Noob here. I thought Goretex was the end all be all of rain gear, until I actually did some googling and found that its permeability is closer to saran wrap than it is to modern waterproof hardshell fabrics. I cancelled my Arcteryx Beta LT order and am looking into Neoshell jackets. The Castelli Dolomiti Xlite has waterproof and breathability ratings of 20k and 40k respectively. That sounds too good to be true. Has anyone tried it? What do you wear when it is raining and hot out and does it breathe well? What about pants?

I have an Arc'teryx Beta AR. Fantastic jacket. I wouldn't go backpacking above tree line without it. I wouldn't wear it on a road bike, either, in pretty much any condition. A fat bike, maybe, if I were going in the snow with lots of stops planned. I can't even ski (XC) in my Beta AR, it just doesn't breathe enough for the exertion even at 15 F.

There are some good jackets for light rain in cool conditions. When it's hot and raining, any extra layer will make you sweat. Do you want to be wet from water coming from above, or from your sweat? If it's warm enough to make tea, I just wear a wool shirt and get wet.

It's a tricky balance to find something waterproof enough yet breathable enough for anything "worse" than casual riding.
It's steamed from the inside or soaked from the outside.
I've lowered my expectations. Can I keep reasonably warm I'm content.
Favourite gear are clothes with breathable panels to the back, and more wind/waterproof panels to the front. Rain chaps work well.

I meant to post this thread in the touring section.

When one is out riding all day in the rain in the summer, ie bike packing, is it not worth wearing a shell? The Neoshell demos on YouTube make it look pretty impressive.

7Mesh Resistance Jacket.
Folded into a small ziplock bag and stored in a jersey pocket when not raining. Slip it on at the first few drops.

Great sale at backcountry right now.


-Tim-

I bought a damn good quality waterproof cycling rain jacket from eBay for $35. Only problem is... it's too damn hot for temps above 60°F and it's not breathable. Make sure the jacket is breathable. I ended up buying one of these for warmer temps....

https://www.adventurecycling.org/cyc...series-jacket/

My eBay Rain jacket almost caused me to have a heat stroke... but it's great for rainy weather and temps around 45-60°F.

I have been using 7Mesh jackets...Revolution, Resistance, and Re-Gen. All are breathable and waterproof. The Resistance is the lightest. I ended up with two of those. I like it so much that I may keep both. I also use them when running in cold, misty, rainy weather. They are far better than any of my Castelli or Specialized gear.

This, except I carry a stuffable rain shell that I can put in for long descents in the rain. Prolonged wind w/o effort = frozen solid, even at temps over 60. For those, I'll use a rain shell.

I have a Hincapie Pacific Rain Shell I picked up for under $20 new on ebay. Foldable, stuffable (or roll and stuff in pocket), kinda stretchy, and I've already used it a couple times unexpectedly and it's an absolute life saver.

I've gone through 5 or 6 various rain type jackets in the last several years... some for cycling, some for hiking, some for just wearing in the rain.

in terms of not sweating myself out of it... the rapha classic wind jacket has been awesome.

In fact, i normally layer it over a ss and ls jersey and wear it down to around 40°F.

I wear it in the rain as well. it's good for a light shower... not to a hard deluge.

https://www.rapha.cc/us/en_US/shop/c...roduct/STJ14XX

I never wear a rain shell, only a wind shell, even in heavy rain. I've done 75 miles in pouring rain at a steady 36° while wearing my Voler Jet Wind Jacket. Packs to the size of a Navel orange, so easily in a jersey pocket.

I really luv the Showers Pass stuff. Their heavyweight jacket I think it is 2.0 is a great jacket. It has pit zips to adjust for ventilation and I don't sweat to death while wearing it. On some of my ultra rides it has saved my bacon many times. On a ride the other spring I was the only to finish a metric ride in a heavy downpour and I credit the jacket to that. It is on the expensive side but I had mine for 5-6 years now. Their lighter weight summer one doesn't breath as well but it still will keep you dry from the rain.

Zman

For me, I don't mind the wet, it's the cold that kills me, and preventing the cold is the rain shell or wind shell. Light thin and stuffable is the criteria that makes it so I might be inclined to carry it just in case when conditions are iffy.

