Giordana AV Extreme Lyte Jacket: Overview and Review

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Riding in the winter is somehow, simultaneously the most grueling AND rewarding thing a cyclist can do. Here’s what I mean: first, you have to muster up the motivation to actually go out when it’s freezing cold, and then you gotta spend like 20 minutes just putting on all the layers - and you’re usually pretty miserable for the first half hour of the ride…buuuut once you get warmed up a little, it can feel like a fairly normal day on the bike. And at the end, you feel a special sense of accomplishment for having toughed it out. The post ride coffee is a little warmer, and the croissant is a little sweeter.

For me, the hardest part of riding in winter isn’t the actual riding - it’s that 30 minute window after breakfast where i’m in between ‘deciding to ride’ and layering up. Honestly, I need a straight line out the door once i make up my mind, and that means using as few layers as possible to get maximum warmth. And that’s why the Giordana AV Extreme Lyte Winter Jacket is my new go-to for cool and cold days.

The AV Extreme Lyte Winter Jacket is recommended for cool to cold climates and temperatures from the high 50’s°F to mid 30’s. It has enough warmth built in to be worn with a very lightweight thermal jersey or winter base layer, and the soft inner lining is comfortable enough to be worn with just a sleeveless base layer on warmer days.
the AV Extreme Lyte Jacket has 3 distinct technical features:Polartec Alpha® Direct insulation to keep you warm and cozy without overheating (or over-sweating), thermal fabric paneling at the back to increase breathability, and the same Acqua Zero Eco™ water-resistant outer layer that’s used in the all-weather G-Shield lineup to protect you from rain and wind. That means it’s basically the souped-up winter jacket version of Giordana’s G-shield jersey lineup (there’s a link in the description to that review) and like G-shield it’s made for days when the pace of the ride varies from easy to insane. The key to the AV Extreme Lyte Jacket's performance in the coldest temperatures is the soft and furry Polartec Alpha® Direct insulating interior which keeps you warm while releasing excess body heat and perspiration before it causes saturation and discomfort. It does this through soft, lofted fibers that are inherently hydrophobic and moisture resistant.
These days, I don’t have much insane in my legs so tested this jacket via two methods: the first was to throw it on over a regular summer bib and base layer and go for a slow to medium tempo ride on a 50-60 degree day. The other method was to pick a pretty nasty 40-50 degree rainy day and see how long I could make it past the first hour. In both cases, I was very surprised. On the warmer days, I thought I’d be on fire halfway up the first climb but a simple unzipping transformed it from a jacket to a cool weather jersey in milliseconds. And my cold, wet hour actually turned into 4 and the temperature at the top of the big climb halfway through day dropped into the low 40’s. With a nasty headwind, and a persistent but not pouring rain.
It was one of those days when your hands, feet, and face feel like ice - and if you sit still you start to shiver. And the AV Extreme Lyte jacket didn’t keep my extremities from turning to ice but my core was nice and toasty even though the top layer of the jacket was soaked. And as long as I kept the pace a tick or two above zone two, it kept my core, arms, and neck nice and toasty.
The Giordana AV Extreme Lyte Jacket’s available in three colors, and a full range of both men’s and women’s sizes ranging from XS up to 3XL. The fit is slightly relaxed to allow for layering underneath, but it still runs true to size. If you live in a place where cold and wet is an everyday reality, and you can’t stand the thought of Zwifting yourself into madness all winter - then it’s definitely a good investment.