Originally Posted by
arsprod
It's a North Face shell, couple years old so the closest I could find is this
http://www.thenorthface.com/webapp/w...atalogId=10201. I wear it without the liner jacket. It has "Hy Vent," North Face's version of waterproof, windproof, breathable, but I'm a little dubious of the breathability. This is the first year I've commuted in the cold so just started using this thing a few months ago. But yesterday morning it was 6F when I left the house, I wore poly base layer with merino jersey and both were drenched with sweat after an hour. I'm not a prolific sweat-er... by the way
I have a hard shell I only use when riding in really bad conditions (i.e. almost blizzard conditions). It has huge pit zips that help tremendously with venting. If your shell doesn't have pit zips, it is going to turn into a sauna in there. Without pit zips or other active venting measures, you are relying on your body heat to try and drive the moisture through the waterproof/breathable fabric. That doesn't work so well when it is real cold and the moisture starts condensing all the more readily on the inside of the cold shell.
If I were you, I would try something like this:
http://www.mountainhardwear.com/Men%...efault,pd.html
I have two different weights of softshell jackets that I use when it is not raining and neither has a windproof membrane. Your selections are going to be limited by requiring a hood. I save the windproof stuff for my neck gaiter and hat. It has got to be seriously cold for me to use the windproof hat though.