Freeze Out

[Blockhead_imp]

"I looked like that post-capture picture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed."

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That's funny ES! It almost sent coffee out of my nose.....

[metallyguitarded_imp]

I'm finally getting around to writing my impressions of the Freeze-Out gear from my ride to Vegas. Overall, I thought it worked well. In particular, the long johns (thanks OldF7Guy) kept my legs nice and toasty. I purchased the Zipped Gilet jacket, the long johns and the glove liners. I also took along my trusty Turtle Fur neck gaiter and thick, wool hiking socks. I was already about an hour into the ride when I remembered Guth's suggestion to bring along the Jiffy Pop! Oh well, no one's perfect.

With my relatively late start on Wednesday afternoon, I decided to wear most the gear despite the fact that it was a pleasant 70+ degrees. I knew the temperature would soon drop as the hours passed and the sun went down. I wore my Sedici textile pants that also have a thermal liner on top of the Freeze-Out long johns. Up top, it was simply a t-shirt, the Freeze-Out Gilet jacket, and my leather jacket. I also wore a bright orange reflective vest but it does nothing to block the wind or provide warmth. On my hands, I wore my 3-season gloves without the liners.

My first impressions were that I was almost uncomfortably warm in the stop and go traffic. Once on the highway, the cool air was welcomed but (and this is a good but) the Gilet jacket did a fantastic job of blocking the wind. I wasn't surprised that my legs were warm. My pants with liner inserted had always kept my legs warm in the winter. The true test would come while riding through the mountain passes, at elevation, in the dark.

A couple hours into the ride, I put on the glove liners. My 3-season gloves were not doing a good job of keeping my hands warm. Not surprising since we're in that 4th season! The Freeze-Out glove liners definitely helped and my hands soon warmed, allowing me to continue comfortably for a couple more hours. I stopped in Baker for one last fill up before the final push into Vegas. That was the last of the light and the temperature had plummeted. I wish I would have checked to see exactly how cold it was but all I could think of at that point was to get warmer and get to Vegas. In Baker, I packed away my 3-season gloves and broke out my Held winter gloves. Those, together with the glove liners, did the trick for my hands. What I lost in dexterity was made up for in comfort. Out came the neck gaiter too. It's amazing how much warmer I feel when my hands and neck are protected. The entire time, my legs and feet felt perfectly comfortable. It felt like I could roll around in the snow and my legs would have been just fine.

Early the following morning, I rode my CB to the Dynojet facility. I didn't bother with the Gilet jacket and immediately felt the cold air cut through my leather jacket in just those few short blocks. That really demonstrated to me just how effective the Freeze-Out top was. There is no way I could have made the trip without some form of wind resistant liner. I opted to wear the long johns under my jeans and found that even then, my legs were warm and comfortable.

That afternoon I started for home. The weather in Vegas at the time I left was in the low 70s but I knew that it would quickly drop once again. I started the ride home much the same as when I left San Diego only this time, without the textile pants. I wore jeans instead. My textile pants were the first things under my cargo net, on top of my duffle bag, ready to be slipped on over my jeans if necessary. Despite colder temps on the ride home, my legs were never cold. A true testament to the effectiveness of the long johns. Up top, however, things were different.

A few hours into the ride and the temperature had dropped drastically. The snow blanketing the surrounding mountains made the point that this was going to be a long, chilly ride home. My winter gloves along with the glove liners came out quickly, as did my neck gaiter. Despite the t-shirt, Gilet jacket, leather jacket and neck gaiter, my chest eventually got uncomfortably cold. With a couple hours remaining until I made it home, I dug out a cotton zippered sweater - desperate for anything to add to my warmth. I contemplated adding another t-shirt if the sweater failed to prove sufficient. Luckily, the sweater, together with everything else, got me through and I made it home.

I'm sorry I don't have temperature readings to share with all of you. That's clearly a critical piece of information when evaluating the effectiveness of the gear. The best I can do is tell you that the forecast indicated the temperature in the cities along my route to have been in the low to mid-40s. I guarantee you that they dropped into the mid to upper-30s when traveling over the mountains. And, of course, there is the added chill from riding between 70 and 80mph for most of the trip. The entire time, the long johns worked great. Of course, the true test is up top where we get most of the wind blast. The jacket did good job of adding warmth and, most importantly, blocking the wind. I am convinced that if I had worn my textile jacket with its thermal liner in addition to the Freeze-Out jacket, I would have been much more comfortable and would not have needed to add the zippered sweater. The glove liners were the least impressive of the Freeze-Out gear but did a decent job I suppose for how thin they are. Fortunately, all of the gear was on sale when I bought it. And I'm very glad I had it.

[Cormanus]

Thanks for that report, MG.

For riding in the cooler south of Australia, I have some merino wool thermals—long johns and a top. They are incredibly light weight and do a remarkable job of keeping the cold out. On the top, I wear the thermal, then a Tshirt, a lightweight fleece and finally my jacket. With a balaclava and sometimes a fleece neck warmer, my upper body is seldom uncomfortably cold.

