new waterproof product from Gore with permanent water repellancy coming

Any clue on how durable these will really be?  I assume it would be like turning a shell of GT Paclite inside out.

Also so is it safe to assume that there are all going to be black like the GT membrane?

The ePTFE membrane is white. If we’re assuming the same ePTFE in this product as in all other Gore Tex products it is probably coated with something for color and durability.

Right Steve. Only here the membrane is composed of multiple PTFE-layers with the outer layer being able to get colored (so it can get any color). There appears no seperate durability-coating, but they tested the durability using a Martinsdale test and after 1000 to even 10000 rotations, the color remained. For durability, they tested also the air-permeability after the Martinsdale-test and there was a decrease in AP but the waterproofness stayed intact.

Interesting that the color is white.  I assumed the inside of a Packlite jacket was membrane itself with a light and clear PU layer to protect it from oil.  Is that not correct?

I really could care less about color unless I am trying to use a rain shell as a wind jacket in that case I prefer a light color because it is sometimes used in the sun.  So far I have found even eVent in-adequate to use as a shell on the move when compared to a wind shirt.

“Interesting that the color is white.  I assumed the inside of a Packlite jacket was membrane itself with a light and clear PU layer to protect it from oil.  Is that not correct?”

No, in the latest generation of Paclite the PU-layer is grey to black because of the addition of carbon to the PU. In the first and second generation of Paclite, there was no carbon and the inside was indeed white-ish.

I see the “The North Face” Hyper Air is up on the REI site now.  No weight listed.  The Arctrex jacket that is supposed to be ~4oz isn’t for sale yet though.

Someone needs to to pick one of these up and put it through it’s paces. This is potentially a huge advancement in WPB tech but it could just be more marketing hype.