Outdoor Research Ion at REI Outlet

[Anonymous]

Dondo, this is the OR Ion that I am speaking of. Additionally, I called the manufacturer and complained of the lack of breathability and it was suggested that I wash it to take some of the coating off. I have washed it but have not tried it out since.

[Dondo .]

That's interesting. I've taken mine out several times and had no problems at all with condensation.

[Anonymous]

That is good news Dondo because I would really rather not drop anymore coinage down this heretofore fruitless quest to find a suitable wind jacket. I have an L.L. Bean supplex jacket which is breathable, fairly light but probably weighs 3 times the Ion and does not scrunch down in volume as does the Ion. My experience last month with the Ion was in very cold and windy weather. The first day we were in the shade with terrific wind and I wore the Ion over a lightweight wool shirt. Going down hill I was not exerting maximum energy but when we popped into the sun I took it off and there was lots of moisture beaded up on the inside. Same thing a couple of days later but hiking at fairly steady elevation with a tad more exertional output with lots of moisture buildup on the inside. There is another parallel thread going right now and somebody suggested that any nylon with a coating on it would reduce breathability to a minimum. However you say you have not had this problem. Based on your satisfaction with this garment I am going to give the Ion another try before I spend anymore money on a wind jacket.

[Drew Davis]

I've been wearing mine almost everyday for over a week now and I have had no issues with condensation either. I have found it to be extremely breathable. Even when I go for a run I don't get any condensation on the inside. If I feel myself start to get hot, I'll usually unzip it and that makes all the difference in the world.

[Richard Nelridge]

Hi John,

I have had a little problem with my OR Ion at least when wearing too much clothing. You (and I) may be experiencing too much clothing and a difference in temperature where the moisture condenses on the inside of the jacket. That is my assessment in part thus far. That is we aren't generating enough heat (where the jacket is contacting the outer air) to push the vapor through the jacket and it is condensing. I am sure however, if our jackets have too much coating that washing should help to remove some to all of the coating and increase the breathability of the jacket.

Rich

[Anonymous]

Dondo and Drew, you are discussing an Ion by OR? When you say you have experienced no condensation, has your experience involved walking for a minimum of 30 minutes or even 45 minutes to an hour carrying a backpack? Or are you just wearing it around town involving short periods of minor exertional activity? As you can probably tell I am astonished that your experiences are at such variance with mine.

[Dondo .]

John, I'm also astonished that our experiences with the OR Ion are so different. As you probably know, windshirts run the gamut from highly waterproof to highly breathable. I was thinking that the Ion was at the breathable end of the spectrum until I read your post

So far I've done three training hikes in the local foothills, carrying a 15 to 20 lb. pack, about 6 miles RT, 1000 ft. elevation gain, on top of mostly consolidated snow. Each hike was about three hours. On the first hike I had to take off the Ion after about an hour because the day got too hot. Temperatures for all the hikes were in the thirties and forties, sometimes with a stiff breeze. I wore a heart rate monitor on all the hikes and kept my heart rate at 140 BPM or lower, a moderate exertion level. As I noted above, I did not detect any condensation on the inside on any of the hikes.

So how do we explain the difference? I don't know. Since the breathability of the Ion is a constant, it must have something to do with the amount of moisture each of us is putting out. It could be that I'm not exerting as much as you. As Richard mentioned it could be a difference in the amount of clothing each of us is wearing. For the training hikes I wore running shoes, REI Sahara Pants, A Golite C-thru top and a one ounce poly beanie. Another possibility is that we are thermoregulating differently. I'm most comfortable on the move when I'm feeling slightly cool so I'm carefully monitoring my body to stay that way. The beanie and hood come on and off, the zipper goes up and down, and my pace is regulated depending on how hot or cool I'm feeling. If it seems as if the day is heating up the windshirt comes off.

Good luck with your Ion. Maybe washing out the dwr is all that you needed.

[Drew Davis]

My activities have involved different sorts of activities and yes, I'm speaking of the OR Ion – NOT the Marmot Ion. It has involved hikes over 30 min. not wearing a pack, hikes with a pack, and short runs (20 min. or so) around town. In all of those activities, I really didn't experience any moisture build up.

Yesterday, I took it out again, and had my first real experience with moisture build up on the inside. I was running at a good pace though and it was probably too warm for the windshirt to begin with (high 50s). When I noticed the jacket starting to stick a little, I unzipped it almost all the way and that helped a lot.

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