Rain jacket – what’s the “gold standard”

David:

IMO, anytime you are looking for the best in breathability, you can automatically exclude any and all versions of Goretex, or any other brands of laminates/coatings that require a PU layer.

This leaves just two players: eVENT and MontBell's Breeze Dry Tec laminates. And of the two, I believe most everyone will agree on eVENT being the best, and MontBell coming in a close second.

But fabric breathability pales in comparison with open venting when it comes to moving out sweat and water vapor! Some makers of eVENT jackets will have you believe that eVENT is somehow so breathable that you won't need any venting at all. I say hogwash — given my experience that when humid or active enough, anyone can sweat through even the thinnest tee shirt! And when it's raining, you can't unzip the front zip, so you've got no venting at all.

I think the ideal jacket is an UL eVENT jacket with pit zips. I vaguely remember reading here that one can customize order an ID eVENT with pit zips added. Otherwsie, I believe a MontBell jacket with full venting options is still the most comfortable and versatile wp/b option around.

The Showers Pass Elite 2.0 — an eVENT rain jacket with pit zips — deserves consideration. I've not tried it but it looks well engineered. Check it out at http://showerspass.com/cart/product_info.php?cPath=21_25&products_id=59&osCsid=1c61d641c89da69e5f52ed9c314d7d2d.

The Showers Pass jacket looks great for cyclists. But…It has no hood and the rear pocket would probably not be backpack friendly. I go for the Integral Designs. It has no pit zips but has worked for me for the past three years. I'm no speed walker so pit zips, while nice, are not a deal breaker for this great piece of equipment. Take a look at the ID eVent pants too.

eVENT en Breeze Dry Tec are probably the two top runners at the moment.
But I recently noticed this one:
http://www.nexture.com/

And it should be available at least from next year in jackets from a company called Vertical Limit who promises performance in an ultralight package. No idea about pit zips though.

That Nexture site is interesting.

The technology -> Nano membrane page has a comparison chart that claims that their Nanoweb membrane has 'excellent' air permeability.

I wonder though, looking at the magnified photo they have up, if that web will be durable enough for realworld apps.

But if they get that sorted out, it looks like they're claiming about 1/3 the weight and 1/3 the thickness of eVent along with stretch, no 'crinkles', and lots of face fabric options.

Found this press release on the webstite of Finetex, parent of Nexture (dated March 28, and doesn't mention 'Nexture', but perhaps Nexture is a newly adopted trade name):

Finetex Technology Global Limited announced that it has signed a manufacturing and distribution agreement with US-based Polartec, LLC. Under the agreement, Finetex will supply 17, 000, 000 (17M) square meters of Nanofibers for the next 7 years to Polartec, LLC amounting to 70 million US dollars. Finetex is a global Korean company withheadquarters in HongKong.

Finetex believes that the partnership with Polartec is the largest in potential volume so far within the Nanofiber industry. The Company believes that the future orders will be more than the current minimum as agreed in this agreement.

The Nanofibers of Finetex Technology offer superior performance qualities that include flexibility and air permeability which is measured by determining the fiber’s Moisture Vapor Transmission Rate or MVTR.

Polartec is a supplier of military fabrics to 16 countries in the world including the USA. It is planning to expand its operations by going into the manufacture and distribution of sports outdoor apparel and winter clothes using nanofibers as a result of its new agreement with Finetex.

I wonder if Polartec plans to use the Nexture 'nanoweb' membrane in their membrane softshell fabrics, replacing the PU membrane in Powershield, for example – resulting in a far more breathable member of the 'till-now-dreaded 'waterproof softshell' category.

But how air permeable can a membrane actually be, measured in CFM, before it loses waterproofness?

According to previous posts by Richard Nisley, waterproofness is (largely?) a function of pore size. How large can pores in a hydrophobic material be before water gets through? Richard?

If you haven't discovered this article, it bears reading.

Pore-size, distribution, bells and whistles, don't really matter if contamination "takes the luster off the gold"…

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/00316.html

eVent is the best you can get. The Breeze dry tec will perform almost as well, but is less expensive. I have used both fabrics and I prefer the peak shell because of the pit zips.

My vot goes to the I. D "Thru Hiker" eVent parks.

I own a Cabela's PacLite GTX parka which is great for the price but the I.D. eVent parka is THE best I've seen.

Want pit zips? Buy the proper zippers (2-way?) & take the parka to a GOOD tailor. I've done this with many jackets & parkas.

Eric