Except for my hands. I've got heavy duty gloves, but they still get numbingly cold. I think that if I did a lot of riding down there at cooler times of the year I'd think about heated grips and maybe some hand shields. They're as ugly as all get out, but keeping the wind off your hands is probably the best starting point to keeping them warm.

As a postscript, I met a bloke one day who was riding a new-fangled Honda 500. He lived on the top of the Great Dividing range where it get's cold. He told me he wore ski gloves from the same place I bought my thermals and that his hands were seldom cold. He also had hand shields. I've thought about the ski gloves, but I can't bring myself to give up the protection offered by proper riding gloves.

[metallyguitarded_imp]

Thanks for that report, MG.

For riding in the cooler south of Australia, I have some merino wool thermals—long johns and a top. They are incredibly light weight and do a remarkable job of keeping the cold out. On the top, I wear the thermal, then a Tshirt, a lightweight fleece and finally my jacket. With a balaclava and sometimes a fleece neck warmer, my upper body is seldom uncomfortably cold.

Except for my hands. I've got heavy duty gloves, but they still get numbingly cold. I think that if I did a lot of riding down there at cooler times of the year I'd think about heated grips and maybe some hand shields. They're as ugly as all get out, but keeping the wind off your hands is probably the best starting point to keeping them warm.

As a postscript, I met a bloke one day who was riding a new-fangled Honda 500. He lived on the top of the Great Dividing range where it get's cold. He told me he wore ski gloves from the same place I bought my thermals and that his hands were seldom cold. He also had hand shields. I've thought about the ski gloves, but I can't bring myself to give up the protection offered by proper riding gloves.

I think I'll look into getting some of those thermals. I thought about stopping by REI and checking out their winter gear but they are just so darn expensive. When I saw that Cycle Gear had their Freeze-Out gear on sale, I decided to go that route. The need for hand shields certainly crossed my mind on this trip. But, like you, I find them not too pleasant to look at. Oh, how vain I've become.

[holy666diver_imp]

i like freeze out because they do work! I have the full set. But my biggest complaint is they are very stiff! not like other thermals these do not flex very well and also don't fit that great under your jacket or pants if you wear tighter fitting clothes.

[Cormanus]

MG, I don't know whether this lot export them, but [url=http://www.kathmandu.com.au/mens/base-layers.html#!p=2&offset=0]here's a link.

[rboe]

I wore my Freeze outs under my Kevlar jeans to the Guzzi breakfast. Top of my thighs got cold in the short ride to breakfast (33 degrees F). Insulated textile pants, for me, are really needed for cold rides. This was on the CB1100 with no fairing in place.

[metallyguitarded_imp]

MG, I don't know whether this lot export them, but [url=http://www.kathmandu.com.au/mens/base-layers.html#!p=2&offset=0]here's a link.

Thanks Cormanus! Those look really nice. And I saw in their shipping information that they do ship to the US and Canada. The merino wool ones, however, are up there in cost. Funny how I hesitate to buy garments that would add to my comfort but readily spend hundreds on unnecessary changes to my motorcycle.

I wore my Freeze outs under my Kevlar jeans to the Guzzi breakfast. Top of my thighs got cold in the short ride to breakfast (33 degrees F). Insulated textile pants, for me, are really needed for cold rides. This was on the CB1100 with no fairing in place.

If you stop shaving your legs, it helps. That's what I did:

[url=http://s51.photobucket.com/user/jamesfontaine/media/web_Foxie_feet_troll_doll_fr4_fr_dg_MG_9871.jpg.html]

[emptysea]

I have Olympia gear (Switchback jacket and Airsomethingoranother pants)....mesh with waterproof/windproof liner. I wear a "performance" base top layer (aka synthetic t-shirt) and "performance" base shorts (aka Underarmor boxer-briefs) when it's hot out. Here's what I wear as the weather changes:

HOT: Performance top and boxer briefs. Mesh jacket/pants. Buff do-rag (sometimes soaked in water)
WARM: Above base layers plus a pair of shorts (gym shorts or golf shorts). Buff. Mesh jacket/pants.
COOL: Base layers plus jeans and a pullover wind shirt. Buff (or Merino wool balaclava) Mesh jacket/pants (with liners available)
COLD: Base layers plus fleece long-johns and fleece 1/4 zip pullover. Balaclava. Buff (a neck wrap will be purchased in the future). Mesh jacket/pants with liners in both (Revit rain jacket and pants available as additional "full Sta-Puft Marshmallow Man" layer.

I'm sure that the Freeze Outs work great as a base layer for most people, but the gear I use as a base layer is also something I wear when I go running so I feel like it's a better value for me. I am going to try some new base layers...especially the Skivvees riding shorts, but as long as I have a good wicking layer near my skin, I don't feel that I need motorcycle specific base layers.