Originally Posted by
avner
As time moves on I'll have more money to invest and if I can find something that someone, or several people have used and highly recommend I would be happy to invest in it. Like some of you have said, I tend to sweat like a horse so layering is something I'd like to ideally avoid, just to keep my laundry basket from getting filled thrice a week.
I sweat more than most people, and used to avoid having extra layers or extra insulation for this reason. I'm actually more comfortable in a merino base layer + a cashmere mid layer + a goretex wind breaker than I am in just the mid layer and parka. Five minutes into a ride I start to warm up, and think I'm going to over heat. But the mid layer draws the sweat away from my body - I literally don't feel it. With just the base layer, I sweat the same amount, but it has nowhere to go, so it saturates the base layer and stays against my skin. I didn't believe it, either, but I tried it on a really cold day, and have been more comfortable ever since.
Originally Posted by
avner
But over all I guess my criteria is a light/packable, decent looking and warm windbreaking jacket. I don't really need something for all weather conditions, not adverse to it but not a requirement. Sorry to ask this, but with the base layers does anyone have an example? I've dug through a lot stuff related to cold weather cycling and I just don't have a base reference for whats what and I'd like to learn as much as I can to make cycling this winter comfortable and toasty.
You can get an
Arc'teryx Accelero jacket for around $80, I think, and it's an extremely light weight, very packable and pretty handsome jacket. It's water resistant and lets about 1/3 of the wind through, as air conditioning. I love mine, but it's cold and windy in Seattle and I'm wearing goretex instead now.
Here's an example of a merino base layer. It's a little bit thinner than a typical cotton tee-shirt, and a bit softer, too. I like wool for this because it's still warm when it's wet ( important since you sweat ), never smells like body odor, and it wicks better than anything else on the planet.
