Who makes that epic windbreaker? I see there are some of those craft rainjackets on ebay for less than performance is selling them.

I find the illuminite very appealing but apparently it's not available on the kind of coat I want.

I find my leather jacket works in anything except the worst downpours. wish it had vents though. I might get these thing they have at the local military suplus store called a foul weather suit. probably not that breathable though, mabye i can add my own zippers. I'd like one of those REI jackets though, I used to have one but it got lost.

Hi,
I commute all year long. Summers are hot and we have copious rain and snow for the rest of the year. I have been very happy with:

- full fenders (very important for me)
- sandals in summer (feet get wet and then dry off quickly)
- full hiking boots in other seasons
- REI novara rain jacket with tail coverage and pit zips
- fleece jacket with pit zips in winter for wearing underneath rain jacket
- fairly cheap rainpants from J&G of oregon
- goretex overmitts and fleece undergloves in winter
- fleece balaklava for ears and face in winter

It feels like a lot of gear to have hanging in the closet, but I choose a subset of the above depending on the season and do OK. Also keep dry clothes in office and towel to dry off when needed. For the last three years of bike commuting this ensemble has been good.

I like the idea of Goretex boots. At REI last night I was told that not all Goretex is created equally and the only kind worth getting is Goretex XCR for the breathability. Now I'm mainly looking for these boots for temps in Chicago that go from the damp (chilly) 50s down to around 30. After that, I have a feeling more might be needed since I get cold fairly easily. But = any and all feedback is welcome. I use platform pedals for commuting. I'm wondering if just buying the neoprene shoe cover for my regular shoes would be the best option at this point.
Does anyone know anything about the Vasque brand of shoes the REI carries? I saw a trail runner Gortex that could work, but I'm not sure how it stacks up against a mid-hiking boot for versatility/durability.
Oh ... and for keeping my core warm, I swear by my Warmfront (http://www.thewarmfront.com)... it's easy to carry for commutes or even longer rides and easily goes on and off as needed.

Weird. I ordered mine here.

I scored one of these HH jackets for $50 a few years ago and love it - if only I would've bought all they had in my size. Wish it had pit vents like my last jacket. I like the way the whole jacket stuffs into its own front pocket and zips up about the size of, umm, a thick calzone?
I might have to get this HH when my current one wears out. It has pit vents!

Got these Red Ledge pants for $30

Turf King thermal knit gloves ($4.99) in the garden section of Fred Meyer's) down to 30 degrees, snowboarding gloves for the real cold. The Turf Kings aren't really good for anything over a half hour in 40 degrees pouring rain - great for typical drizzle 'round here.

Waterproof boots if it's raining hard, just pack an extra pair of shoes and socks, most of the time, however, and change when I get to work, placing the wet ones near the heater to dry out.

Today was my first day running that craft jacket. It is definitely not my perfect coat but for $70 I am willing to work with it for a season (or more). The burley it is replacing, while more or less ideal fabric and assembly wise, I just didn't want to deal w/ the lo-viz color any more.

Anyway, day 1 and no rain so can't assess the main feature of a raincoat yet.

While on the expensive side, the Taiga cycling jacket is as close to perfect that I've found, and I include the Showers Pass Elite 2.0 and Touring among the jackets that I've tried.

It has plenty of active ventilation, which is so well designed that rain actually doesn't enter even in a heavy downpour. I'm a tough customer, and extremely hard on gear, and I'm simply thrilled with this jacket, although it's only suitable for colder climates.

It's also made in Canada, if country of origin is important to you.

http://www.taigaworks.ca/html/outdoo...opede-162.html

Im' happy to report very quick drying with the epic fabrics, I tried some Brookwood Agility fabric (Epic coated) in a stretch canvas-type pant, on the ride into work today in steady rain.

They were dry in a half hour or so wearing them at work.

And my Epic coat, a more trad nylon windbreaker from Wild Things, seemed to be wetter on the inside than the outside of the fabric and dried in less than an hour as well.

These new Epic coated fabrics are amazing.

but, for a real drencher I'm still going to throw on the waterproofs. probably wore a raincoat 10 times the whole winter in Seattle last season.

As to decent cycling raincoats, and the screaming yellow raincoats, just saw at the shop a basic Castelli raincoat, big pitzips, back vent, taped seams, a huge reflective swach, for 80 dollars retail that looked much more high vis than the showers pass club jackets and much more compactable than the Craft jacket.

The Castelli Goccia-nicest compactable cycling raincoat I've seen for 2009. http://www.castelli-us.com/pc-1051-2...in-jacket.aspx that web ad doesn't do justice to the screaming high visibility of this coat - or the huge reflective stripe on the back of this coat. it's actually impressive. okay, so i bought one today.... I'll get pictures.

here's the castelli - check out the reflective stripe!!!

Very nice. I have to say I am thrilled w/ the performance of that Craft jacket in yesterday's downpours and still good today in ~40F dry over a ss t-shirt. I was definitely drier when I got in yesterday than I would have been in my beloved burley.

I might be crushed to see that Castelli listing for $80 if I paid the $120 list for the Craft but I got it for $72 shipped. Diggin' the hi-viz but more reflectability would always be great. And yeah the pitzips and backflap are all more constricted than I would prefer. But I haven't suffocated in it yet (haven't really worn it above 50F either). I am hoping that REI illuminite coat acquires big flaps and zips in subsequent years. And yeah Showers Pass isn't going to sucker me in w/ rumors of breathability if they can't swing a good blinding hi-viz color.

use the
Altura Night Vision Waterproof Jacket

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/images/altura-al22nev-aw07p.jpg

excellent for heavy and light rain.
also good as a winter jacket, for waterproof protection

i just put another softshell jacket underneath, or a sweater.

for pants, just any waterproof pants

Less thrilled after yesterday's downpour, the coat hadn't dried out by the time I left work, which reminds me that it has more construction or just thicker outer fabric than I really want.

Bekologist: That Castelli jacket looks great! I'm curious how thick/warm the material is. Please let us know how it behaves in rain. I'm hoping I can find an affordable alternative to a Showers Pass jacket, and this looks like it could be a contender.

This company makes nice and affordable rain gear. My wife has one of their jackets, and in my opinion it's much better constructed than a Showers Pass jacket. It's also made in the US, if that is important to you.

http://www.bicycleclothing.com/