A lot of interest in paramo

 There's been a lot of interest in my paramo coat this year. Just for interest.

 Left to right - a standard (Fox) waterproof - not very breathable, my Small men's Paramo as pictured regularly here, 1 litre water bottle, Andrew's Large size paramo lite - a much larger coat but roughly the same pack size as my small.

Anyone thinking about biking in a paramo, know this: it's true, they really are warm.  Sure you can read all the Paramo hype about learning to wear it with nothing underneath to keep cool and it's all true but as a cycling coat, they're still warm.

I used the excuse of cold weather on Monday on the HT to take mine with me because it is the most comfortable waterproof I own.  The wet dog theory works well most of the time.  If you're not familiar with it, the theory of paramo is like that of a wet dog or sheep.  The soft underlayers of fur (in this case a soft fabric) keep you warm, forcing the wet from you and the rain outwards through the shell layerto the cold air.  The shell layer on a paramo is still very soft

If on a rare occasion your paramo does wet out, it remains comfortable and warm as this process continues to work.  The only time the thing gets cold is if you stand around and do nothing.  In that respect it is not an insulated jacket by any stretch of the imagination - though probably warmer than standing around doing nothing in a goretex shell.

The velez jacket I have cools down in many ways.  The zips go up and down the whole coat.  Damn I could even remove the whole front if I wanted leaving the rain to fall on my back.  The pit zips are on the front of the arms so super accessible.  Those vents fill the arms and chest with cool air if the wind is blowing the right way.  In addition the chest pocket opens (though don't fill it with rain!) and it has side vents that double up as a through-vent or pockets.  This is genius-ly placed.  It's high enough that with hands in pockets, the rain drops off my elbows not into the pockets - if I'm walking.  Finally, you can roll the sleeves up and velcro them in place.  This is the piece de resistance.  It feels like rolled up shirt sleeves it's so bloody comfortable.

I've worn this coat from October to March without fail.  I've occasionally been too warm but if that's my problem then I'm happy.  On the wet day on the HT I was the happiest person on the hill.  By Thursday, I was ready to post the thing home. It was too bulky and heavy to be happy about carrying for five days  of glorious sunshine, but given that the alternative was to trust the Scottish weather or buy another cheap coat I didn't want "just in case", I decided I'd put up with hauling it around.

It got pretty sweaty with all that warm riding I did while it was still raining.  It's been through the washing machine since the key to maintaining the waterproofing is to maintain the loft in the warm layer and not have your coat saturated with body oils.  This keep it clean / reproofing process scares some people - who wants a waterproof that costs over £200 and is going to wet out in 12 months?  The fact is, the rejuvenation really works.  I reproofed it before the HT.  I'm not going to reproof it again until I need to - or until 12 months passes.  I'll let you know how that one pans out.

See how happy she is - 6am on the 2019 BB200

I have come home definitive about buying the lite version for future trips between April and September and when I do I might just update the top pic with a comparator.  I'll have to wait now because as with all good things, it looks like they're out of stock at the moment.