Mesh: the new cold weather fabric?
 

How often does your back get cold? Bout the palm of your hand? Sometimes, 'breathable' fabric just isn't good enough. I have a couple ideas.

A jacket that is windproof on the front & front/top of sleeves, but with mesh in the back. Maybe the sides could be regular jersey fabric.

Liner gloves where the fingers & thumb would be wool or polypro, but the palm, back & wrist would be stretchable mesh.

dope or nope?

Well, there might be some times that you want the back sids of those articles to be solid. Maybe make the back panels removable, held in place with velcro. I have see cycling pants that the front side was straight up plastic while the back side was stretchable fabric like lycra.

Dan

The first versions of windproof/breathable jackets, in the early 1980s, were made of sweater-like synthetic material (or Italian wool) with nylon panels on the front of the torso and sleeves. The next generation had full nylon coverage on the front and back of the sleeves. Your arms don't generate enough heat while cycling to counteract the cooling effect of wind.

Or ... dress for when you are warmed up. Stuff a newspaper (one folded sheet so 4 pages) under your outermost jersey from below your waist up over your shoulders, ripping a few inches down the center and fold open like a polo shirt. Best p[art. when you warm up, pulling it out and folding or just stuffing into your jersey pocket is easy. And if the weather turns, it can be a ride-saver.

If you can find film/video footage of the rest of the European pro peloton cresting a mountain pass, you will see racers inserting that newspaper to this day like they did 100 years ago. No, not the flashy team leaders. They get handed up real jackets. But their nameless domestiques who have already done their work for the day and are minutes back but have to finish to start tomorrow's stage - there's no one around to hand them a jacket. Getting too cold on the descent could mean getting sick and not being able to support that team leader (and potentially, not getting a renewed or better contract next year. So it's newspaper. Takes almost no jersey space, light, cheap, easy - both on and off - and works really well.

Granted, you won't impress anybody.

One of my favorite baselayer shirts for down to around -8C is mesh on the back.

One of these years someone will invent super materials where the properties can change on the fly. Fabric where the windproofness automatically adjusts based on how warm different parts of your body are. Base layers that can transfer heat from where you are hot to where you are cold. Variable loft insulation that can go from super puffy to completely flat.

The outsides of my thighs get cold for me.

Mesh is not the new cold weather fabric (structure) because it’s been around at least since the 1950’s ;-)

But I hear you: improvement is ever possible! And when it comes to liners, I can write a book about it.

Specialized has a jacket for you!
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/me...ext=64421-6901

Who makes it? Where did you get it?

TY! I don't like the colors, but I like the concept.

I used to wear wool mesh for a Ski mountaineering base layer. These folks make it... Ja Sure, you betcha!

https://www.brynjeusa.com/product-category/wool-thermo/

Its made by Helly Hansen and I got it several years ago. I looked on their website and I don't see it. When I do a search on google I get HH LIFA Active Mesh but when I click through there are no images so it is probably discontinued.

These are great!
 

I have the polypro version of this, works great!