I'm looking for a cold weather and wind jacket. I have a discount for Gore so...

I know that Windstopper is great for the wind and with proper layering works well for cold. Pac Lite is a lightweight form of Goretex and is waterproof. I always thought that waterproof will also be windproof too (although not visa versa). Is this a correct statement? If so, the Pac Lite with sufficient layering solves all of my needs.

I'd love to hear about your experiences.

Thank you.

I can speak about Castelli. I have a Castelli soft/wind/water resistant jacket I bought last year. It is by far the best jacket I've ever owned/worn. Though it cost $175 it is well worth the cost.

If we're talking real cold weather, as in snow and sub-zero temps, windstopper works great.

Windstopper is not a good choice for your jacket near freezing because it has a lower water permeability rating than say pac lite. In this regard windstopper is fine for a light sprinkle but, it will eventually allow water to pass through during a steady rainfall and eventually melted snow can get in unless you shake it off.

Basically when you compare those two fabrics you're looking at breathability and the size of the pores in the fabric, windstopper has larger pores while paclite has smaller pores. The smaller pores of pac-lite give you better protection from the elements but, you trade off the breathability which is important during aerobic exercise.

Having said all this, the pac lite is a more versatile fabric though and if you can get pit-zips on this jacket it should perform well enough.

Jacket choice also has a lot to do with speed and effort expended. I love Windstopper (and Polartec Windpro) and Paclite and have several articles of both. For cycle commuting, I'll use paclite pants under a wide range of conditions, but I generally prefer some sort of softshell like Windpro for my jacket choice unless I'm expecting a.) very cold temps b.)very high winds, or c.)significant precipitation. Generally it has to be below 25F or significantly precipitating for me to switch from a softshell jacket or vest to a hard shell. OTOH, if I'm not on my bike, I'll usually wear a Gore-Tex hardshell over fleece for any precipitation or any temperature much under 40F.

Depends on what kind of winter you have and how you ride. If it's truly cold and you're likely to break a sweat, there's really no need for waterproofing, and all the more need for a windproof and breathable shell. Pit zips and such for ventilation are better than nothing, but I prefer overall breathability when it's cold.

what did MAK get? how's it working out? I just use a cycling specific rain jacket and 3 layers under; sometimes just 2 layers. a base; a fleece shirt and a fleece vest. depending on the temps I subtract the vest or the shirt. I prefer to keep the vest for it's pockets

Nothing wrong with spending $175 on a jacket but if you are on a budget, the jacket is the best place to save. Just about anything will do if it breathes, breaks the wind and at least resists water. The better places to spend money are on the legs, hands, head and feet.

I like my Pearl Izumi, $100 bucks lifetime warranty.

see, I knew someone could break wind for less than $175! :-)

And since I bike to work, I have no use for gas!

+1

for the core you can always just bulk up a bit more -- throw on another hoodie or, you know, stuff some newspapers in you shirt or whatnot. but the hands and feet? they get cold fast and need to have some degree of agility.

if you want to spend $100, buy two $10 sweaters and an $80 pair of gloves.

Regular 3-ply Goretex is not a good idea if you are going to sweat a lot. I find that a Windstopper Cycling jacket with some layers of wool and polyunderwear is good down to at least 10 fahrenheit.

While not entirely untrue, I've found that my comfort level increased *dramatically* once I bought a windproof jacket and pants, vs the fall-level stuff with additional layers that I was wearing before.

To be fair, biking for over 2 hours is not an uncommon occurance for me in winter biking, and I think the truly windproof layer is more important the longer the ride (though purely comfortwise, it's still better for short rides).

I'm not trying to entirely disagree though - I would recommend get good stuff for the hands and feet first.

+2 ... spend money on gloves (I use downhill ski gloves made for -40c). For pants I bought good rain pants and I layer long john`s depending on how cold it is (one layer merino and one layer polar for when its really cold). I use my normal cheapo Exus clipless shoes with wool socks covered by booties all winter long.

I have about seven different pairs of gloves to vary through the seasons, same thing with tuques and face coverage tons of options especially since I need to wash them more often, I need backups ... I use the same raincoat all year long and layer underneath it ... same with the rain pants, one pair and use layers depending on the temp.

My recommendation would be to follow this order:
1. Search through everything in your possession to see if you can find adequate wool sweaters, wool socks, thermolite insulated gloves, anything light and polyester that might serve as a base layer.
2. Buy polyester base layers from Target. Also look at their exercise pants, which for $20 seem pretty close to cycling tights and are somewhat insulated (but not windproof).
3. Buy a good quality balaclava from a bike shop.
4. Get a pair of reasonable quality thermolite gloves from Walmart. Make sure they will be tight around the wrists.
5. Buy a windbreaking layer. REI and Nashbar have good windpants. Nashbar has the Rainshield O2 Cycling Rain Jacket which is a windbreaker.
6. If you don't have a couple of pairs of wool sweaters, head to the Goodwill.

I think that's the cheapest way to get outfitted. When you have all this, you won't have the best quality gear, but you'll be warm.