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RE: GorTex or eVent ?

I was always a Goretex fan (mainly simply due to brand recognition) but my new Rab jacket uses Event and it's pretty spot on.

From what I understand, the difference in waterproofing qualities is negligible.

RE: GorTex or eVent ?

 my new rab latok alpine is event and is like a sieve...it let water in that bad that my phone which was in the inside jacket had a puddle in the screen and is now f***ed...though my montane kex are event as well and are spot on...weird.

RE: GorTex or eVent ?

cruachan66 said:

 my new rab latok alpine is event and is like a sieve...it let water in that bad that my phone which was in the inside jacket had a puddle in the screen and is now f***ed...though my montane kex are event as well and are spot on...weird.

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That is probably nothing to do with event fabric but everything to do with design of pockets, zips etc. Materials make very little difference how dry you are from rain, but design makes all the difference to how dry you are from rain.

RE: GorTex or eVent ?

Whats this obsession with staying dry anyway? Isnt it better to be warm & wet than dry & cold?

RE: GorTex or eVent ?

Is the answer perhaps that life is too short to worry.

There is some benefit in breathable "waterproof", but its not perfect.

If you've got more money than sense, by all means buy Archteryx

If you're strapped for cash Regatta Sympatex will do a job for you.

In both, despite claims about waterproofing and breathability, if you work hard you'll get wet from sweat, if it rains really hard you'll get wet from rain.

The only ones who'll gain from people sitting round, believing that one fabric has a magical superiority over another  are the manufacturers of overpriced gear.

I once went for an interview with a drinks company.    They'd just bought a factory which bottled water for supermarkets.   They stopped supplying supermarkets and brought out their own brand water.  Exactly the same stuff, but retailed for about 5 times the price as when it had been supermarket branded.  THAT is the kind of thing which "premium" branding does, and THAT is why marketing is a fancy name for conning people and exploiting them.

RE: GorTex or eVent ?

Has anyone seen the film 'Cross of Iron' (brilliant Sam Peckinpah war film)?

Well, a bloke in there doesn't wash and when questioned why, he says it makes him waterproof (?)

Can anyone do better than that?

RE: GorTex or eVent ?

alteredego said:

Is the answer perhaps that life is too short to worry

It may well be "if" you are well read on this very popular subject, but, if you are a newbie to this matter - then no that is not the answer.

RE: GorTex or eVent ?

hillhiker1 said:

Absolutely! It's the cold that'll get you, not the wet. As long as you keep the wind off when you're wet you'll be fine. (ish)

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Moist air transfers heat 2.5 times faster than dry air. 

So if you are wet you feel colder than if you are dry.

So yes it is cold that kills you, but if you are wet you get colder quicker.

Keeping the wind off is important too as you say.

RE: GorTex or eVent ?

 A possible more important point to consider, rather than Event v Gore-Tex is where you are comparing a 2 layer fabric (Gore Paclite) and a 3 layer fabric like Gore Proshell and Event,.

The differences in how wet you get from condensation is massive when you compare these constructions. 

Interestingly Columbia have a new fabric out (read more in next issue of Trail) but it does get quite a bit of of condensation. The reason it is a 2.5 layer fabric, so it has a print on the inside, but not a proper inner layer. It is light of course and soft, but in terms of staying dry you migth be better of with any 3 layer fabric, either event, gore proshell or gore performance shell or many other 3 layers fabrics for that matter.

One other thought is there is quite a noticeable difference in how wet you get from condensation in very low priced (low breathability) fabrics and the higher priced (more breathable fabrics). However the difference between low breathability fabrics and mid-table fabrics is hard to notice and equally the difference between the mid-tabel fabrics and the most breathable fabrics is hard to notice.

GT

GT

RE: GorTex or eVent ?

The way I look at it is this...

40 years ago I climbed Kinder in October wearing a hand-me-down nylon anorak (which was previously my sister's) and had a plastic mac in my school duffle bag in case it rained. 

30 years ago I was walking in The Lakes and The Peak District in a plastic kagoule from Millett's, a pair of Levis and a woolly jumper.

20 years ago I was walking in Western Ireland in a Rohan jacket which was expensive, well made, windproof, amazingly breathable and leaked like a seive after about an hour of heavy rain.

Pretty much anything you can buy today (like my £25 Regatta or my daughter's £18 Mac-in-a-sack) will be better than any of the above.

RE: GorTex or eVent ?

gizouki said:

The way I look at it is this...

40 years ago I climbed Kinder in October wearing a hand-me-down nylon anorak (which was previously my sister's) and had a plastic mac in my school duffle bag in case it rained. 

30 years ago I was walking in The Lakes and The Peak District in a plastic kagoule from Millett's, a pair of Levis and a woolly jumper.

20 years ago I was walking in Western Ireland in a Rohan jacket which was expensive, well made, windproof, amazingly breathable and leaked like a seive after about an hour of heavy rain.

Pretty much anything you can buy today (like my £25 Regatta or my daughter's £18 Mac-in-a-sack) will be better than any of the above.

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Thanks Gizouki, We've been making the Target Dry Mac in a Sac since 1987 to as high a standard as we possibly can. If they weren't waterproof we wouldnt be where we are now!

We make sure to tape all the stitching seams on our packaway jackets and overtrousers, and the fabric used has been rated 5000mm Waterproof and 5000g/sm Breathable.

All this in a simple packaway that weighs less than 300g and retails for under £25!

RE: GorTex or eVent ?

Both will keep you dry when needed, so pick any.