Uquackmeup
27th November 2005, 22:53
It was 37 degrees when I left for my ride this morning. I figured it was the perfect opportunity to try out and review my new cold weather gear. I’m partial to Fieldsheer products. I’ve been wearing their leathers for over 20 years, so I figured I’d give their Textile stuff a try.
I purchased a Fieldsheer Hydro Tour jacket, as seen at: http://www.kneedraggers.com/details/Fieldsheer_Hydro_Tour_Jacket--506187.html
The all black version looks a lot better than the two-color scheme, in my opinion, so that’s what I got. The jacket is true to size but fits snugly. If you plan on layering, get a larger size. You can check the link for construction specifics, I’ll just comment on its effectiveness. The jacket is awesome. I layered a thermal t-shirt under a regular Beefy-T shirt, with a generic fleece sleeveless vest under the jacket and I was too warm to a point of sweating. One less T-shirt next time should do the trick. I could feel the cold outside but the jacket kept it at bay. I rode about 50 short back road miles with an average cruising speed of 55. For reference, I don’t have a windshield.
The jacket also has zippered vents and a removable liner, which could make it an all season jacket. The included body armor is a nice safety touch.
The second item I purchased was a pair of Fieldsheer Apollo pants as seen at:
http://www.kneedraggers.com/details/Fieldsheer_Apollo_Pant--506192.html
These were the real pleasant surprise. The pants are an accurate fit with plenty of room. They are fully lined (removable liner) and are light in weight. I wore these with only a set of normal briefs under them. They completely kept the wind and cold out but at no point was I sweating from them. These pants are awesome for cold weather riding and at $88., they’re a steal. The pants come with totally ineffective armor, though. Although the quality of the knee/shin protection is acceptable, due to the loose fit of the pants, I doubt the protection would actually be over your knee if you went down. There’s too much room for the armor to float in the pants for it to be effective.
Besides the above mentioned gear, I was wearing a full face helmet and full gauntlet unlined leather gloves.
As I was riding, I only saw two other bikes out. One was a guy on a Road King. He was wearing a leather jacket, and a beanie helmet. When he returned my wave as we passed, I noticed that he wasn’t wearing any gloves. All of a sudden I’m getting cold just thinking about that.
I purchased a Fieldsheer Hydro Tour jacket, as seen at: http://www.kneedraggers.com/details/Fieldsheer_Hydro_Tour_Jacket--506187.html
The all black version looks a lot better than the two-color scheme, in my opinion, so that’s what I got. The jacket is true to size but fits snugly. If you plan on layering, get a larger size. You can check the link for construction specifics, I’ll just comment on its effectiveness. The jacket is awesome. I layered a thermal t-shirt under a regular Beefy-T shirt, with a generic fleece sleeveless vest under the jacket and I was too warm to a point of sweating. One less T-shirt next time should do the trick. I could feel the cold outside but the jacket kept it at bay. I rode about 50 short back road miles with an average cruising speed of 55. For reference, I don’t have a windshield.
The jacket also has zippered vents and a removable liner, which could make it an all season jacket. The included body armor is a nice safety touch.
The second item I purchased was a pair of Fieldsheer Apollo pants as seen at:
http://www.kneedraggers.com/details/Fieldsheer_Apollo_Pant--506192.html
These were the real pleasant surprise. The pants are an accurate fit with plenty of room. They are fully lined (removable liner) and are light in weight. I wore these with only a set of normal briefs under them. They completely kept the wind and cold out but at no point was I sweating from them. These pants are awesome for cold weather riding and at $88., they’re a steal. The pants come with totally ineffective armor, though. Although the quality of the knee/shin protection is acceptable, due to the loose fit of the pants, I doubt the protection would actually be over your knee if you went down. There’s too much room for the armor to float in the pants for it to be effective.
Besides the above mentioned gear, I was wearing a full face helmet and full gauntlet unlined leather gloves.
As I was riding, I only saw two other bikes out. One was a guy on a Road King. He was wearing a leather jacket, and a beanie helmet. When he returned my wave as we passed, I noticed that he wasn’t wearing any gloves. All of a sudden I’m getting cold just thinking about that.