October 30, 2019
Foul Weather Gear
Joni says that as she saw reports of foul weather while we were out in this trip, she worried for a moment, but then thought "Oh, the parents will be loving this".
It's a bit extreme to think that we might love extreme weather, but we do love looking at and buying gear. And extreme weather is a fertile area for looking into all sorts of gear choices.
Our "interest" in foul weather gear first blossomed when we rather foolishly pedaled out of our driveway and down the Pacific coast, beginning on December 6 (2012). At that time we were equipped with what seemed the best wet weather stuff, from suppliers like MEC and REI. We had waterproof and warm gloves, rain pants, boot covers, waterproof socks, and Eddie Bauer rain parkas - named for a wild local river, the Nisqually.
But, under the assault of the relentless cold rain (and sleet), each of these pieces eventually failed to some extent. A typical extract from the blog then reads like this:
"Once we took off our parkas, we found that water had forced in at the throat, and anywhere else there was a zipper. We were not soaked underneath, just wet. The gloves - have now been in the dryer for an hour - still damp."
More than anything, it was the gloves that just did not work. Maybe we could have guessed from some of the careful wording used in the descriptions. Words like "all weather", "all season", and "xtreme". were common. And with "waterproof", the same manufacturer could have a "waterproof" model, and a costlier "xtreme waterproof" type model. Naively, we thought that "waterproof" meant waterproof. Hmpph. In retrospect, though, maybe different meanings of waterproof are legit. After all, smart phones today have different levels of waterproof rating. Clearly the manufacturers could not imagine what the Grampies could do to their gloves. Dashing to the office on a quick 1/2 hour ride in a shower was probably what they had in mind. Cycling all day in a horizontal hell storm was what we had in mind!
In the end, we reached the conclusion that the only gloves that were actually "Grampies waterproof" were rubber dish gloves. These commonly have the advantage that they are yellow! But if you look at your dish gloves you will see that they commonly are quite a tight fit. We needed something that could also fit a wool glove inside. But ok, we found that. The disadvantage of such a set up is that its quite impossible to get your hand out to take a photo. Also, once your hand is damp, it does not want to go back into the glove arrangement.
This year, enticed by what looked like yet another "waterproof" claim, we went for a glove from MEC called the "Cloudburst" ($55). It sounded good, but when it came in the mail, we realized that it's fluffy inner lining would no way admit a damp hand. But wait, how about this - the Showers Pass "Crosspoint". This was a knit outer layer, a waterproof membrane, and a bonded merino wool inner layer. We tried it in the store. To do that I waited in line at the one washroom they have in the store, and when my turn came I just ran my hands in the gloves under the tap. Then I made my hands wet, crudely dried them on my pants, and yes! they went into the still dry interior of the gloves. Sold! ($60)
Out in the Gulf Islands rain, these gloves held up well. The exterior became water saturated, but inside they were dry. And there was little reason to take a hand out of the glove, since they were flexible enough to operate the camera. Also Dodie found that once wet, the gloves could also control the smart phone. What a winner. I liked these gloves so much that I started to wear them in dry weather, in preference to my Gore "Windstopper" long finger cycling gloves.
Circulation in my hands in notoriously poor, however, and I found that in temperatures under about 10 degrees, the hands were cold in the Crosspoints. So today we picked up something that though interesting, could ultimately could destroy the beauty of the Crosspoints. These are seam sealed "Deluge" overmitts. We were thinking that they could improve the warmth of the Crosspoints while also being fairly waterproof. But now we are back with the on and off difficulties, since it takes a bit of work to get the Crosspoints into the Deluges. The Deluges themselves are completely uninsulated, so even if maybe waterproof can not be used alone. See, we never said this was simple!
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Footwear is another tricky area. Even if you have Goretex lined shoes (like Dodie) or tough leather closed toe moccasins (like me), a heavy enough rain will fill both from above like Champagne slippers. You need shoe covers, and then waterproof pants that will overlap the covers. I think back in 2012 I captured one main problem about the shoe covers when I wrote:
" These things have several velcro tabs and straps, and unless you are a flamingo or a gymnast are almost impossible to put on just standing in a road. "
If you look at our photo from 2012, you see that the booties did not fully cover the bottom of the shoe. That is good, if it looks like you might have to walk a lot. But the arrangement does make for all those straps, and the difficulty of getting the bootie on.
