Gore Jackets

jpower

Preparing for the colder times ahead.

Been looking at jackets for a while, finally decided I will go for a Gore jacket but not sure which one.

There are some that have detachable sleeve so am thinking that may be more versatile. Would love to know the breakdown of which is for what conditions, honestly it will be my only jacket so as versatile as possible is what I am looking for.

Any advice or current offers on the range appreciated Or feedback from owners.

70\ʹspenguin

Gore are well made. The phantom with detachable sleeves is very nice and very warm. Too warm for me hence I'm selling mine in the classifieds.

jpower

70\'sPenguin wrote:

Gore are well made. The phantom with detachable sleeves is very nice and very warm. Too warm for me hence I'm selling mine in the classifieds.

The Phantom is looking very promising, looked at your ad, I wanted a bright red for visibility.

70\ʹspenguin

If you don't run hot then I'd recommend it. I found anything more than around a few degrees above freezing and i was just too hot. Was great for autumn / winter short commutes though. The phantom is quite a relaxed fit. Im large in pretty much anything non italian made and i can easily wear a medium in this.

DKay

I had a Gore Phantom as well and with the sleeves on, I found it too warm for anything above 8 degrees. With the sleeves off, it made a pretty good windproof gilet and it's nice to have the versatility, although I didn't like that the short sleeves were quite 'flappy'. The detachable sleeves are also pretty bulky to store in a jersey pocket too (much more bulky that arm warmers). It was totally windproof and water resistance is just like any other softshell. Well made though.

As already said, it's a pretty loose fitting garment. I bought a small, but it sized up far more like a medium which is why I sold it pretty cheap.

jpower

Interesting, does anyone have experience of the Alp-X jacket? Seems there more breathability in it, and sleeve off option. Also fit and sizing advice on this one. Also notice slight different in the naming, most sites have Gore Alp-X 2.0 SO Zip-Off Sleeves, the SO part being the difference, then there GT, are there different version?

terttalisn

good,It was totally windproof and water resistance is just like any other softshell. Well made though.

jpower

Oh man, I see Phantom 2.0 can be picked up for £90 the Alp-X for £130 quite a difference. Normal person thinks of the saving, I am thinking whay is it yo get for the extra?

Also confused on sizing, Normally a medium and according to there size charts I'm at the top end of the small, so not sure which to go for, I think mentioned above the come up slightly big?

jpower

SO vs GT - GT is goretex versions and more expensive but fully waterproof usually lighter too. SO is the softshell which is rain resistant, seems it takes a fair bit of rain anyway.

Alp-X vs Phantom - Seems to be just that sold differently, Alp-X is one of there main mountain bike premium range line-up, whereas the Phantom just seems to be a Phantom

So considering the Phantom SO and Alp-X SO don't seem to offer too much difference think I will side with a phantom, now the fun part to see where I can get the best price.

DKay

If you're normally a medium, then the small size of the Gore should fit you fine. I'm normally a size small in pretty much everything (163cm, 58kg and low body fat) and the small Phantom hung off me like a duffle coat and the sleeves were way too long. It's definately not a race fitting garment. However, my experience is of the older Phantom and not the newer 2.0 version. So bear that in mind.

If your budget is around the £100 mark and you fit a medium, then you may want to consider the Castelli Mortirolo Due jacket which is on offer at Evans Cycles. I've just bought one and it's a lovely bit of kit. It does everything that the Gore does with the exception of the detachable sleeves, it's beautifully made and fits much nicer of you're of a slim build.

jpower

DKay wrote:

If you're normally a medium, then the small size of the Gore should fit you fine. I'm normally a size small in pretty much everything (163cm, 58kg and low body fat) and the small Phantom hung off me like a duffle coat and the sleeves were way too long. It's definitely not a race fitting garment. However, my experience is of the older Phantom and not the newer 2.0 version. So bear that in mind.

If your budget is around the £100 mark and you fit a medium, then you may want to consider the Castelli Mortirolo Due jacket which is on offer at Evans Cycles. I've just bought one and it's a lovely bit of kit. It does everything that the Gore does with the exception of the detachable sleeves, it's beautifully made and fits much nicer of you're of a slim build.

Thanks for that, had a look, problem is I want a bright colour, well red just for visibility on the road, seems they only have the grey black available.

StorckSpeed

Look Here,

This gives great advice on sizing and suitable temperature range, (they're not always the cheapest so shop around).
http://www.tgstore.co.uk/mens-cycling-jackets/
SO - Softshell (more like a windstopper jersey)
GT - Gore Tex
AS - Windstopper Active Shell, more like a GT jacket with Windstopper material.

Gore Tex is completely waterproof but I wouldn't recommend it above 6deg, it just gets too hot.
Windstopper is much more breathable than GT, the material is waterproof but seams aren't sealed so you will get wet after a while.
A Softshell can be worn as an outer or mid layer. Or if preferred next to skin.
A windstopper Softshell is warmer than an AS jacket.
I live in the North of Scotland and wear my old style Gore Phantom Softshell 3 seasons of the year, with various layers underneath. I did the Etap Caledonia in May this year with it on too, and never needed a waterproof outer layer unlike most others.
Buy it, you'll never look back.

jpower

StorckSpeed wrote:

Look Here,

This gives great advice on sizing and suitable temperature range, (they're not always the cheapest so shop around).
http://www.tgstore.co.uk/mens-cycling-jackets/
SO - Softshell (more like a windstopper jersey)
GT - Gore Tex
AS - Windstopper Active Shell, more like a GT jacket with Windstopper material.

