Mr. Coffee
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- A Demented Corner of the North Cascades
I often ride with padded liner shorts (Pearl Izumi and REI both make excellent ones at reasonably low prices) covered with very breathable overshorts. Sometimes I just use stretchy compression shorts instead of the liner shorts. Recently I have been experimenting with triathlon shorts, which have less padding but are more breathable and dry out more quickly. You can detect a pattern here that I find it very important that clothing be breathable and dry out quickly.
I have an enormous collection of wicking shirts of various shapes, sizes, and materials. In general I much prefer the loose and flowy over skintight, but still like fabric that has a little bit of stretch. I also like longer sleeved shirts that I can roll up. There are also a few light cotton button-front shirts with great pockets that are very comfortable for riding.
Socks are usually Smartwool or Darned Tough (both are fine). Typically light trail-runners for all but the coldest weather, where I have a pair of snowshoeing boots that are pretty awesome.
In colder conditions I might wear tights or long underwear bottoms (usually the lightest weights are best).
I am a huge fan of wind shells. Wind shells are very lightweight insulating layers that provide little or no rain protection. The very lightest weigh only 3-4oz and pack down to tiny sizes. Slightly heavier versions can be stretchier and have ventilation panels on parts not directly exposed to wind. Again they are *amazingly* warm for tiny amounts of weight.
For rain gear, my go-to these days are Frogg Toggs. They are lightweight, very inexpensive, but astonishingly ugly and not exactly durable. However, they perform as raingear as well or better than clothing costing six times (or more) as much. You can usually find them at Cabelas or Wal-Mart.
Sporthill.com is a good place to find active clothing at reasonable prices, especially for people with non-athlete bodies.
I have an enormous collection of wicking shirts of various shapes, sizes, and materials. In general I much prefer the loose and flowy over skintight, but still like fabric that has a little bit of stretch. I also like longer sleeved shirts that I can roll up. There are also a few light cotton button-front shirts with great pockets that are very comfortable for riding.
Socks are usually Smartwool or Darned Tough (both are fine). Typically light trail-runners for all but the coldest weather, where I have a pair of snowshoeing boots that are pretty awesome.
In colder conditions I might wear tights or long underwear bottoms (usually the lightest weights are best).
I am a huge fan of wind shells. Wind shells are very lightweight insulating layers that provide little or no rain protection. The very lightest weigh only 3-4oz and pack down to tiny sizes. Slightly heavier versions can be stretchier and have ventilation panels on parts not directly exposed to wind. Again they are *amazingly* warm for tiny amounts of weight.
For rain gear, my go-to these days are Frogg Toggs. They are lightweight, very inexpensive, but astonishingly ugly and not exactly durable. However, they perform as raingear as well or better than clothing costing six times (or more) as much. You can usually find them at Cabelas or Wal-Mart.
Sporthill.com is a good place to find active clothing at reasonable prices, especially for people with non-athlete bodies.
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