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I took a few new to the bike game dads out and had it on underneath a PTJ. It was about ~6 and the pace was v slow. I was toasty the entire time though. Then did some super mucky trackocross in it with a winter jacket on top and was perfect. Strangly I stopped for 3/4 mins to swap to freewheel (because fixed in the muck is hell on the knees) and by the time I got back on I had to stick on another layer. I think trapped moisture underneath made it hard to get warm again. Anyway it's a hell of a thing, either weird or genius, I can't decide
youramericanlover
miro_o
I think I’m about average. I did say ‘hot’ tip :)
I have mostly used it before in ~ 5° over a light sleeveless baselayer and under summer-weight jerseys/skinsuits. I’ve done two really shitty-weather 25 mile TTs when it was usable. I agree it’s pretty niche and can see why it’s not been popular – in most uses a packable gilet is preferred instead.
Yesterday in 0-1° I tried it over the PT LS Baselayer and under a PT Training jacket for very low intensity riding (picking through snow in low gears for most of the four hours). Far from it’s intended use but amazing. Very comfortable. Unzipping the jacket on long climbs becomes less of a shock-of-cold. A gilet over the jacket would have been fiddly. Leaving the jacket collar open on steady efforts around tempo it was still not too warm.
I have the first version of the Softshell Baselayer (the one with no zip). It’s pretty much a piece of material like that used on the outer layer of a Gabba, with no lining at all. It’s a bit like a modern interpretation of the newspaper down the front. Being Rapha that paper would obviously be the FT. It doesn’t do any normal baselayer things like wicking at all so definitely has to have something under it IMHO.