Quote: Originally Posted by
GrowingStronger .
Thanks, all good ideas. Cotton I know is trouble, I made that mistake one time last fall, I wore a heavy cotton sweatshirt without a base layer, with a synthetic hoodie and a nylon type jacket. In temps just above freezing. And I got progressively wetter and colder, ended up taking it off and was actually a bit warmer, but it was still a tooth-chattering ride that night.
Wool sounds interesting. When I think about what I see in bike shops, the only wool products are hats, socks, neck warmers. Mostly the "SmartWool" brand. In fact, I guess it is something you would have to hunt down in athletic wear anyway, since everything is synthetic. Maybe I need to look at a regular sporting goods store in the hunting department.
I tried a few different base layers - I was disappointed with Columbia's Omni Heat Baselayer, I didn't notice it being particularly warm. I do like the Under Armour Base 3.0, it did a better job keeping me warmer.
I have resorted to carrying a change of Baselayer and the next inner layer in a pack, and when I'm ready to turn around for the return trip I will find a fast food restroom to change in. I don't mind wearing a pack as long as it isn't too heavy. But it would be nice if I could figure out a better system.
When I was commuting once in -15Celcius I was wearing woolen pants... I was looking a bit "fury"
but they were warm...
The cotton pants I was telling about you are these: (They also have them in a more close-fitting with an elastic bands version).
http://www.underarmour.com/shop/us/en/mens-armour-fleece-storm-pants/pid1232731-025
They are not really cotton like these "egyptian cotton" stuff that are so cool and breathable (but soak) in the summer.
They call them "charged cotton fleece" something something. 80%cotton 20%synthetic mix.
They are actually very warm and feel very comfortable. If it rains a bit they are also a bit waterproof (as in water-stain repellent). If its raining hard they soak, but then again everything soaks except wateproof outer shells. Even those soak up if you have washed them 50times, but they do keep the water out more...
You might wanna try something with a gore-tex lining too... Allthough not too breathable they keep lots of water out and they are a bit warm too...