The alternative is a bootie that is like a sock. It fits over the whole shoe and uses no straps. The disadvantage is that the sole of the bootie is now what hits the road. It is thin nylon- how long can it last? Plus, the manufacturers have in mind people with narrow and light cycle racing shoes. Great clunky leather mocs will require their extra large sized booties, and these seem to have acres of fabric, to make you feel like a duck when walking. No matter, I just returned my smaller ones and ordered the duck ones.
Rain parkas are another potentially frustrating area. Assuming that you do up the zippers really well, they will protect you for a while. But a really blasting rain will eventually get in. A semi decent breathable parka costs $100-$200 (some are much more). It seems to us that regardless of price, the breathable membrane will begin to flake in one to three years, while the beading of water on the exterior will stop in one to three months. You can try washing with "DWP" (durable water protection). I put myself in hospital one time, from inhaling a waterproofing spray sold by REI. Our cycling friend Art Birkmeyer, who lives in Longview Washington - on the Coast, asserts that only fully waterproof "rubber" type shells are actually and durably waterproof. He is probably right. How many fisherpeople, or for that matter, fire fighters, wear Patagonia and "H2No"? But we need light weight and probably the breathability, so it's a necessity to keep buying new shells.
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In fact, no longer do I ride in rain unless I get caught in a freak storm. Cold, below freezing, is easier to deal with than wet cold below 65F.
Years ago, I commuted 12 miles to work, and kept shoes dry using bread bags and rubber bands. Single use, of course, but it worked. Later, I made waterproof shoe covers up to mid-calf with open bottom. Cumbersome, but it worked. Hardest part was figuring out a good hold-down system. Since I retired nearly 11 years ago, I've now forgotten how I did it.
5 years ago
I've been waiting for this post because I've been considering the Crosspoint gloves too. I have some warm cycling gloves that are supposedly waterproof, but they haven't been tested because, well, I don't ride in heavy rain if I have a choice and I didn't take them on my tour because they'd have been too warm.
I have found my (very expensive) Showers Pass Elite 2.1 jacket works very well. I think I've had it for 5 years and it's still going strong. It's kept me dry during all-day rain many times. Living here on the Wet Coast, I own several waterproof jackets for various purposes and this one is specific for cycling (and all jacket applications when touring). It's loose-fitting so ideal for tours because I can fit warm layers inside. There's a fabric flap behind the zipper which makes a difference when it comes to leaky zips. I have the add-on hood as well which helps if the weather isn't too hot.
With respect to shoe covers, for me, the ones for touring have been the MEC Cloudburst. I had the originals and they were tricky to put on over my bulky shoes, even though they opened fully at the back. When I got new shoes, my old covers no longer fit so I got new ones. The updated model is much better because it goes on loose and then is snugged with velcro straps. I can put them on standing up (which I certainly can't do with my road shoe booties). They don't seem super-durable but mine survived my wet tour in Brittany with plenty of life left. They are only $35 CDN so if I only get a couple of years out of them, I'm happy.
5 years ago
5 years ago
5 years ago
Dodie tried the MEC Cloudburst covers in the store and ruled them hard to get on. But now we are thinking she had too small a size, so we'll go back and reconsider. On this trip she used something I didn't mention - waterproof socks in Goretex shoes. She seemed happy with that, though the socks looked uncomfortable to me. Last time we tried waterproof socks they ended up stinking because they did not breathe. So far we have not seen that this time.
Definitely the Cloudburst covers will last longer than the total bootie idea, since the sole of the total bootie can not possibly survive being walked on much. It was refreshing in MEC having a sales associate say "Don't buy those, they'll never last"!
5 years ago
On my very first long distance ride (Seattle to Jasper, 1978) it was garbage bags over the panniers. When we finally got our hands on Ortlieb waterproof panniers it revolutionized our cycling lives!
5 years ago