UL rainjacket with good breathability chat

I know my REI eVent Kimtah parka is a tad heavy (size L at 15 oz.) but it is very durable and VERY breathable. Same for the Kimtah pants.

And the 20% off price was unbeatable for eVent. (I only needed one home equity loan to get them.;0)

Is breathability really that important? If you are just wearing a base layer, well it's not like you are going to get very wet. A non breathable rain jacket prevents evaporative cooling and keeps cold water from landing on your skin. If it's cold enough to be wearing a mid layer, then that's a bit different.

Raingear is not going to keep you dry.

It is going to keep you warm.

There is no such thing as anywhere close to breatheable enough for heavy exertion in humid conditions.

If you walk on flat ground in the arid west, then maybe you have a shot.

If you will use it on the Appalachian trail, you are seriously dreaming if you want to stay dry.

"Raingear is not going to keep you dry.

It is going to keep you warm.

There is no such thing as anywhere close to breatheable enough for heavy exertion in humid conditions.

If you walk on flat ground in the arid west, then maybe you have a shot.

If you will use it on the Appalachian trail, you are seriously dreaming if you want to stay dry."

So it is just a loosing battle….no holy grail. Sounds like I am dreaming to wear a rain gear that will keep me dry enough and keep putting the kays in. Which is no biggie if you haven't got a set finish date but if you have a fly in and fly out date I suppose you can't just sit therough 3 days of crap weather in a week hike.

So what is THE MOST breathable material that will still keep water out then?

"So what is THE MOST breathable material that will still keep water out then?"

It depends on conditions and temps, and by this point i probably sound like a broken record..

But for rain without much wind, nothing beats an umbrella combined with a light or UL windjacket.

For rain in really warm temps, nothing beats getting as undressed as is legal, provided you have back up dry clothes, and letting self get wet.

For rain in cooler temps (50 to 75), nothing will beat a poncho made out of all or mostly WPB material.

Rain in colder temps (less than 45/50 so), nothing beats Paramo, or rather more specifically getting a "pump liner" or equivalent material and combining that with your favorite UL or light windjacket provided it has enough initial HH (because of some tests with a 2012 Houdini, i think a HH of over that by some would be better, so at least 100 to 150 or so, the Houdini only has 70 [but it may have been more the seams that were the problem]).

So, there is no one "Holy Grail", but there are some very good, though not necessarily perfect, solutions for different conditions.

Based on everything I have read in terms of breathability:
1 Polartech Neoshell (air permeable)
2 Event (air permeable)
3 air permeable Gortex pro
4 Not air permeable Gortex fabric.

All of these fabrics has a hydrostatic head water prof rating of about 20,000mm to 30,000mm. Many of the low cost light weight jackets frequently mentioned on forums like this have breathability ratings lower than the 4 I listed above.

Unfortunately many people don't want to spend a lot of money and want to keep the weight down to a minimum. So they buy a jacket in there price and weight range only to be disappointed in the breathability. So they buy another with similar weight and cost and are again disappointed. And they keep doing this only to be disappointed again and again without ever trying any of the top 4 I have listed because of the higher cost and weight.

for these people statements like "Ah, the continuing, futile great conversation for the holy grail." are considered true.

I followed a different route. I started with a rain poncho, then moved to waterproof non breathable rain jacket. Didn't like either. Then I got a gortex packlite jacket( not air permeable). It was better than my previous rain jacket but still steamy. Most recently I purchased A Event jacket. The breathability of Event is vastly better than everything else I have ever owned and it doesn't have pit zips.

Steve F., you went through the same evolutionary process I have and ended with eVent.

>Yeah, I still have a standard GTX REI parka from the '90s. Taped seams are peeling-
>And I still have a Cabela's GTX PacLite rain suit. Not too bad but not too good.
>And now I have an REI Kimtah eVent rain suit. And it's great for winter alpine and backcountry skiing as well as Rocky Mountain afternoon thunderstorms.

I totally agree Steve F, too.

My first "rain jacket" was actually an REI WPB cycling jacket with out a hood. It rained for about 30 hours straight during my backpacking trip to Isle Royale in 2009, and I was soaking wet.

I then bought a Stoic Stash eVent rain jacket, which I totally love. I also own a Marmot Precip, which I bought cheap from REI when I forgot my Stoic and was going to get caught out in the rain. The Marmot Precip is now my "around town" rain jacket, and I save the Stoic for more serious backpacking endeavors.

When the Stoic Stash eVent jacket finally fails me, I'll look at another jacket in either eVent or NeoShell.