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!

You may not like the fit of the Phantom but it doesn't look like the one you linked fits any differently. I like the Phantom. I own two of them now. A 1.0 and a 2.0.

Robot Check

There are a lot of good soft shells out there.

I got a Shimano Storm Jacket on sale ($50 at Nashbar) a couple of weeks ago and like it pretty well, although we haven't had any rain yet so my experience is limited. I just needed something a bit lighter than my Columbia Gore-Tex/Thinsulate parka. This review of the Shimano jacket covers most of my own impressions well enough, so I won't repeat the reviewer's points here. I'll just mention a few observations:

So far the Shimano jacket has been comfortable between the high 30s-60s. It's very wind resistant. A couple of rides I felt a bit overdressed wearing a cotton t-shirt and cotton long sleeve jersey under the jacket. A proper wicking underlayer might have felt more comfortable - I just ordered a fancypants Izumi base layer undershirt, so we'll see how that goes.

The elastic inner sleeve and Velcro strap outer sleeve seem very effective. (The reviewer describes it in more detail, with photos.) I was surprised to find my wrist feeling a bit damp after a ride. Never thought of myself as having sweaty wrists. Now I make sure the elastic is on top of my jersey sleeve.

The rear vent is good, but I'd like to have armpit vents as well. I'm tempted to have the jacket modified by adding some metal mesh grommets to the armpits. I wasn't soaked from sweating during a recent hour-long ride in 60-something degree weather, but felt just a bit clammy. Armpit vents would help.

The fit seems to match Shimano's guidelines. I'm 5'11" and 165 lbs with 42" chest, long torso and average arm length for my height. The large fits me well, and leaves room for a sweater without feeling bunched up or tight. It fits just a bit loosely under a single layer, or t-shirt and thin overshirt. I don't ride fast, don't wear tight fitting cyclist garb, and didn't need a tight fitting jacket to cut down on wind resistance. A more demanding rider might find the Shimano jacket too loose and bulky.

For commuting it offers adequate reflective touches in the piping, etc., but I may add some reflective tape across the back. I got the sky blue with hi-vis greenish/yellow forearm sleeves.

For Texas, it's just about perfect. With layers I expect it'll be comfortable down into the 20s (although our winter so far has been ridiculously mild - more like a very early spring). And it's been comfortable enough up to the 60s. But, again, no idea yet about rain resistance, so I'll defer to the reviewer in the linked article.

I have a Shower's Pass Portland Jacket https://www.showerspass.com/products...ortland-jacket.

But Mostly I go with a Carhartt Safety Parka Neon Lime with wide reflective stripes ..
High-Visibility Class 3 Waterproof Jacket

for the long, dark season. Practical & not a follower Of racer fashions. YMMV.

Those jackets look really good for the money. A bit more than I could afford, but worth considering.

Its a heavier laminated fabric with some Insulation . pit zips

tail snaps up to hide reflective on the back for Not looking so Bike Jacket.