full leathers for winter riding...does it work?

[misterprofessionality]

I've been exploring a number of options for upgrading my winter gear this year. number one on the list was a set of eletrically heated winter wear (jacket, gloves, maybe overpants). However I've recently encounted a set of full riding leathers (one piece) for an incredible price. I've never had cause to own one of these, and I don't go to the track, but when i tried it on i felt instantly hot and insulated. i would never wear this thing in the summer. That's when i got to thinking.....is it good for winter? i'm now considering it as an all-encompasing winter riding solution. am i crazy? do these things work in the winter?

Here it is:

https://www.cyclegear.com/gear/bilt-pred...-race-suit

obviously i'm only considering buying it at all because of the incredible price, so i'm not really interested in looking at other one-piece suits, because i know they'll be way out of budget. I just want to know if anybody has ever tried wearing something like this in sub-40 degrees F and can give an accurate account of whether or not it's warm in there.

[LongRanger_imp]

I wore leathers exclusively (two piece) until about fifteen years ago. I froze at temps below about 45 degrees F, even with heated gear underneath. And always stopping to put on rain gear was a pain.

I still have my leathers (and somehow still fit in them) but I'm a convert to armored Cordura / Gore-Tex. I still get chilled, but I'm less miserable when temps dip into the 30's, plus I no longer have to stop and put on rain gear.

[misterprofessionality]

Longranger, Are you able to draw a comparison between the warmth of your leathers and starndard textile winter gear? i can't really orient based on high end gortex/cordura stuff because i've never worn it. I'm able to get along in sub-30 degrees using leather jackets with a light down layer underneath, and i'm trying to see if the leather one-piece would be an improvement over that.

[LongRanger_imp]

For me, the key difference is layering. With my current gear, there's room for an extra fleece jacket and thermals, plus my heated underlayers. The armor simply cinches down to accommodate. With properly fitting leathers, there is less room, plus the suit becomes stiff once you have to stuff yourself into it.

My motivation to change was mostly to avoid having to rely on rain gear.

[the Ferret]

I think it really depends on what winter means in your area. Winter in Atlanta is a lot different than winter in Chicago.

I love leather, grew up wearing leather when I rode (and still wear it occasionally), but like LR find about 45 degrees to be the lower limit on leather, and about 85 the upper limit. In addition unless you get the expensive water proof leather, it gets very wet in a rainstorm, soaks through, gets very heavy, and takes a lonnngg time to dry out.

Leather one pieces are generally made for racing and are a thinner leather than most street duty leather jackets.

[misterprofessionality]

ah, i see what you mean. over the years i've stopped attempting to prepare for rain. i just get wet and that's that. this is because i'm out every single day and i've grown tired of trying to gear up for it. i think you've hit the right note when you mentioned layering, though. i've always found that the key to staying warm is a hard layer (leather or textile?) over an air gap (light down works best). my idea was to wear the leathers most of the year, and the few weeks where it dips into 30 degrees i would add the light down layer, which compresses nicely under stiff leather jackets in my experience.

based on your report though if i wanted to do this i might need yet further layering. perhaps even something worn over the leathers. that complicates things. once there's another garment involved the "deal" i'm getting isn't quite so attractive, although the one piece leathers still provide more crash protection than ANY of the winter gear i've looked at.

ferret, for reference, winter in Charleston is anywhere between 75 degrees and 30 degrees, it swings violently and unpredictably, the 30 degree weather is very seldom ever sustained, and typically only encountered in the early mornings.

[Houtman_imp]

I would advise you to get a Gerber heated jacket liner , makes lives so much more comfortable with colder weather.

[emptysea]

Layers. I wear an Olympia jacket and pants, both of which are designed to flow air through their large mesh panels and provide impact and abrasion protection. I don't typically wear the pants to work because I can wear jeans to work and it's a short low-speed commute. In summer, it's a t-shirt and shorts under the jacket/pants. In spring fall, I may have jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt underneath, but I may have a wind/waterproof liners as my mid-layer. If it's cooler, then a fleece goes under the wind layer....unless it's REALLY cold (below freezing), then I put my rain gear on over the jacket/pants with an insulating layer as my base layer.

Addendum: I have a heated jacket and gloves now that replace the insulating layer in the cold weather. I do not find the need for heated pants, but I am considering heated socks for next winter.

[Cormanus]

I have both a leather jacket and an RST Ventilator 3 mesh jacket which comes with both a waterproof/windproof layer and a down thermal layer. I can't prove it, but I suspect the mesh jacket with both layers inside is actually warmer than the leather one. It's certainly cooler with the layers out!

[misterprofessionality]

i think the pertinent question is: is the leather jacket warmer than the mesh when it has insulating layers in . that's my plan, anyway:

base layer will be thermal longjohns, next, a waterproof light down, leather one piece on top. my instincts tell me that's as warm as i can possibley get.