I have plenty of chances to test rain gear, living in Florida. Thunderstorms roll through every summer afternoon at 4PM, and if I didn't want to ride home in the rain I'd never be able to commute. My route is long, so keeping cool(or at least not smothering) is difficult. I started with a Performance rain jacket(not the Century, but a cheaper one). It kept the rain off but didn't breathe at all. I bought a J&G rain cape, but I think rain capes work much better on bikes without drop bars. The rain gathered in a pool between my forearms, which pressed the cape to my forearms, making me hot. Plus, in windy conditions, the cape becomes a bit of a sail.

My ultimate solution in summer rain is to wear a helmet cover, Rainlegs(waterproof chaps), and waterproof booties. I don't mind the jersey getting wet, but I can't abide wet feet. I hear the SPD sandal is the best footwear for riding in the rain, but I'm not fully sold on the SPD sandal yet.

Just purchased the Showers Pass pants and shoe covers.

The pants look great, I like the velcro on the calves to help cinch in the flappy legs. I also got the suspenders - make too much sense. I will combine with my Performance rain coat till I wear it out, then will get a SP coat.

The shoe covers will be an experiment - they are designed for one to cut out the sole to allow the cleat to protrude. I will have to report back on that - I think the hole will have to be quite large to make sure the cleat is available if I unclip at an intersection.

Hopefully this will be the ticket - I really like the SP folks I met yesterday at the post-ride event (after a Century in Oregon), and their stuff is well sealed and affordable. I have their helmet cover on my Christmas wish list, if I can manage to actually succeed at this wet weather commute thing.

As a post script - Goretex is great stuff, I still own one of the original parkas from the '70's with Goretex. But if I want to stay dry, I go full waterproof. Figger that if I need to cover up, it will be best to just ride a bit slower to minimize the sweating. On warmer days, I will just get wet and not bother with the rainpants. But with the Goretex, I just never can take it easy enough whatever the activity that I don't out-sweat it's breathability.

Yeah, I'd like to hear how those shoe covers work. My last pair of cycling shoes that i used for commuting ultimately delaminated from the repetitive soaking and drying processes. So far those are the only piece of equipment that i absolutely no experience with but I'm fairly certain would make my wet commute even more more bearable.