Gore Tex is completely waterproof but I wouldn't recommend it above 6deg, it just gets too hot.
Windstopper is much more breathable than GT, the material is waterproof but seams aren't sealed so you will get wet after a while.
A Softshell can be worn as an outer or mid layer. Or if preferred next to skin.
A windstopper Softshell is warmer than an AS jacket.
I live in the North of Scotland and wear my old style Gore Phantom Softshell 3 seasons of the year, with various layers underneath. I did the Etap Caledonia in May this year with it on too, and never needed a waterproof outer layer unlike most others.
Buy it, you'll never look back.

Just the words I wanted to hear. Just waiting to see if wiggle will do a price beat.

Thats the site I used to try and workout size, and I kind of cross the S and M numbers, looking at what others are saying, seems like I should so for Small as most seem to have gone a size down

DKay

jpower wrote:

Thanks for that, had a look, problem is I want a bright colour, well red just for visibility on the road, seems they only have the grey black available.

Merlin have the brighter blue and white Mortirolo for under £100.

http://www.merlincycles.com/castelli-mo ... 67209.html

jpower

DKay wrote:

jpower wrote:

Thanks for that, had a look, problem is I want a bright colour, well red just for visibility on the road, seems they only have the grey black available.

Merlin have the brighter blue and white Mortirolo for under £100.

http://www.merlincycles.com/castelli-mo ... 67209.html

Thanks for looking out. I think I am pretty much decided its the phantom for me, the Mortirolo is far more fitted and I hate people looking at how good my physique is so I think the phantom is a better match in the fit department.

jpower

It's done got a S and M on order and even better managed to get it for £70 (each that is), will return the one that doesn't fit.

sloppyschleckonds

Gore tool or active shell. The rest looks like you should be riding a mounting bike

jpower

Question, so for the rainest of days if i was to add http://www.karrimor.com/karrimor-x-lite ... ens-452004 over the top of the phantom, do you think it would keep the water out from the base layer?

DKay

jpower wrote:

Question, so for the rainest of days if i was to add http://www.karrimor.com/karrimor-x-lite ... ens-452004 over the top of the phantom, do you think it would keep the water out from the base layer?

I wouldn't think so and besides, it's a running top with a hood. Get a proper shell waterproof made for cycling if that's what you want. Should be quite cheap to buy one in he current sales.

Alternatively, I'm beginning to think that you should have bought a Castelli Gabba at it's current reduced price of £90, if water resistance was an important factor in your buying decision.

jpower

Not at all, I'm thinking phantom will handle most rain, just looking for lightweight waterproof to go over on the worst of days and cheap.

StorckSpeed

Hello again - I can't comment on the Karrimor jacket, sorry.
As I said before I use the Phantom old style jacket. It does handle any rain showers very well. If it's absolutely bucketing down I chuck on a Montane Featherlite jacket on top of it. It's a really light jacket that packs down to the size of an orange, it's fairly waterproof, totally windproof and comes with a stuff sack that can attach to the back of your seat rather than take up room in your jackets pocket. Alternatively there's the Sportful Hotpack or Santini 365 which are also very packable and windproof too. Finally Planet X do the Aqualight jacket which looks pretty cool in real life...

jpower

StorckSpeed wrote:

Hello again - I can't comment on the Karrimor jacket, sorry.
As I said before I use the Phantom old style jacket. It does handle any rain showers very well. If it's absolutely bucketing down I chuck on a Montane Featherlite jacket on top of it. It's a really light jacket that packs down to the size of an orange, it's fairly waterproof, totally windproof and comes with a stuff sack that can attach to the back of your seat rather than take up room in your jackets pocket. Alternatively there's the Sportful Hotpack or Santini 365 which are also very packable and windproof too. Finally Planet X do the Aqualight jacket which looks pretty cool in real life...

WOW you know too much about jackets, my Phantom had to be returned for exchange they messed up the colour, hopefully soon, but I did like it and the Small fit just fine.

Your right the Planet X does look nice, there sizing is weird, small says chest 41 waist 37, sounds huge for a small: http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CLPXALPJ/p ... ble-jacket

StorckSpeed

It's a consequence of the cold and wet Scottish weather I'm a afraid.
Can't see an article about rain jackets without reading it thoroughly again and again. :-)

leodis75

The only thing totally waterproof is a bin bag. Goretex lets water in at some point, the problem with cycling and Gore is that you end up sweating and getting soaked. My experience is that a jacket that takes a decent downpour but is breathable and drys quick.

jpower

StorckSpeed wrote:

It's a consequence of the cold and wet Scottish weather I'm a afraid.
Can't see an article about rain jackets without reading it thoroughly again and again. :-)

That's fairplay, totally understand now.

jpower

leodis75 wrote:

The only thing totally waterproof is a bin bag. Goretex lets water in at some point, the problem with cycling and Gore is that you end up sweating and getting soaked. My experience is that a jacket that takes a decent downpour but is breathable and drys quick.

Sounds like phantom should do the job then.

jpower

Still waiting for my gore jacket, had to send back for exchange finally got a dispatch notice so hopefully this week.

I went ahead and bought the karrimor jacket at £30 wasn't going to break the bank and I had some credit I needed to use, the reflective material on it is great will really ensure cars will see you on those dark days ahead. As for rain proofness likely I'll find out this week :-)

jpower

So made use of the Karrimor jacket today, really hard to tell if it it kept the water out, as wasn't sure if it sweat or rain and as it was just raining today and not cold, didn't really bother me.

As luck would have I missed the delivery of the gore jacket I think that would have handled the rain today on its own but I might have been steaming up.