Submitted by Pr0tagon1sst t3_yhhxv6 in BuyItForLife
My goal is to own two casual BIFL jackets. I just bought a Filson Mackinaw Cruiser to handle winter and am looking for a rain resistant midlayer to use in late spring through winter and layer with the other jacket as necessary. Suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Point taken. I’m not looking for something waterproof, largely due to our shared concern, but I’m hoping there exists my target jacket and it is at least moderately water resistant.
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Yes, Lifetime warranty of the garment not of the user.
Their GORE-TEX stuff is quite good. You can get the detergent and spray and keep the rain resistance top notch for a long time.
Unfortunately you really only have full blown waterproof (gore Tex etc), or else just tight knit nylon with dwr (like a atom lt). The latter is really not very water resistant imo. Like 5-10 minutes of drizzle and that’s it. I’d get something like a Patagonia torrentshell.
Your midlayer should be insulating, outer layer/shell should be water/wind proof and then you adjust the midlayer based on how cold it is outside. A coat like the filson mackinaw cruiser is kinda both, but you can get a lighter weight shell if you want for warmer months.
If you want to stick with filson you could get one of their tin cloth jackets. Iron and Resin also have some comparable things. Semi-traditional shells, some.of which are water resistant. Triple aught design can be another option. Their stuff tends to be slightly more technical, but they have a good few options for water resistant mid layers. Their Ronin LS has a massive sale going right now.
Second this. I've had one of their jackets for 15 years and it just needs the occasional re-proof with Nikwax to keep it waterproof (easily done in a washing machine).
Just one thing to not, a lot of their stuff is very winter centric and can run warm. If it paired with a good wicking undershirt that's less of a problem but if you were wearing something more casual it might not be so comfortable.
This looks pretty great. Out of stock though, which is less great. It’ll last?
https://tripleaughtdesign.com/products/equilibrium-jacket?variant=39913190031460#
The equilibrium is one of their most popular jackets, I'm sure they'll be back in stock sooner or later. Even their ranger hoodie and ranger jackets have a little bit of water resistance even though they're fleece.
How does detergent and spray help goretex? I thought goretex was a physical membrane, not a applied chemical...?
I'm not an expert by any stretch, but in my experience the magic of GORE-TEX wears off after a while. When you first get the coat, water will bead and fall off. After a while the coat loses some of that wetness protection (in my experience). I like to wash it with GORE-TEX safe detergent (right in the washing machine), spray it down with waterproofing spray, and then dry it in the dryer. I do this probably 2 times a year and it works like a charm.
You asked the right question.
Let's start with a pretty universal basic.
A garbage bag wrapped around you is 100% waterproof right? Same with rubber boots. But the reason they are bad is because your body's moisture can't escape.
A wet body feels gross, but it's also bad because it's conductive. You lose heat at something like 10-30x the normal pace when the body is wet.
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You are correct that Gore-Tex is a physical membrane. Jackets aren't made of Gore-Tex, they are made with various face-fabrics, some better quality, some lesser. The membrane is bonded to the inside of that fabric.
The point of Gore-Tex vs other waterproof membranes is that is quality control of it's breathability. There are 2 ways you can lose this breathability.
Normally the face fabric is bonded/coated with a layer of DWR (durable water repellent), sorta like TEFLON. It's hydrophobic and just makes the water bead off. But this coating eventually wears out from abrasion or just movement of the fabric fibers.
There are 2 ways your Gore-Tex jacket will fail at it's job of waterproof-breathability.
That DWR is degraded. So now your face fabric is completely sogged like a pair of wet jeans. This is called wet out. Now you've got a solid sheet of water over in the face fabric and your jacket can't breath. The spray is to refresh your DWR and keep water beading off your jacket.
Your Gore-Tex membrane gets clogged up with grime, dirt and body oils. Again, no more breathability. It's dirt that you need to remove with detergent.
Hope this helps!
Yeah that's just the DWR. Goretex itself typically refers to their proprietary laminated membrane, which come in many different qualities, price points, and overall waterproofness. I imagine for some of those, the DWR is more or less important than others.
And to think we go through all this science when wool exists lol
Well, wool isn't the be-all-end-all, it breaths, but it doesn't protect from the elements. Gore-Tex isn't everything either, it's just piece of the puzzle. Both have their niche. Material sciences is still a developing discipline and we're learning more every day.
Just throwing this out there, Are you seeing Olympians and Special Forces wear wool coats? Nope. Why? Cause it's bulky and isn't an adequate shield for the elements (wind and rain). But they are wearing wool/synthetic hybrid socks. And also wool blankets.
All of this is a compromise.
"wool exists" is too simplistic. There so many more factors in play.
> Just throwing this out there, Are you seeing Olympians and Special Forces wear wool coats?
LOL
Define rain resistant? I’d look at Anián.
PyrateLyfe t1_iudv1nc wrote
Worth checking out a company called Paramo. They supply Scottish search and rescue their gear and they have some water resistant hoodies and jackets and some seriously good full waterproof kit. Not cheap but amazing quality.