Originally Posted by
balto charlie
softshell all the way. I never wear my hardshell anymore. I got a Foxwear, powershield. Stops wind, keeps you warm, custom made to fit your size, made in Idaho, inexpensive($80.00), nuff said. I own a Gore wind stopper vest, it is awesome but does not breathe as well as the powershield material from Foxwear. I'll stick a wool sweater under it in extreme temps though.
The owner, seamster is Lou, great down to earth guy. Highly recommended
http://www.foxwear.net/
+1 (or is that +2 in this case as I am the 2nd person to referene Lou). Lou is great to work with. Where else will you get a custom made coat for around $82 delivered to your door. My Evap coat is excellent. It works well in keeping me warm, yet is able to shed tons of sweat without ever getting clammy. I've had a few other "breathable" coats, but nothing comes close to what the modern Fleece coats can do. The way Lou makes the coat is to make the main body of increadily wind resistant fleece. Just try to suck or blow air through it and you'll find it impossible. Yet the material still lets moisture pass out. Along the sides and sleeves Lou uses a thinner and much more breathable material. I went with the lightest material and I sweat a LOT. If I were easily cold I'd go with the medium thickness material. That material I can easily breath through. I might feel cool when I get on my bike, but within a mile or two I am aready starting to pull the zipper down a little. One extreamly cold days (like 15F or less) I will add a thin wind (suppossidly breathable) shell. My shell doesn't breath to save its life, so when I get to work I'll dry it inside out. If you think about it though that coat has the amazing apabilty of keeping me comfy from 20F to 50F without needing to wear anything more than a T shirt underneath. That is a 30 degree temperature swing. With the simple addition of an extra protective layer (or a warmer sweather underneath) it has kept me comfortable down to 2F (with a windchill of -26F... that was a COLD day). That makes for a 50 degree temperature range where this coat works well either on its own, or with a light additional layer. Now that is a flexible garmet.
I also just ordered up a set of winter (powershield) riding pants. My illuminite tights are nice and comfy from around 65F down to 30F, but below that they are simply not wind resistant and warm enough. I expect to be quite happy with the pants from Lou, but I only ordered them last week so I'll have to wait for them to arrive and for the mercury to fall a bit more before I can give a full review.
Happy riding,
André