Looking for a winter convertible jacket
 

Hello,
I am in the market for a winter convertible jacket for road biking. I am want to avoid fully waterproof because they do not breathe. I am thinking about either the Canari or Pearl Izumi Elite Convertible Jackets? They are around $100 and the sleeves can be removed?

Does anyone have any experience with these and can recommend one versus the other? Canari seems to be about half the price online.

Thanks in advance.

I have the PI. I bought it here used. It's kind of a conundrum piece of gear. It's not 100% waterproof, yet it doesn't breathe well at all. I use it as a vest more than anything, which works well for the winter commutes.

I love my Arc'teryx Accelero jacket for spring and fall weather. It's water resistant but not proof, although it's made for DWR, so if you shake your arms and torso off every 15 minutes or so, you'll stay dry indefinitely. It lets about 1/3 of the wind through, which winds up being like air conditioning. Not a convertible, though, and it's only got one pocket, on the sleeve. But it works amazingly well for me.

Check out this company.

http://www.aerotechdesigns.com/

I don't know if they have what you are looking for but their quality is good.

I have the Gore phantom II. Good winter Jacket IMO. It gets/keeps you pretty warm. I sweat a lot while riding. In the winter it is no exception after I get my body heat up. This jacket is also windproof. It does have places to breath and on days when it is cold but you get to warm, the sleeves unzip into a winter short sleeve jersey. I personally wouldn't use it in anything over 55-60 though (depending on the amount of wind), because it can get you pretty warm quickly.

http://www.bobshop.de/en/Brands/Gore...=googlebase/en

+1 on this jacket. Not sure what your winters are like, but you can use that jacket for even the coldest of cold days (the teens and twenties) and it's great for spring and fall too. And I agree, it's warm, much warmer than a standard vest.

I have a Sugoi Helium jacket, and IMO it breathes really well for a rain/wind shell. It's not a current model, though, and the one I have isn't convertible. But I'd assume that the current Sugoi wind/rain shell would be about as good as the Helium, if not better.

I'm not sure offhand if Sugoi makes convertible shells, though.

And I'm too lazy to look. ;)