Yeah, that's a lot different than my 6-mile city commute. No major hills, one bridge is the biggest climb. And your loaded bike is more than twice as heavy as mine! The jacket works well for me. I also ride mellow, I don't feel like I need to race to work.

Worthwhile to note that "winter" is way different for many of the replies here.

J.

I'm a mellow rider too, and certainly don't race to work either, but sometimes after a long day and the mile long 15% grade on the way home it feels like it was........even on those perfect summer days when I ride my road bike. The joys of middle age.

Lol it's always kind of funny.

"Looking for a winter jacket - I want to bike through winter even when it gets really cold into the 40's (fahrenheit)"
"Looking for a winter jacket - I want to bike through winter even though that's our rainy season"
"Looking for a winter jacket - I want to bike through -10F temps"

Do not know if you still get this but this is the best Winter jacket I have ever owned. Wool T-shirt and wool longsleeves and I am good to og. Keep my shirt at work.
Specialized - Deflect? Hybrid Jacket customer reviews - product reviews - read top consumer ratings

I just picked up one of these at Costco. I have not had the opportunity to ride the bike with it yet... but I plan to do it this week. It is extremely light weight.. 12 ounces, but I'm stunned by how it helps you retain your body heat. I would think it would be fine down to about 25 degrees if you're being active (cycling) and it is windproof and water resistant. I think with a full zipper in front, you should be able to adjust your ventilation. With it being so light weight, I would imagine that it would not lay on your back if you were riding 10+ mph with it fully unzipped.

Patagonia Men's Nano Puff® Jacket

Way, way too hot for cycling. This is meant as an insulation layering item for sports like skiing.

At 25F, I wear an Aerotech thermal jersey and a light weight capilene base layer under a soft-shell jacket.

I have one of these patagonia jackets like you note above. You're going to want something lighter and better wicking for aerobic sports in winter time.

Great jacket though. It's one of those jackets that everyone should have if you are doing things like skiing etc...

J.

I got the light weight fabrics, and I wear it from 50 down until the roads get too slick for me to ride on. Last year I rode until the temperatures got down into the teens and wore 2 baselayers under it.

I've got the Showers Pass Transit Jacket. Sizing seems to be a bit on the large size, but it is ok. I also had the earlier Burley Jacket.

Anyway, I typically just wear the jacket over Fleece. It is reasonably waterproof (good for Oregon). And, I'm fine from about 20°F up to about 40°F, and even into the moderately warm weather. Zip up the sleeves for really cold weather, otherwise they're normally open.

It can be chilly starting up, but I'm ok once I get the blood flowing. When I was in Portland, I'd start my cold mornings with a pretty gnarly hill climb that would always get me warmed up.

I also have a jacket from REI which the sleeves come off completely. I find it is a bit of a pain as they're always trying to come apart at the wrong time. But, some people like the vest option.

Great input, thanks.

The Power Stretch tight I have have really gotten my attention. They are good in fairly stiff wind, down to cold temps (10 to 15F) with just cycling shorts on underneath. Having that in a jacket would be way too warm and I was concerned with even the light weight stuff being too hot. But it sounds like it would be perfect.

J.

BTW, Showers Pass has their softshell winter jacket on sale right now for about 40% off. I just ordered one because I like their Elite rain jacket so much.

That is my exact same setup. Works great - jacket works all year around with just varying the number of layers underneath. My under jacket is a fleece jacket and it has a pocket that could hold whatever I need.

I find that the venting in the back helps me be comfortable for longer by minimizing the temperatures from too hot to too cold.

Dress in layers. If you are a little chilly when you start out, think that once you hit the bridge you will probably be feeling just right. You'll know how many layers to wear with experience. I have a Pearl Izumi jacket that is nice and warm as the front is wind proof and all, but the back is almost all meshy material. It is pretty tight fitting though, you may find something else that they offer that isn't. It really all depends on how much money you want to spend. I'm sure if you spend enough, you'll find something you like. My strategy is to find somethign that works well for ~40 degrees, then add layers as appropriate. I recently got a Sugoi Zap Jacket that I have taken on all of 2 rides...it worked really well but I can't attest to how great it is until I get more rides.

I gave it a try yesterday (Patagonia nano puff.) I commute on an e-bike so I can easily vary the level of effort on my commute. The jacket was perfect on my morning commute with a temperature of 34 degrees. I just had on a long sleeve polyester type of shirt underneath. The afternoon commute the temp was about 40 degrees. I opened up the zipper about 1/3 because I was getting a bit warm. With just over a mile to go I had a flat tire on my e-bike (not an easy fix and I would have been fixing it in darkness within 20 minutes) and I walked the bike toward home. I had to remove the jacket after the first 1/2 mile... it was too warm. I suppose that had a lot to do with the airflow you get while riding vs. walking. I think I'll continue to use it for temps up to about 45 degrees for commuting. If I'm not on an e-bike, I don't think I would ride with it in temps above 35.

It's a jacket for e-bike commuting. I'm not really trying to work up a sweat... so I'm not too concerned with it's wicking ability. I also got it a size larger than I normally wear so that it does not cling tightly against me. I like a little cool air flow when it does start to get a little too warm. As far as something lighter... the thing weighs 12 ounces - it's lighter than nearly all of my other cycling jackets. It worked great as an insulating layer on my 50cc scooter commute this morning (I haven't had time to fix that flat yet.)

I have a couple of nicer Primaloft insulated jackets very similar to the Patagonia Nanopuff in terms of weight and insulation. It is a good jacket for right at around freezing, but can get warm even then if you're riding hard. I find it works well for a short, relaxed commute, or if you were touring/camping it would be a good warm up layer for really cold early mornings.

I think a really good compromise for a more moderate pace at just below freezing up to maybe 45-50 degrees would be a jacket with a similar insulated/windblock material on the chest, but a stretch fleece backed material on the back and arms. Off the top of my head I can think of cycling specific jackets from Giro, Bontrager and Castelli. Other folks also make lots of hiking/climbing vests with a very similar construction available at any local outdoor store as well.

I have the Bontrager Ernest jacket (an older all black version) which is listed as casual wear, but also works great for riding. It kept me warm enough on a metric century about a year ago where the temp hung at 40 all day long.

Sorry, forgot to say, my commute is 5 miles each way and I tend to ride as aggressively as I can without getting sweaty. I usually take it pretty easy on the uphill part of the bridge though. It typically takes me about 30 minutes if I hit an average amount of lights, but my record is 21 minutes on the way home basically sprinting the whole way. I have tried using a very thin North Face rain shell with pit zips on days where it is in the low 50s, but again my forearms are and back get no air and I get very sweaty on the bridge climb.

I've got an REI jacket that's pretty similar to that Shower's Pass jacket. Below 35 degrees I need a thermal shirt as a base layer. Above 45 degrees and I start to get sweaty with just a thin polyester shirt under it. Then again, I start to sweat pretty quickly when I get into the aerobic range. There's nothing I could wear that would get me to work in a dress shirt that was still presentable. I just change (into T-shirt and jeans) when I get to the office. As has been said before, layering is pretty key. Arm pit zippers are also important.