The Goods: Gerbings Cascade Extreme all-weather clothing

Why winterize your bike when it’s easier and more fun to winterize yourself and keep riding. Gerbing’s Cascade Extreme jacket and pants let you do just this. Using the system allowed this reviewer to undertake a 1,900-mile ride from Florida to Colorado in early December.

The first thing you’ll notice about the Cascade Extreme is the weight of the clothing. This is heavy-duty gear. The fabric is high denier weave Cordura® and features ballistic fabric on the sleeves, seat and knees. The shoulders, elbows, knees and hips have CE approved heavy-duty high density foam body armor. Lots of pockets and vents on the jacket, all with both zippers and fold over flaps makes getting to wallets and cells phones easy. Three inside pockets allow even more secure stowing of your I-Pod and such. There is also a large rear cargo pocket that has a snap down flap. Vents on the back, sleeves, under arms and on both sides of the front zipper will allow the wearer to stay cool when the weather gets warm.

On the pants, two large patch pockets on the front of the thighs have Velcro® flap folders, easy to get to, even with gloves on. There are no places on the pants to worry about water getting in. Zippers on the lower leg of both the pants and the liner allow easy on and off over your boots. A Velcro® strap closure allows the pant legs to be pulled tight at the ankles. Adjustable belts on each side of the zipper allow the waist to be cinched up. While the pants zip to the jacket adding a pair of heavy-duty suspenders can be helpful for those with no butt or hips to help keep the pants up. For summer riding, remove the inner liner and you just have a lightweight shell.

The jacket closes with a full-length double pull zipper, a fold over Velcro® flap and snaps. The double pull zipper allows the bottom of the jacket to open and accommodate different saddle/seating situations and make it easier to get the pants on and off without removing the jacket. With the combination of three closures, it will keep the wind and water out. The sleeves have zippers and Velcro® closures at the wrists making the jacket easy to get on and off. The cut of the jacket allows the full range of motion needed to ride comfortably.

An abundance of reflective seam piping increases visibility. All the seams are sealed and the quality of the stitching is first rate. The neck closure is well designed, one of the best around, and fastens with a single snap. No Velcro® to tangle with a neck gator, helmet strap or abrade your skin. An easy to find snap lets you secure the collar off to the side to ride with the neck open.

The heated jacket liner shows all the quality of construction found in the shell. Knit elastic cuffs on the arms keep the air out. Inside, an open style breast pocket on each side and a zippered security pocket add storage. The liner is made to zip to the jacket and can’t be used by itself or with another jacket, as there is no way to close the front. No matter, this will be the only...

We hope that you enjoyed reading this excerpt from "Gerbings Cascade Extreme all-weather clothing". If you would like to read the entire article and more, you can order a back issue of Jan / Feb 2007 where this article was originally published.

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