Need your opinion: waterproof shell for cycling.

[Sauce]

Hi, I was wondering if you guys have some suggestions for a waterproof non insulated or slightly insulated shell jacket, preferrably with taped seams. I also need double zips. I'm using this jacket for cycling but I also want to look stylish.

Anything other than North Face and Arcteryx, I am open to. Thanks in advance!

[proteus]

Acronym? Or maybe the Nike tech pack stuff

[djonno]

check out pearl izumi

[adidassler]

burton/iDiom?

[alterion]

I assume you're US based, but the englsh brand howies do really nice jacet specifically designed for cycling. i would reccommend them. The problem with a arc'teryx or a goretex thing is, no matter how "breatable" the fabric its just not designed to be ridden hard and take moisture and sweat and heat going both ways.

Howies put some real thought into the design and idea behind pieces, for example:

Eight miles to work. Eight miles back home Almost every morning, Ade sets off from a tiny little valley in the middle of nowhere, down to Cardigan. Also in the middle of nowhere. When Ade started at howies, one of his biggest gripes was that we didn't make a jacket for his ride in. He was right. So Ade and Gideon (our designer) got together and talked about his ride to work. On a real good day, it would take 24 minutes. On a bad day, it would often take up to 30 minutes. And a bad day was either down to tiredness or the wind blowing hard up against him. Judging by the angles of the trees, the wind would always be a factor. There were four hills on the way in. And five hills on the way home. The result of this was there was lots of warming up on the way up the hills followed by cooling down on the way down.

We termed this type of ride 'high-energy' riding. Short but intense bursts of activity followed by the chill of your own sweat as you went downhill. From what we had now learnt it soon became obvious he didn't need a jacket at all. Yes, he needed something that was showerproof, but the real enemy was the heat he was creating - not the rain. And, of course, it had to be windproof (remember all those trees that lined the road), but more than anything it had to get the sweat away from his body before he cooled down. He needed something to breathe like crazy. He needed a soft shell. So we searched the world for fabrics that could cope with high-energy rides. Although many claim to, when you actually ride in them, well, let's just say - they don't stand the eight miles into work. Let alone the eight miles back home. Then we came across an innovative Swiss company called Schoeller who had perfected a technology called 3XDry. It quickly repels any moisture and is highly breathable. The clever bit is that it removes the sweat from inside to the outside by what is called a push and pull technology. Plus this fabric will dry significantly faster than a normal one.

This helps to prevent the 'cooldown' because perspiration cannot be trapped in the clothing. So you always feel dry no matter what. (Schoeller has also led the world with its environmental approach, such as the recent installation of a wastewater reactor, which was the first of its kind worldwide. That meant it now qualified for the tough environmental standard, the Oeko Tex Standard 100). Then it took many more miles to get the cut right. Shorter at the front. Longer at the back. Arms that are shaped in the biking stance. Pockets that double up as vents. You know - the stuff that only a biker would understand the importance of. They say that the difference between something that is good and something that is great is often small. The difference is often whether you are prepared to go the extra mile.

That's why this soft shell is great.

I would highly reccomend you go play around on their website at howies.co.uk and read the stories behind their jackets. They arn't cheap, but they are less than iDiom or the north face or acrronym. I've handled a few, and the construction is both ethical, environmentally friendly and impeccable.

[hamburglar]

hyvent alpha or gore-tex xcr is thin, beathable, 0 cfm (windproof) and ultra waterproof.

get a jacket that can open in the pits so u can vent out heat without taking off your jacket. all tnf shells have taped seams. northface is expensive but will last forever, if u buy a $80 h&m or street wear brand that looks cool, it wont last.

other bands use the gore-tex fabric but only tnf uses hyvent. gore is very reliable.

[beatle]

Got to second that..

I bike every day - and the North Face Hyvent is all I need..price and performance are 100% in balance

[hamburglar]

hyvent is just as good as gore-tex. i think hyvent alpha is better then gore-tex xcr