Modern Buddy

For those of you who have seasons, do you remember that time of year when the temps plummet? Sometimes there is white stuff outside on the ground that rhymes with NO and most buddy's get rolled into garages and stored away for brighter days...well not mine. I love riding in the spring, summer, and fall so by the time winter rolls around...separating from the scoot is just heartbreaking. Hell yeah it's cold, below zero sometimes, but it's actually still fun to ride!

So there are a lot of clearance sales still and I figured I might as well pick up a down coat for insulation. I bought a Corazzo 5.0 not too long ago and I love it. I'm thinking for this winter I'll just throw on a couple layers, one of them being a down coat for insulation. I am currently checking out down jackets from LLBean, Eddie Bauer, and North Face. If you have some experience with these down coats, particularly in below zero temps with minimal/no body heat being generated, let me know.

I LOVE my down jacket in the winter! Granted it doesn't get sub zero here, unless you are talking celsius... I've had 2 different down jackets, both North Face brand I got on spring clearance at Academy and so far nothing has been warmer. Also got some snowboard pants there, same brand.

If you're in Boston you probably already know that MITTENS are significantly warmer than gloves. I just happened to find a pair of Kombi mittens at a thrift store year before last and they're amazing.

What more can be said about LL Bean stuff, I still wear a jacket my parents bought me my freshman year in High School, 37 years ago!!!
(Holey *F* I'm getting old.....)

I wear my mesh jacket with the wind liner and a Corazzo Underhoody. Keeps me pretty toasty down to around 30. The underhoody is the best in winter.

Loft = warmth. Down has a ton of loft which traps warm air. And the nylon shell blocks the wind.

But putting a heavy jacket on over a down jacket will compress the loft and decrease the warmth. It will still be warm but not as warm if it were fully lofted.

I wear a fleece jacket with a high neck under my Corazzo in cold temps. Fleece does not compress as much as down and thus holds its R-value better.

hey lilguy, I ride all winter in Probbydense. This is how I layer:

on most winter days

• whatever I'm wearing to work (blouse, dress)
  cardigan sweater
  Primaloft insulated jacket
  riding jacket
  fleece neck gaiter

on really, really cold days (below 15F)

• whatever I'm wearing to work (blouse, dress)
  cardigan sweater
  fleece jacket
  Primaloft insulated jacket
  riding jacket
  balaclava
  fleece neck gaiter

I wear a Primaloft and not down because
1) when down is tightly compressed, it doesn't work as well
2) when down gets wet, it doesn't keep you warm.
Primaloft is lightweight like down, costs less, and will keep you warm when wet. It also doesn't poke you like some down.

I highly suggest a Primaloft jacket that has an outer shell that has some kind of wind-blocking fabric. My jacket is REI brand. North Face and Patagonia make something similar for more money. The Primaloft jackets are also thinner than down so you don't look and feel like a marshmallow.

I went to Beans in Mansfield but they didn't have any jacket that met my needs. Everything was either down or Primaloft came in vest form only. They may have more options for men.

I personally don't think the Corazzo 5.0 is all that warm. I usually wear mine in May and late September/October. Then I break out my Olympia AST for real winter weather. It's much warmer.

Have you thought about gloves? Even with heavy winter moto-specific gloves, my hands were freezing on my short, 4-mile commute. I finally got Santa to bring me a pair of Gerbings heated gloves that run off batteries. They're incredibly expensive but make cold-weather riding bearable for me. They can run off the battery on the bike or off portable batteries.

Here's my story on winter gear (an obsession of mine?)
http://www.examiner.com/scooter-in-detr ... ar-preview (4 parts - follow the links at the bottom!)

And of the game changer -
http://www.examiner.com/scooter-in-detr ... t-the-cold

Thanks for reading!

whats winter?? i think the coldest it get down here is 55 , is that cold?

I am excited to see what the ride is like in the winter and even fall when temps start dropping. Just got the scooters this spring/summer so that is all the experience I have so far. Going to have to try to track down an underhoodie that looks great! I only have a 2.5 mile commute to work and I love riding.

Lil Buddy wrote:Loft = warmth. Down has a ton of loft which traps warm air. And the nylon shell blocks the wind.

But putting a heavy jacket on over a down jacket will compress the loft and decrease the warmth. It will still be warm but not as warm if it were fully lofted.

I wear a fleece jacket with a high neck under my Corazzo in cold temps. Fleece does not compress as much as down and thus holds its R-value better.

+1 I don't even bother with the quilted liner in my jacket anymore. I just wear the kevlar mesh with the rain liner installed and then a fleece underneath. Fleece is super warm and way less bulky than the down. I do have three down jackets that I wear on hikes during late fall and winter. They are awesome but I don't think they would work to well for scootering.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the neck! I have a cyclone Buff, it's the bomb. doesn't let any air cold air on my neck/lower half of my face. Someone on this forum told me about it, sorry I forgot who it was But it's really awesome!

I need to ride somewhere cold enough to justify getting a Corazzo underhoody. Maybe I need one for bicycling. Maybe I'm just a gear addict.

ericalm wrote:I need to ride somewhere cold enough to justify getting a Corazzo underhoody. Maybe I need one for bicycling. Maybe I'm just a gear addict.

