www.singletracks.com
I've rarely ridden with the flannel. It's more pre- and post-ride for me. I have worn it riding in snowy/cold conditions, and it is great for that. The Icon in particular is great for anytime, not necessarily just on the bike.
It’s certainly temperature dependent. Below 65, my Icon is a uniform.
I'm guessing this is a matter of what material the flannel is made from. These days it's mostly cotton or polyester or a blend maybe with a tiny bit of wool. But wool is traditional (my understanding, I'm no fiber expert). Merino wool breathes really well. And you can get it in different weights. So it can be very comfortable in different conditions. I wear lightweight merino underwear even in the summer in the 100s here where I live. Same with socks. That said, I'm not going to wear a wool flannel shirt in 100*. But my jerseys are lightweight merino wool and I'll wear those quite comfortably.
I thought the same. I bought a used wool flannel shirt off of E-bay and gave it a chance. It was amazing. Buttons = venting, the material is tough, and the wool is warm but breathable. I change the undershirt type to suit the weather. $50-75 can get you a decent wool shirt on e-bay. I'm careful though as they can be dodgy about disclosing the wool content.
Yeah, I have a couple pieces from Ketl. It's nice enough, but it's not in the same league as Kitsbow.
Funny enough, the gloves (pretty much all of them—they've made I think 3 different versions over the years) didn't work so well for me. The ones that fit well wore out too quickly, and the others didn't fit all that well. I'm glad they worked for you, but they were a low point in Kitsbow's lineup for me.
If you still listened to Nirvana, Sound garden, and Mudhoney you would get it.
Never ridden in mine but 75+ days per year having morning coffee at the campsite when it's 45 degrees at 10k ft in August. Great shirt.
I hear you. Until the past year or two I hadn't ridden in a flannel. (but I own 5-6 and wear them all winter)
I had to use their repair service for the first time last year. They did excellent work, and that's one way you can keep repeat customers. I'm sad that Kitsbow's repair service will no longer be available. Some of the work they did for me is not the kind of thing the usual person is going to do. I was hoping to purchase another pair of their shorts this spring. My OG Haskell shorts are from before they moved to Old Fort.
One big issue that Kitsbow has been running into is that the skilled textile labor pool is small, so they've had to do a LOT of training to find people to do the work. Living in the area, I've seen their essentially standing ads for their training program for a few years. I'm sure those efforts were very much not cheap.
I don't always wear my Icon when riding, but there are conditions where it definitely works well.
Weren’t repairs free?
I got one free one. but found something later in another piece of gear and had to pay for that one. it may have depended on the severity of the repair or the number of them.
LL Bean is good stuff.
