All weather jacket.

I will be riding out of the AZ furnace (115F) in 2 weeks heading for The Rally in OR. I will also be going to Vancouver, Vancouver Island and Menlo WA before returning to hell. Question is, I will be wearing my mesh jacket and do not want to pack a second weather proof jacket for colder riding. I will have Frogg Togs to protect from the rain. What do others do to supplement their mesh.

John

Picinisco said:

I will be riding out of the AZ furnace (115F) in 2 weeks heading for The Rally in OR. I will also be going to Vancouver, Vancouver Island and Menlo WA before returning to hell. Question is, I will be wearing my mesh jacket and do not want to pack a second weather proof jacket for colder riding. I will have Frogg Togs to protect from the rain. What do others do to supplement their mesh.

John

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My summer touring gear is (mix and match as needed)...

- Rain jacket for outer layer. Not just for rain, but also provides a windproof shell when the temps drop. Usually good down to about 55F.
- Mesh jacket. Right now I have a BMW Airshell.
- When the temps drop below 55F, under the mesh jacket a Gerbing heated liner for when it's really cold or fleece jacket when it just cool. With the rain jacket as the outer layer, the fleece gets me from about 45F to 55F. The Gerbing when it's below 45F.
- Evap cooling vest for when the temps get hot. Usually break it out when the temp starts pushing 100F.

I've done four reasonably long tours with this setup (jacket changed recently, but other stuff is the same). Worked well for me from the high 20's to 100+.

I have a BMW Airflow 3 suit for the summer months and LD Comfort shorts and top, but when the temp drops I wear this under the jacket
http://www.aerostich.com/off-and-ri...-jerseys/ultralight-windproof-innershell.html

From 60F to 80F, I wear a long sleeve turtle neck under my CyclePort mesh riding gear. Below 60F, I always wear a long sleeve turtle neck with my Gerbing's jacket and heated gloves. Heat is used as needed. The Gerbings usually acts mostly as a wind block close to the 60 degree mark. Below 45F, I wear the mesh with Gortex liners and the Gerbings. This has worked in snow down to 28F.

My summer gear is similar to alzyck's, except I'm not running any evap cooling gear. I've been using a Rev'It Air Force mesh jacket for 3 seasons now and am really satisfied with it. I have used the waterproof liner that it comes with in warm/wet weather and usually throw my Gerbings jacket liner underneath it for cooler riding. I often commute to work in the middle of the afternoons (80-90F+ in the summer here) and ride home around midnight (sometimes dips into the high 40s, but usually we're talking about 50s-60s) and still be comfortable. On a side note, the coldest weather I have ever ridden in was about 25-28F with the Gerbings jacket and have yet to crank the heat past about 1/3. Definitely one of the best investments (actually Christmas gift) ever!