I need to live some place warm enough that I have ride somewhere cold enough to justify buying an underhoody. I say this as I realize that prime/safe scootering season is half over here in Michigan.

I wear the North Face Summit Series Diez (800 down) jacket. This thing is incredible, highly compressible, it even packs itself into it's own pocket, so you can take it with you just incase, or throw it in the pet carrier if it warms up. Under that is my Corazzo Underhoody. This thing is another Godsend. It fits so nicely, I don't need my balaclava anymore, and the wristlets close off airflow in my sleeves, and the hood stops air around my neck. Top it off with my Corazzo Speedway armored jacket, and I'm ready for most winter days. I'll also go with my Carhartt insulated bib which also keeps me pretty toasty downstairs. If there is a chance of rain, I'll substitute the Carhartts for my snowboard pants, and my jacket for my Rev'it jacket, which is not my favorite, but has a waterproof liner built in. If it's that cold, I'll avoid the rain altogether. Year round rider, no major issues except freezing rain and snow. The "snowmageddon" of 2009/2010 was the longest stretch that I couldn't ride, only because my scooter was buried in under 5' of snow for almost a week and I had no shovel. Important safety tip, if there is melting snow that lingers for days, be especially careful each night as it is melting during the day. The slivers of water running across the street refreeze every night pretty quickly. I almost dumped it more than once.

I also have the Gerbings Heated gauntlet gloves, I wire them from my battery and run the wires up the headset and out of the handlebars near the grips. Then I give it enough slack to be able to touch the top of my helmet, and not trip over the wire. Most days, I don't even have to plug them in. Good luck!

I have layers that I wear in the winter including a down vest, but the truth is that here in NE Ohio, and especially last winter, the roads were covered with that stuff that rhymes with no for 4 months solid, no warm dry days for it to ever get off the roads completely, especially the side ones. Sucks, and I don't care to be thinking about that already.

Note to Chillas...I grew up in Shippensburg. I have been to your town more times than I could possibly remember. I miss the roads around there, and the limestone farm houses, but not much else, well maybe the parking for the Amish buggies at Kmart.

ericalm wrote:I need to ride somewhere cold enough to justify getting a Corazzo underhoody. Maybe I need one for bicycling. Maybe I'm just a gear addict.

Underhoodies are blankty blank awesome. I've had one since I got my 5.0 two years ago.

So my birthday is tomorrow and I was just told that there is a package from Corazzo at my apartment. I'm thinking my sister heard me talking about the underhoody and maybe got it?! So exciting...

My gift to myself this year will be the Gerbings hybrid gloves. Last year I got the genuine topcase, it's already fallen apart These gloves should fare much better though, given what the reviews say. I was able to get a really nice primaloft jacket for insulation on clearance for about $80 (down from $320). So far my winter gear seems to be shaping up. The scoot (Madame Cheri) is doing well too. For some reason I had to jumpstart her after Hurricane Irene, first time I ever had to do that and I had no idea what I was doing. After a couple kicks, I was on my way though.

I'll second the Primaloft suggestion. I have a North Face Summit Series jacket that is highly compressable, but super warm. It's easy to layer it underneath riding gear and keeps you warm even if it gets wet.

ericalm wrote:I need to ride somewhere cold enough to justify getting a Corazzo underhoody. Maybe I need one for bicycling. Maybe I'm just a gear addict.

Just go ahead and get one, it's incredibly useful. I'm sure that you get a couple of cool nights in L.A.? If not, visit San Fran in the summer!

lilguy wrote:For those of you who have seasons, do you remember that time of year when the temps plummet? Sometimes there is white stuff outside on the ground that rhymes with NO and most buddy's get rolled into garages and stored away for brighter days...well not mine. I love riding in the spring, summer, and fall so by the time winter rolls around...separating from the scoot is just heartbreaking. Hell yeah it's cold, below zero sometimes, but it's actually still fun to ride!

So there are a lot of clearance sales still and I figured I might as well pick up a down coat for insulation. I bought a Corazzo 5.0 not too long ago and I love it. I'm thinking for this winter I'll just throw on a couple layers, one of them being a down coat for insulation. I am currently checking out down jackets from LLBean, Eddie Bauer, and North Face. If you have some experience with these down coats, particularly in below zero temps with minimal/no body heat being generated, let me know.

nature designs stuff well. down jackets, especially any >600fill will be super warm and light. other brands to consider are mountain hardwear and marmot.

i have a merino wool hoodie that i like to use to layer since it's relatively thin compared to a down jacket and keeps my head warm. if it's really chilly i also have a windstopper vest/jacket. these i used under my corazzo max last winter when it was low 50s (probably high 40s with 50mph wind chill).

this winter i'll have a alpinestars messenger jacket which is a 3/4 length wind/waterproof jacket with insulating liner so will probably not need anything else.

lilguy wrote:So my birthday is tomorrow and I was just told that there is a package from Corazzo at my apartment. I'm thinking my sister heard me talking about the underhoody and maybe got it?! So exciting...

My gift to myself this year will be the Gerbings hybrid gloves...

You will not be disappointed with the hybrid gloves. I love mine and I'm starting year 3. We'll have to challenge each other this winter...who is more crazy riding in the snow?! As long as my fingers are warm, I can handle the slipping and sliding.

And...what WAS the gift from sis?