Hi all,
I've had a misty mountain cycling jacket for 7 years and its fantastic. I bought it at a great price not knowing anything about jackets and its been sensational but has features I can't find in jackets I see at my LBS and online- looking for some advice.
This jacket had several things that over the years I've really appreciated and think I'd like in a new jacket (or at least a jacket that takes these into consideration)-
1. Long sleeves that pull up easily when hot, and tighten completely with velcro straps when cold. Easy to change while riding
2. These hooks that came out of the end of the sleeve to pull over the middle finger, to ensure the sleeve stayed taut and helped water slide off. These both broke off after a couple of months and aren't really required, but were a nice touch
3. Appeared to be two layered jacket- with outer synthetic waterproof (nothing fancy, definitely not goretex), and an inner mesh lining that really adds lots of warmth. It sometimes gets clammy but not a big deal. (I imagine any new jacket, esp Goretex would be a huge improvement here)
4. VENTING- jacket has a rear vent and pit/arm vents which are amazing, and easy to close with velcro or close permanently with zippers.
4. Collar: reinforced with velcro closure, zip goes all the way up, and its very soft material here. When completely up, this jacket quickly becomes a furnace. Provides amazing temperature control.
5. Rear pocket is huge and my gloves, neck warmer, ear muffs, lights etc permanently live here so I'm never caught without them.
6. Hood which can be neatly hidden with a couple of buttons.
7. Good reflectivity
So... now with a few tears, definite change in waterproofness, and zipper broken, I'm wanting to invest in a new jacket. Surprisingly I can't find any misty mountain jackets (out of business?), and would want something a little more technical which would also support terrible weather road biking, but equally good for daily commute.
I worry about the fit of road jackets, may be too snug (I usually wear a dress shirt under the jacket when commuting to work) and have a big chest, and from sizing charts most for road jackets I would be XXL or XXXL.. although this misty mountain jacket is medium and is loose around the chest!
This is the one I've been eyeing:
Sportful Survival Gore-Tex Jacket AW15 | Chain Reaction Cycles
Road jackets also seem to have smaller back pockets and be designed more for folding up into a back pocket and pulling out when needed. For me, the jacket would stay on, but need good climate control (vents/zips) so I can adjust as needed during the ride.
Anyone have any thoughts on this? I definitely want my next jacket to be "technical" and high quality, but I feel all these jackets I'm seeing in the 200-400 price range may not compare to this old beauty!