I
like simple products that work. I don't mind complex things that
work. However when it's somewhat complex and still doesn't work well
it's upsetting. The Gorrillclava is one of those products for me.
Getting it to fit right isn't easy. Having it still vent a sizable
portion of my exhaust up into my goggles is even more maddening. The
ride to work this morning was with the wind. So getting decent
ventilation thru my goggles was challenging in the first place. Add in
the extra exhaust and it sucked. About half way thru my ride I
attempted to pull the balaclava down under my chin. While I did succeed
in doing this it left a huge pile of cloth under my chin. By the time I
got to work the muscles in my jaw hurt from pushing against all of it
to try and breath. I'm going to try my Underarmour balaclava and see if
it's any better or worse. On to my newly purchased Columbia heavy
weight gloves. I have a lighter pair of Columbia gloves. I love them
there awesome. However somethings missing on the heavy weight gloves.
My hands froze. I wasn't impressed at all. Once the temps dipped down
beneath 20 degrees they started to feel like I might need something
else. So I picked up the heavier pair. The fit on them wasn't great. I
tried on medium, Large and extra large also. They all seemed to fit
the same. The fingers felt overly small and cramped. Still I gave them
the benefit of the doubt and bought them. Always trust your
instincts. My hands haven't been that cold in years. I don't know what
exactly was wrong. They just weren't warm at all. My fingers started
getting cold only a few blocks into my ride. Once I got to work they
were very very cold. I was trying the old skiing trick of sucking your
fingers back into the palm of the glove to try and warm them up but it
wasn't working either. Big fail on these gloves. My legs were fine
once I started moving. Just need to figure out the goggle fogging
situation. The Gorrilclava just isn't working. Another piece of gear
that wasn't worth it's price. Once that's sorted I can't see why I
wouldn't ride more in colder temps.Wind - 8 mph sustained out of the south west
Me:
Head - 5 OK (Mixed bag - Gorrilclava, Smith helmet, goggles)
Hands - 2 Awful (Columbia heavy weight gloves - SUCK!)
Chest - 8 Warm (Wind breaker jacket and vest)
Legs - 7 OK (Carhart Jeans)
Feet -8 Good (Snow Runners and Flats)
Overall Physical feel - 8 (Been off the bike a bit.)
Bike ratings as follows. One will mean total equipment failure. Ten means it totally served it's purpose and I need to write more positive reviews on it.
Bike: Redline Monocog
Tires - 8(Fine)
Brake - 9(New Hope)
Drivetrain - 8(Silky smooth)
Overall/Other - 9(Monocog is a great rig)
Total Score: 72
Things to change - Try and figure out how to get my goggles not to fog. The age old question.
Things I noticed - I shouldn't have spent money on the Columbia heavy gloves and OR Gorrilclava.
