The devil is in the details, right‽ A garbage bag is wind and waterproof. A wool sweater underneath is warm. Poke some holes in strategic locations and the whole shebang is ‘breathable.’ There are metrics used to define each of these parameters, but that’s a rabbit hole I don’t want to go down. There is too much going on with the Alpha RoS 2’s design, materials, and construction to reduce its discussion to metrics that might be worth focusing on in the case of a shell. Instead, I discuss the elements that comprise a system that is very effective in the use-range its intended to perform within.

Updated for 2020-21

Lake’s MX145 hit a sweet-spot for riders interested in extending their riding season and/or taking some of the suffering out of cyclocross. Every aspect of the boot’s design and construction suits its intended purpose, rendering the MX145 a highly versatile option for riding in wet and/or cold conditions from around -12 C to +12 C.

Castelli’s Elemento jacket establishes a new reality/normal/standard most riders probably didn’t even realize could be a thing.

RoS is an ethos, an attitude, an orientation in relation to the environment. In a sense, it’s a metaphor: reality, human experience, is constituted by rain/shine, dark/light, evil/good, night/day. Opposites, powerful forces, defined via contradistinction.