Jacket or Vest?

[maillotpois]

Vests, hands down. As mentioned, they're more versatile.

My current favorite vest is the Sheila Moon fleecy one. I have a couple of voler windstopper vests (one is the AV one) and they're great, too, for a very cold day paired with the fleecy Sheila Moon arm warmers.

I tend to wear vests instead of jackets a lot in ordinary life (non-cycling) these days as well.

[withm]

Gore windstopper jacket with zip off sleeves. I love this jacket! You can unzip a couple inches for a little ventilation, or take the sleeves off entirely. I would never have another bike jacket without zip-off sleeves.

[VeloVT]

Depends on the temperature. 48+, probably a vest. Much under 48. a jacket (wind/waterproof but not insulated at all). Under 32, a heavier, slightly insulated jacket (Sugoi Invertor jacket usually).

[kat_h]

I just bought a MEC SuperMicroft Cycling Jacket last week and love it so far. It's very light and I didn't really think it would be warm enough but it is great. I've been wearing it with just a thin, long-sleeve t-shirt and have been hot enough that I've had to unzip.

[kelownagirl]

Hey Kat, I have the same one, in teal. I wear it tons. I also have a lightweight vest that I like on cooler summer days.

[alpinerabbit]

I have a mesh-backed vest, a windstopper soft shell jacket, and a lightweight rainshell with zip-out sleeves. All of these are used for running as well depending on conditions.

I also have a very lightweight rainshell to keep in the back pocket for emergencies.

So I guess I have them all :-)

[Triskeliongirl]

I like them all too. I also found that my preferences changed as I got leaner. When I was heavier, I found that I overheated easily in jackets, and preferred vests, something like a light PI whisper vest above 50 and something warmer like a sheebeest wind pro vest in the 40-50s. For 30-40s I'd switch to a goretex jacket. But, it also depends on what you layer under all this stuff, so you can probably make anything work with the right layers.

When I lost weight and had to buy new clothes, I bought a variety of pieces:

1. I started with the PI vagabound jacket (bought from TE), liked the zip off sleeves. I thought I'd wear it more as a vest but find that I get cold more easily so tend to wear it mostly with the sleeves. But, if it really warms up over the course of a ride I do zip the sleeves off.

2. But, I found I was getting cold in the PI vagabound so I bought 3 more jacket/vests:
a. Probably my favorite is the PI gavia jacket (on sale at sierra). I don't know if its the high tech fabrics, but I find it keeps me warm on a cold/windy day, yet I don't overheat if it warms up. I also like this for off bike use.
b. I also really like my craft rain jacket (got here from TE with the x-mass coupon sale), waterproof and breathable for when it rains, and pit zips so while its warm it ventilates well.
c. I also picked up a terry headwind vest, similar to the shebeest windpro on the terry half price sale. I thought it would be good to layer under the shells, but I find if its that cold I prefer my gavia jacket, but wear it a lot for everyday use, and under my regular shell jackets when its cold.

Other useful pieces are a helmet cover and ear band. I prefer the helmet cover to a warmer hat when its really cold, keeps the wind out of my helmet (sugoi waterproof breathable one) and of course protects in rain, prefer to hood.

I think the bottom line is when I was heavier, it was mostly my chest that got cold, so vests were adequate. As I got leaner, I like more pices that cover both my chest and arms, BUT, they have to be hi-tech pieces that ventilate well.

I should also add that all these pieces can also be used for other sports. I even bought goretex pants, which I do use on the bike when its really cold (below 40) and can pair with the craft rain jacket and appropriate under layers for skiing.