alan s 

fietsbob

DWR surface treatment, key to water beading up, not soaking in,
is OK when new but new does not last long.

a common issue with all breathable water resistant fabrics..

alan s 

fietsbob

Black seems , a less than wise color choice ,

but maybe you have fashion needs when you arrive..

noglider 

I got a Showers Pass jacket a few years ago, but I went too cheap and got one without many vents. Pay the big bucks to be happy.

alan s 

rseeker

I have an old old DWR North Face rain shell that I tried to restore with spray on DWR. I used the whole spraycan and it got me a ten-minute-rain shell. After ten minutes it begins letting water in. I suppose another two or three cans might restore most of the repellance but not enough that I'd trust it on a cold wet backpack or ride. Also, the DWR chemical is toxic af.

rumrunn6

got a pic? really enjoying their waterproof & breathable Transit Pant that I got last year! I got mine a size too large (XXL instead of XL) after a cpl bad experiences with other brands. but it's OK cuz they fit over boots & have 2 velcro straps for each lower leg / ankle

how would you rate their sizing accuracy for your jacket? meaning, is the XL as big or bigger than you expected?

btw their Showers Pass Cycling Jacket Rain Hood - 8006 was on my wish list for a long time but I never bought it

Darth Lefty 

fietsbob

When Washington state renames mountains, and the passes over them.

alan s 

Harhir

I have been looking for a good breathable rain jacket for a while. But I am looking for a tall version since am 6'4" with a tall upper body. Either 2XT or 3XT. Looks like Shower Pass does not offer any tall sizes. Any tall commuters out there who can recommend a jacket?

base2 

I concur. I just bought the Pro Jacket a hood & some rain pants for my kid. He's 5'10 & kind of lankey. Medium fit him well. Over-all, I'm impressed with the quality & features for the price. I'd say it was a smart buy. Time will tell.

acidfast7

Good evening!

I've read quite a bit about people considering showers pass. I looked at them when I wanted a cycling jacket as they're in the same price range as GORE bike wear. However, in both cases I couldn't find breathability specifications (in g/m2) or waterproof specifications (in mm). Is this a cycling-specific phenomenon? As I can easily find it for my XC skiing and other outdoor equipment.

I ended up going with a CMP jacket last year instead as I could confirm that it is 7K/1K, which isn't great but it solid for short commutes.

MAN JACKET FIX HOOD HYBRID, Abbigliamento sportivo uomo CMP Campagnolo

and my current jacket which I continue to get a lot of complements on (3 today from random Brits actually, which is quite nice ... and very rare!)

https://www.rain-couture.nl/us/rain-...nch-green.html

which is at least 10/5, which is solid, plus it goes right from the bike into the boardroom without changing, which is nice.

However, with both GORE BIKE and Showers Pass as I can find is "breathable" and "waterproof" but no actual specs.

Did I perhaps miss them by chance?

Have a nice evening and enjoy the new jacket!

mkblackwell

I'm also 6'4". 36" inseam, pretty long arms - I usually wear a LT or XLT for shirts.

I have the Shower's Pass Storm jacket, in just an L, and find it fits pretty well. If it's raining I'm probably also wearing long fingered gloves with a longish cuff, and no wrist is exposed. I do find the torso length is a tad short in front, but the tail of the jacket is extra long to accommodate a normal riding position, so it works well on-bike and doesn't bunch up in front. The XL was just too baggy and flappy for me.

The breathability of the Storm jacket isn't great, in my opinion. Even though the jacket is well vented it still gets damp inside pretty quickly. A colleague has their Transit jacket and that seems to work much better (but it's also heavier and bulkier when packed).

I also have the Transit pants, in XL, and they fit well. The velcro features to cinch the pant legs are convenient.

I usually wait for the REI 20%-off member days for these types of purchases!

alan s 

revcp 

how the SP jacket really differs much from the REI Novarra that I wear. The Novarra has a long tail that can be snapped up to wear "normally." It has no back vent, but decent vents under the arms. The neck is high and close fitting, so I've never had rain come in. I ride warm, so a light or midweight Merino does well into the 20s. Teens and below I'm now wearing a Black Diamond First Light with active insulation.

Archwhorides 

The SP jacket looks like a nice option, I have their pants and they have served me well..

I now have a Gore Active bike shell that I can use for temps down to 20 F (it is snug, lower than that I need more room for layering). The fabric is nice and *supposedly* Gore's most breathable hard shell, but maddeningly I cannot find published waterproofness/breathability information to back that up. In my own experience the breathability is pretty good and the waterproofness is very good; I therefore wish this jacket had vents, but overall I'm pretty satisfied.

BobbyG

I know that feeling of waiting for rain (or snow) to try out some new gear. As far as the venting, it sounds like it was well thought-out, unlike some of the venting on bikeforums.

acidfast7

I really wanted to invest in some of their gear last year and this year, but unfortunately, I couldn't find those specs either, so I assume that they don't do any quantitative testing, which i fair enough as they're an American firm, from what I can tell and are not legally bound by EU/BS/DIN specifications.

