John Coe has been an everyday, four-season bike commuter in a four-season town for almost 20 years. He blogs, when he blogs, mostly about bikes and skis and stuff at rockychrysler.blogspot.com.
You’re a four-season bike commuter. Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail deters you. No matter what, you ride.
You’re fully kitted-out for adverse conditions and ready to deploy at a moment’s notice: jacket, pants, gloves, vest, etc. So you know: when the going gets snotty, GoreTex rules. It’s hard to argue with experience. If it says GoreTex on it, it’s going to do the job of keeping you warm and dry regardless of the conditions outside. There are other materials which do the job nearly as well. But there’s nothing so reassuring as a garment labeled Gore.
Gore Bike Wear‘s new Power SO Windstopper Beanie lives up to every expectation for a Gore garment, and fills what’s probably otherwise a missing link in your inclement-weather kit: headwear.
I was stoked to get a chance to use the Power SO beanie over the course of a loooong stretch of cold and snowy mornings during what turned out to be pretty much the coldest-on-record late-winter, early-spring, windy-season ever here in my high-altitude town.
The Power SO beanie’s easy stow-and-go size makes it simple to keep it on-hand in your pack fulltime during the cold season. Once deployed, the beanie rather cleverly features an adjustable head-top hole for ventilation.
Cold day? Close the hole snug. Warming up? Open the hole a smidge. Simple adjustable ventilation. Keeps your ears warm at all times. Lets your head vent when it needs to. Pretty much the perfect beanie.
The snug one-size-fit-all beanie was well-constructed, comfortable to wear, and survived intact after weeks of daily commuting duty under my stinky bike helmet. It’s now a permanent and crucial addition to my all-weather, all-around bike commuting kit.
The Gore Bike Wear Power SO Windstopper Beanie sells for about $39.95