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The weather has changed to rainy, cold, and wet here in Colorado over the last couple of days and that makes me more not less interested in going outside. It also makes me interested in what coats, shorts, water-proof shoes, shells and other gear I have for wet, cold weather. I need something I can trail run and road ride in in drizzling 40 degree weather. I looked through my closet and surveyed my most technical pieces. I have a Sierra Designs basic rain coat, a heavier Mountain Hardwear windstopper fleece, a super light and not even water resistant Go-lite Wisp windshirt, none of which quite work for aerobic activity in this type of weather. The rain coat is fine for taking a walk in the run, but not for high-output aerobic activity; the windstopper fleece is more suited to very cold snowy tempertures and is too heavy for a bike ride or un, and the Wisp shirt isn’t water resistant enough although it was fantastic for a run on the CDT a couple days ago on a windy clear 50 deg day.
So I did some research and added a famous piece of gear to my arsenal, the Marmot DryClime windshirt, a versatile and super light softshell that repels a ton of moisture although it is not water proof by any means.
I took it out for a ride from my place in South Boulder to Eldorado Canyon and gave it a great trial, as it was very wet and cold. I generate tons of moisture and heat quickly as I am a major sweat hog so I can render any piece of technical breathable clothing useless quick. I was scared I would do the same to the Marmot DryClime windshirt that I had just paid $85 dollars but it performed fine. On the way up into the canyon I did have to roll up the sleeves a bit and unzip the coat but I never soaked it through. On the cold downhill on the way back it kept me warm and comfortable. I like how light it is and how simple the jacket is designed. I am hoping to get a lot of uses out this jacket. For fall and early winter alpine runs, there is always the chance of getting exposed to some serious weather, so gloves, hat and serious jacket are needed in case a storm comes up, this jacket should go easily around my waist for such runs and keep me warm down to around 15 degrees in such conditions and in emergency situations where I have too keep moving, perhaps even colder.