Waterproof wind breaker

Another Showers Pass fan here. I ride in the Pacific northwest and have done some long rides in all day wet in the 30sF and done many winters of commuting 12 miles each way. I now have 3 of their jackets. My first, long "dead", is now a dry weather windbreaker. #2 is the more expensive lined ve3rsion and is a great commuting jacket but too warm and not jersey pocket stuffable. #3 is unlined and I treat it nicely to postpone becoming like #1. Great ride jacket.

All the Showers Pass jackets show their riding heritage. Virtually everybody there rides. Many commute. The jacket reflect that. Everything works. Good fit while riding. I don't even think about mine until the temperature changes, then 2-way zippers and big armpit vents do a lot. (The 2-way zipper also means that you can start the bottom and have the jacket fit over pockets stuffed with food, tools and more clothes while allowing you to bend forward comfortably and not rip that expensive lining on those tools. Also get to your jersey pockets without having to unzip from the top. Nice if it is raining hard!

Now I highly doubt the jacket would keep you dry after riding in the rain all day, then camping in that same rain. I believe the membrane has to start dry to work. So it may just be an expensive windbreaker that second day. (But a very nice windbreaker.) If it were me, I'd bring it and have enough wool/fleece to be warm wearing all of it plus the "windbreaker". (Done too much offshore sailing; brought the clothes and was comfortable and watched others suffer.)

Ben

Ben what I love about the 2.0 is that it is heavy and will keep you war all day in heavy rain. On my ultra rides in the beginning of the ride 50 deg. F feels like that. Towards the end of the ride when you body is stressed out it might now feel like 40 deg. F or colder. That in my mind is when the jackets is worth every penny you pay for it. It breathes so you never get sweated on the inside. Yes since it is made by riders and it doesn't rain in the North West they wouldn't know anything about making a rain jacket.

Zman

As much as I ride I still have to say, that is not an appealing ride to me whatsoever, lol.

Me neither but what do you do in the PNW in the winter? Gotta ride.

Whether one can tolerate WP gear depends mostly on how hard one rides. 75% of the watts we produce are just heat. Gotta get rid of it somehow. Wearing WP gear, sweat doesn't evaporate and no water coming in, so no cooling. Wearing wind gear, sweat still doesn't evaporate very fast, but some cooling water does come in. It's simply a matter of getting one's layering correct. I've tried WP gear, but had to take it off within 5 miles of the start.

The only thing I really care about keeping dry in the rain are my feet. Also I like having a cap with a brim I can flip down to keep the rain out of my eyes. Other than that, as others have said, it comes down to temperature management.

On a 200K earlier this month, it rained hard for about 25% of the ride. 65 degrees F. I was perfectly fine wearing my normal bib shorts and jersey, with a lightweight vest. Towards the end of the ride it got a little windy and cold, and I wished I had a little more, but getting wet from the rain didn't bother me one bit.

Does anyone here use a poncho instead of a jacket? Something like these

Bear

I got frost nip breaking your rule once (on skis). It's a good rule.

I've thought about trying to spray an old pair of arm and/or leg warmers with water repellant shoe protectant spray, like they always try to sell you at the shoe store. I wonder if it would permeate the fabric enough to make them somewhat water resistant. It's just a thought. Has anyone ever tried anything like that?

Yeah I'm just kidding around with you. I go on lot's less than savory rides mysef, lol. Like you said 'what to do'? You gotta ride.

Something remotely like that, but it seemed (at the time) more likely to work. Still didn't.

I bought a bottle of spray-on DWR (durable water repellent) which is designed to work with outdoor gear. You clean a garment, spray coat it, then put it in the dryer and the heat bonds and activates it. A lot of jackets and other items are factory treated with DWR but need it refreshed every season or so. So I tried adding some to a pair of pants that didn't have it originally. No effect.

Has anyone weighed their kit soaking wet vs dry?

Most recommendations seem to be stuff that aren't waterproof or aren't too breathable. Staying waterproof in the cold is easy. staying dry in the summer, less so. From what I'm hearing so far, if it is above 65 degrees or so, a shell isn't worth it. However, I've decided to go with a Neoshell jacket and Shower's Pass pants.

Pretty cool test here: