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[manitou]

I'm new to "winter" type riding. Living in Florida most of my life, there was only like 3 weeks of "winter".  Oddly enough, Texas actually freezes over sometimes. I'm in the market for a new jacket to go with my new DS. What jackets are people wearing this winter?

[benswing]

I wear a Tourmaster Flex Series 2, and it keeps me comfy in all kinds of weather since it is highly adjustable.  In winter I wear the liner and outer jacket as well as thick gloves and a balaclava.  That does the trick for me.  Originally I'm from New Hampshire, so I'm okay with a bit colder weather than most people.

[ultrarnr]

My winter gear is Rukka Armas. It has proven to be completely waterproof in some extremely heavy downpours so no issues staying dry. Comes with a removable liner and also works well with heated gear. Yes it is pricy but no regrets and would buy it again.

[NEW2elec]

A good dual layer jacket with a liner you can remove seems to be about the best of both worlds.  After that just layer layer layer.  I have a Teksport liner jacket with a bunch of vents and a liner it also had some soft armor back elbow and shoulder pieces it was on clearance for $120 it is a full length jacket so over the waist. Not bad it covers my needs so far but i know there are much better ones out there. I find it much cheaper to get Walmart warm layers of clothes instead of really high priced cold weather "motorcycle gear"  Not to say they don't make some great stuff but at a pretty high price.  I used to go on long training rides for my bicycle racing days, clean amateur not pro, they had some Starter brand loose spandex pants and pull over shirts that were good base layers as they wicked the sweat away from your skin.  Also some cheap sweat pants because I find my knees get very cold in the air flow. Just some budget minded advise.  Otherwise go with the others as it will be much better quality.

[Justin Andrews]

I ride with a Helite "explosive" jacket. Best jacket I've owned, warm (removable thermal liner), exceptionally waterproof and has integrated airbags which will go off if I and the bike part company...

http://www.motolegends.com/jackets/helite-airbag-touring-jacket-black.html

[Burton]

I have about 60k miles on a revit sand set (the original set)

The liners don't protect against rain much anymore and now I use an external shell for heavy rain. A lot of the frequently accessed Velcro pockets no longer have attached Velcro. It works in a get-off ... I have had two ... well three if you count the < 1mph going up an iced ramp fall.

For winter I use a Aerostitch Kanetsu jacket with heated elements and the inflatable air pockets. You can just use the air down to about 35 then you need to use the heated elements and man does it get warm. Gloves T5 gerbings for winter ... they lasted 2 seasons before breaking in different ways ... currently thinking of replacing them.

Get a small shield for your bike to keep wind off your chest ... and on very cold days (even if it isn't going to rain) wear an over gear rain suit to block wind.

The coldest I have ridden in is -10F so far ... hottest 110F both with my zero commuting 30 miles to work.

[manitou]

First off, thanks for the replies and thoughts.
I went s different direction and got an Olympia motoquest.  I like the "mega vent" setup for the hot weather riding I tend to do. Still, I wanted winter/rain options (I want it all.. Why not right?). I do have one or 2 complaints about the jacket for what it's worth. It is a little heavy, but the real beef is with the armor. In particular, the left shoulder doesn't seem placed correctly. The armor in general seems stiff and yuck. I called Olympia after hours yesterday and left a voicemail. I surprisingly got a call from the owner at Olympia today. Level headed and understanding. I may try D3O shoulder replacement armor some day soon, but that customer service call was the deciding factor to keep the jacket and see if I grow to love it.
Just my 2 cents.