I love winter biking, though my preferences run toward I'll-bike-no-matter-how-cold-but-not-if-it's-wet. (So I've never had a need for waterproof gear.)
I'm not a big fan of the if-you-are-overheating-just-slow-down school of thought, so I've been building up clothing that allows me to manage my heat on the fly. One of my revelatory moments was when I got the
Novara headwind jacket last year at clearance prices.
The whole idea of blocking the wind from the front but having breathable materials in the rear is great. After nearly getting clobbered by an inattentive driver, I decided I wanted to move toward a fluorescent wardrobe. I ordered a Gore Bike Wear Phantom Neon Jacket, but I've been a little underwhelmed by the details, which I think should be a given on such a premium priced piece of gear.
Some examples of what I'm not thrilled with: pockets sans zippers (so I'm having a hard time trusting putting anything more valuable than a granola bar in them); micro sized zipper hardware - tiny pulls and insertion pins make use with gloves difficult (no way I'd get them open as-is without removing gloves); the removable arms are in no way operable on-the-fly - the bottom stops of the are located just above my triceps, so even if I add a zipper pull extension, it's awkward to unzip while moving.
[Oh complain, complain, complain.]
Can anyone recommend similar jackets that might have more carefully considered details? In short, what I'd like is 1) windproof at the front, highly breathable* in the rear; 2) thoughtful detailing to allow access to venting, etc, while still wearing gloves 3) ideally available in safety colors - I would so just buy another Novara Headwind if it came in safety yellow.
*whereas there are no shortage of jackets with made completely with "windproof and breathable" fabric, I'm talking breathes-so-well-you'd-have-a-hard-time-building-up-a-sweat, not just "remarkably breathable compared to a garbage bag."