Unfortunately, they lost a sale that way. Mind you, this was in a German sporting goods shop and they were quite frustrated as well and were considering reducing their floorspace as they weren't selling as well as expected at a very high price point.

Anyway, I wonder if they do testing but don't release the info or just don't test at that level?

Would be interesting to know.

pdlamb

I'm a couple inches shorter than you, though I wear XLT casual shirts, so this may be a "grain of salt" recommendation. My SP Transit jacket is almost too long without some bulky layers underneath it. I'd guess the sleeves correspond to 37-38" dress shirt; the front covers to below the leg/torso joint on the bike, and the tail is plenty long to cover my butt when I'm in the drops.

The Transit is a bit heavier as a full three-layer jacket, which has a few implications. As noted, it doesn't pack too well. The fabric also isn't as breathable as some of the lightweight DWR jackets, though this is mitigated by long life (I've been commuting in mine for 4-5 winters, IIRC). It's got good vents, which helps in warmer (i.e., 45-55F) weather, and the neck and sleeves are comfortable against bare skin.

pdlamb

Excuse me if I start sounding crotchety, but this kind of focus on the breathability of a jacket's fabric reminds me of the endless debate on which material makes a better bicycle. After a manufacturer gets through waving a material specification around, there's still the matter of designing and building the darn thing. Some jackets feel like sheets of rubber, or plastic wrap, against your body. In a cool (not cold) light shower, the rider gets to choose whether they're going to get soaked from rain or from sweat. Euch. Some manufacturers take a nice fabric, add thoughtful features like two-way zippers, adjustable sleeve cuffs, pit vents, etc., and make a jacket that's comfortable to wear and which seems to minimize rider dampness at the end of the ride. Or perhaps the design goal is something that will block the wind on a brisk ride in low humidity to prevent evaporative cooling leading to hypothermia. It seems difficult to meet both design goals with a single jacket, unfortunately.

For the record, I think the best bike frame material is the one a knowledgeable and skilled designer uses to make a great bike.

Clyde1820

Good choice.

Did a Showers Pass Transit jacket, a few years back. Great investment. Wonderfully long pit zips, back vent, tall neck area, very waterproof. Wish it could be a tad lighter/thinner and more breathable, but then I've yet to get soaked while wearing the thing ... and that's far more than I can say about any other "waterproof" clothing I have ever owned.

Nice gear.

I'll bet that the Elite jacket is pretty sweet.

Archwhorides 

Crotchety is fine if you are nearing or have reached retirement age, so I am approaching full swing on that score.

Although irritated by the absence of lab test information on Gore fabrics in general, I can offer a more detailed opinion about the Goretex Active material/jacket than my earlier post provided, all based on my own experience with a variety of fabrics while biking, hiking and skiing off the grid. I sweat pretty hard,so I'm particularly critical about fabric breathability.

My Gore "Active" Scorecard:

• Waterproofness: "Excellent", a good as Goretex Pac-Lite and Pro Shell, far better than any softshell
• Breathability: "Quite Good", better than Pro Shell, Pac-Lite, Schoeller C-Change, Marmot Precip. Not as good as Schoeller softshell (which is hard to beat)
• Packability: "Very Good", as good as Pac-Lite, not as packable as Precip
• Abrasion Resistance/Durability: "Quite Good", not as good as Pro Shell, as good as my Shower's Pass pant material, much better than Precip. I took a hard fall on pavement and the material was roughed up but did not tear.
• Flexibilty/Feel: "Excellent", better than any other hardshell I've tried, and almost softshell-like

My ideal commuting wet-weather jacket in all seasons would be a Shower's Pass design (pit zips, etc) with the Gore Active fabric.

srestrepo

I just used nikwax products on a beloved rain jacket an REI brand jacket that I've had for almost 6 years in very adverse conditions as well as a Novara rain jacket I bought on clearance. For both jackets, I started to experience where when it was raining, the water would would besr up but not roll off. I believe that much of this has to do with the fact that at some point the outer layer absorbs grime, dirt, body oils, whatever and so instead of having a nice surface where water rolls off of, it just sits. And while it doesn't necessarily mean this leads to absorption, it doesnt help at all with breathability.

in my case, I used the two pack nikwax - the tech wash and the DWR wash in product. I have used the spray on dwr restorer but it didn't work as well. The results were dramatic. Water beads up and rolls off as it did when new. I cant speak to the durability of this as I just did this three weeks ago, but in the 8 times its rained since, I've been very impressed with my rain gear. I recommend giving it a shot if you feel so inclined.

additionally, I wanted to get some rain pants and couldn't ever find any good reviews on here. Us commuters are a stubborn bunch to some degree and people have come up with all types of strategies on mitigating getting their legs wet or why getting their legs soaked is ok. Anyone have any insight into a good pair of pants that will keep your legs dry, but that dont make you look like an astronaut or some type of safety worker and wont break the bank? I'm not averse to spending up to $100 USD but not without some information first.