canali

your vote for best waterproof jacket/pants that is both breathable and 'waterproof'?

seeking to buy a new outfit here in Vancouver BC.

i have only seen the Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC) 'Derecho' jacket in more detail
https://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...34374302692343

(like that it has a dual zipper--wish all jackets had that--and even side zips that run all way down too for more ventilation (so even better than pitzips).

any other suggestions for something that is good for all seasons?

hhnngg1

GORE Windstopper stuff is really good for multipurpose riding, IMO. It's probably not enough on its own for <40F, but throw on a compression shirt under, and it's good well below that.

The pure waterproof or very water-resistant stuff doesn't breathe well enough for hard cycling. It's ok if you're riding slow enough that you won't break much of a sweat, but if you're working at all, you'll be drenched with sweat in a typical rainproof breathable jacket. The Gore Windstopper is probably only 'lightly water resistant' but I've used it in fairly good rain and I've been happy with it.

If you get ones with removable sleeves for vest conversion, it's very handy for summer morning rides where it starts cool but warms up quick. I find the windstopper vest is great for that - you can't really overheat in the vest, but it stops the bulk of the wind hitting your torso on a descent. (It will still be cold, but not intolerably so.)

Multiple layers are still remarkably helpful for cycling - I either go no jacket for hot, jersey + jacket for anything 40-65F, and compression longsleeve + jersey + jacket for below that. The compression longsleeve will catch all the rest of the wind that the Windstopper doesn't block (through the sleeveholes and neckhole) and I've done descents that froze my buddies completely while feeling completely comfortable, and not overheating despite going all out on the climb.

Lonewolf48

Showers Pass is water-proof, breathes and has pitzips. Rapha is OK in a light rain, is expsensive but very breathable. Gore rain gear is great in milder weather but doen't breath as well as the other two. I use the Rapha in the summer, the Showers Pass for spring and fall but save the Gore for temps <55 degrees. Just my opinion.

achoo

Simple rules:

If it's breatheable, it's not waterproof.

If it's waterproof, it's not breatheable.

Breatheable fabrics can keep water at bay for a while, but eventually it gets in. Marketing be damned. It's more important to keep the wind off - you might be wet, but you won't be (too) cold.

And waterproof fabrics don't need to let water in, because if you're riding with any effort at all you'll soon drench yourself with sweat. Sweat that the Hefty bag you're wearing won't allow to evaporate.

rangerdavid

gore............

Eclectus

Lots of great stuff out there. They're mostly glomming onto out-of-patent Robert Gore's EPTF. Showers Pass is fine. That's my go-to. eVent, glommed onto post-patent GTX, some molecular tweaking of Robert Gore's original EPTF. With SP you have to buy some ($$) Nikwax wash and refinish to keep it breathable. The combo works.

GTX has been designed to slow the sweat-clogging of native Gore's native EPTF, but at the cost of less "breathability" sans washing. GTX Pro is great. SP Elite 2.0 with eVent is my favorite, even though it clogs faster than GTX Pro. You can figure out how much you want to pay, and what satisfies you.

The "cut" is important. You want some undershell airflow. Adjustable cuffs, underarm pitzips, bottom-up dual zip, back vent, all play their roles.

"Breathability" in your pants is not totally unimportant, but your top is where you are going to mostly notice it. Great jacket and cheap pants is an okay combo.

Eclectus

I love riding Assos bottoms. But I have some Gore Bike Wear, DeMarchi and Craft bottoms too which are really good. They have Assos/Cytech cham pads. Very comfy. On cool-weather tops, GBW is great. I have a Castelli Rosso Corsa Gore Windstopper laminate, it's nice. I ride other stuff with Gore Windstopper laminate. It's really good. If what you ride has "Gore", it's probably a great product.

NealH

I like the Gore Bike Wear garments better than Showers Pass because the fit is better, and better thought out. But the SP garments are good quality and seem to work good for commuting. But I just don't like the fit. Your milage may vary.

The best way to ventilate is to unzip the front. Those stupid "pit" zips or whatever they are called are all but worthless. My advice is to get something waterproof and unzip for ventilation. Nothing breathes all that well.

canali

thanks everyone...i will check out some of the suggestions offered esp sp and the gore line on their websites.

one thing i do like about the mec 'derecho' cycling jacket i noted were the pit zips that run all the way down to the bottom, opening up the jacket entirely on both sides, if you wish...so talk about really amazing ventilation....i haven't seen that in other designs (and their site doesn't show this feature well, but upon trying it on, i thought 'wow...cool...so practical'...just have to research more what is the fabric used, however which shows as ''Entrant®, a waterproof-breathable fabric with Kudos XR DWR repellant''
https://www.mec.ca/Products/product_d...34374302692311