking & running...never worn it cycling. I'm getting to the point where I have gear for different activities that I might use a couple times. I think I'm turing into a gear junky.

i think windstopper jackets are great for cycling. for me i'd consider it one of the better technology improvements in recent years (i also have windstopper gloves, hat, and pants that i use for mountaineering and occaisonally for cycling)

last year i found a vest on clearance and bought it - it was pretty nice.

then i searched long and hard for the exact windstopper jacket and found one i love. i forget the brand, but there are a ton that are similar. mine is windstopper in the front with regular stretchy jersey material on the back, along the sides and underarms AND the back side of the arms (most have only the armpits, but mine go all the way to the hands). i LOVE mine as the wind is the biggest factor to make you cold.

with mine as the outside layer i am comfortable down to about -15C (with a regular short-sleeve and long-sleev jersey underneath). if i get a little too warm, i just unzip and 0C to -15C air cools you off very quickly at 10-30km/h!

i have also started using mine for ski touring and XC skiing as wind is a similar although not as strong as on the bike.

you can find them in all kinds of thicknesses - thin for maybe +5/10C all the way down to fleece-lined stuff that i would burn up in at -20C!

but i now prefer mine to wearing my shell cycling jacket (Burley with great ventilation) if it's not raining as the breathability and temperature regulation are better.

I guess I'll be the dissenting voice here. I have a jacket and gloves and I think Gore Windstopper is one of the biggest fraud around.

The windstopper layer is sandwiched between two layers of fleece. The idea behind insulation is to trap dead air so in a windstopper garment, the outer layer of fleece becomes useless as the wind takes the dead air in the outer layer away. Sure, a windstopper jacket is warmer than a normal fleece but never as warm as a cheaper fleece and light wind jacket.

It's been mentionned above, windstopper doesn't breath as well as a fleece + wind jacket. It's also stiffer and more bulky. Most windstopper have good venting options, but so do many "normal" fleeces and wind jackets. And if you're still over heating, you can't take the wind protection and just keep the insulation on or vice-versa, they're stuck together.

I have an Exte Ondo Windstopper jacket and love it. I've worn it a good bit when the temps get in the upper 40's and wind is blowing cold from the north. It's thin, and the material along the sides "breathes". I typically wear a thin long-sleeved undershirt beneath. Going into the wind, I zip it up and am comfortable. If I'm going with the wind and get warm, I unzip it enough to keep myself comfy. I prefer this jacket to something thicker.

i guess this is true of the official Gore Windstopper stuff... and my headband are gloves are this type (but still much much better than without it).

but some of the "windstopper" stuff like my jersey that i have does not have this plastic layer, but is simply make with a thick weave that blocks the wind. oh, i just looked and my windstopper jersey that i love is made by a "no-name" brand Alex Athletics - i think it cost me like €60 or something (most of the big name stuff is over 100). it is simlpy a thick weave synthetic fabric on the wind-facing surfaces with regular highly-breathable jersey material on the back and the back of the arms. mainly b/c of the regular material on the back sides this jersey breathes much better than a regular jersey/wind jacket and also does pretty well in light rain. as i said before, for more substantial rain i still use the rain jacket.

I ride in the winters with four layers total, third and fourth layers are the "money" layers that do most of the work. Fourth layer is a Patagonia Lightning Jacket and it works great. It's from their Storm line and therefore waterproof and slightly breathable. I wear it over a Patagonia R2 Regulator shell and, along with my two base layers, this gives me a four-layer combo that has worked in temps ranging from 0 degrees F - 45 degrees F. All I do is zip/unzip as necessary to cool/warm.

The lightning jacket has a cool hood that can be worn under a helmet, or over, depending on your preference. Like most Patagonia garments, hood can be cinched via drawstring. Drawstring waist as well. There's a lower-back storage pocket in addition to the two side pockets. All pockets are mesh-lined so you can unzip and let the wind flow in when you need to cool off.

The ties running through the zipper pulls are somewhat awkward, I find, especially when trying to get into the lower-back pocket while waiting at a stop light.

Overall, this jacket is feather-light and quite durable.

Here's a link:

http://www.patagonia.com/za/PDC/Pgon...ghtning+jacket