Originally Published December 13, 2024
One of the hardest things about winter biking in Minnesota is clothing. Too little, you freeze. Too much, you get soaked with sweat. And then you freeze. Plus, days that start out at 30° may end at 10°. Or a day that starts out with snow may switch to a hard cold rain.
Besides becoming an expert meteorologist, the only solution is layering, which requires a lot of experience and a good selection of layers. The most important layer is the outer shell, which needs to be windproof and (mostly) waterproof but still breathable. It needs to be form fitting so it doesn't catch too much wind but also allow ample room for multiple layers underneath. A tall order.
Wearing my North Face jacket
For many winters, I wore a North Face jacket that I bought used at a thrift store. It worked pretty great, was fairly waterproof yet breathable. But it had a standard jacket cut that left my lower back exposed when I rode (brrrr!) I also lacked any reflective details and the reflective tape I tried to stick to it just fell off.
So I started shopping bike shops for a new shell, which was a lot harder than it should have been because I'm not small. Virtually all specialty bike gear seems to be sized for people a lot shorter and a lot skinnier than I am. And bike gear labeled as XL is usually no larger than a size medium in the real world. Also, most gear manufacturers don't seem to understand how cold a real winter is.
Finally my friend Max recommended the locally designed 45NRTH Naughtvind, which is offered in a roomy XXL. At $300, I wouldn't have bought such a thing myself, but Millie got it for me for Xmas. I think she found it somewhere on sale for $200, which is still a lot more than most of my bikes.
This is now my 3rd winter with the Naughtvind and it has earned my full endorsement. Because it uses a variety of fabrics, it's stretchy enough to accommodate multiple layers without feeling loose on its own.
I've ridden it with wool layers in -15°F temps with no problem and in 30° rains where I got a little wet but not cold. And its extra length in back keeps my backside warm.
But mostly, I recommend it because it's held up to rough use with few signs of wear, which is not true of other bike gear I've purchased.
I'd only change 2 things. First: I'd add more reflective surfaces throughout. I want to shine like an Xmas tree when cars drive by.
Second, I'd change the routing of the front zipper, which veers over to the right side of the jacket to prevent "chin rub", whatever that is. With a centered zipper, I could grab the collar with my teeth and unzip to dump heat with one hand. Off to the side, it's a lot harder to unzip. Quibbles.
In summary, it's a pretty darn good jacket. I also found a very well done review of the women's version here.