Peter Clinch said:Further note that Mountain Caps and balaclavas are /not/ mutually
exclusive! A balaclava will keep your neck warm and cut out the
tendency fro drafts to cut behind the ear flaps on a Mountain Cap. A
Buff can take the place of a balaclava, and also doubles as a scarf. The
Polar model gives you more options for warmth.
I'd echo this. I hadn't really been taken with the idea of a Buff but I
got one as a freebie last year and this winter I am rarely without it
either walking or cycling. It is much better than a scarf for cycling
and with efficient tucking in it can seal all the gaps.
Quoted message said:Lowe's Mountain Cap (and probably some others too, a lot of different
manufacturers make them and you're spoiled for choice) has an option for
raising the peak with a popper button, which can be handy in lower light
levels if you're not keeping out rain. Some have a peak like a baseball
cap while others have a single stiffening wire. The latter are IMHO
better on the bike as they don't get caught in the wind and can be
shaped according to preference.
Again, ditto. I have had more than one baseball-peaked cap blow off when
cycling but my mountain cap, even with its flaps up, has never come off.
As you say the wire stiffener is very good, allowing a shape that
channels off rain but doesn't obscure vision.
Quoted message said:But windstopper fleeces are shocking when they /do/ soak through, taking
forever to dry and being cold when they're wet.
I can certainly attest to this. I once got soaked through at a Radiohead
gig in Oxford. I was wearing a windstopper fleece to keep out the night
chill but I hadn't expected rain. The fleece held up for a long time
other than at the seams. Walking home it felt like I was wearing a giant
soaked sponge. The fleece took days to dry out.
Colin