Zpacks Challenger Rain Jacket

“Is it likely to be as breathable as my NeoShell Montane Further Faster jacket?”

You might find this interesting.

Has there been any change to the fabric since 2013?

From memory- The Challenger fabric breathes a bit better than the 2013 stuff. Still not really close to eVent or Neoshell though. I think Richard N. has a post here about it.

Ryan

Thanks Greg,

My understanding is that the fabric is different to the one shown in the video.
The video shows Dyneema , whereas the Zpacks jacket uses Cuben Fiber.

No idea if that makes any difference in real world terms though.

Thanks Ryan,

Mannnn i'm disappointed to read that, 165g for what seems a breathable jacket with good coverage seemed a little to good to be true.

Any idea on what sort of fabric it's equivalent to in terms of breath-ability?
I have some PERTEX Shield pants and find them worthless as in anything over 10c i end up wetter from sweat than i would if i'd just let the rain fall on my trousers.

I still have wet shoulders from sweat with the Further Faster jacket, but it's a compromise i'm happy with

Cuben fiber is a laminated fabric made using patented technologies with unidirectional prepregnated tapes of in-line plasma treated fibers that are spread into mono-filament level films. In more simple terms, Cuben fiber is made by sandwiching Spectra or Dyneema polyethylene fiber filaments a thousandth of an inch thick, in various arrangements between thin outer layers of polyester film. The “sandwich” is then melded together in a high-pressure autoclave.

Richard Nisley’s Lab Test – Zpacks Waterproof Breathable Cuben & Event Fabric

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't those tests on a prior version of the material? The post is a year old and (if I understand correctly) we are now on "third generation" for ZPacks rain gear. Would love to see similar analysis though…

I believe Richard N. tested also the new version of the fabric with a higher CFM but still far under 0,5; a bit under 0,3 I think.

Those figures sound about right.

Ryan

"I believe Richard N. tested also the new version of the fabric with a higher CFM but still far under 0,5; a bit under 0,3 I think."

How do these numbers compare to say eVent or Neoshell please?

How do these numbers compare to say eVent or Neoshell please?

Uhhh, what variation of eVENT or Neoshell would you like it compared to?

There is ONE VERSION of WPB/CF/eVENT on the market right now.

There are probably a dozen eVENT/Neoshell variations.

All known specs on the present Challenger can be found here – and the only place on the internet that I know of with all of the specs in one article.

Mark,

Generally, Neoshell and 3L eVent will have more breathability than the Challenger rain jacket. Will you be able to tell that while hiking? Probably not, but every bit helps in my book. You have to weigh the price, weight, breathability, durability, etc and decide what's most important to you.

Ryan

PS – I found it on my 2nd time through, John. There's a lot of text in that article. lol

Last paragraph of the "MVTR" section

John i have absolutely no idea.

I tried reading the article but my eyes glazed over after a paragraph, sorry.

As i say i'm happy with the rain out/condensation inside compromise of my Montane Further Faster rain jacket.

So it's this jacket i would like to compare it against.

If it's 95% as breath-able i'd seriously consider it as it will offer nearly the same performance as my Montane Further Faster rain jacket but at over 1/2 he weight (445g for the MFF in XL, 179g for the ZPC in XL)