Aaron. a goodly number of people here will claim that “all rain jackets eventually wet out” and they often carry non breathable ponchos instead. The claim is that a hiker’s own sweat will wet out the jacket from the inside; and/or that the breathable membrane will become saturated and allow wetness in.
I’ve always used some variation of three ply Event or Gore, and found my jackets do indeed keep me dry. But I haven’t done a through hike, where I’m out for extended days in rain.
when you absolutely need rain/sleet protection is in cold conditions when wetting out your base layers could lead to hypothermia. I’ve always found that I never ‘sweated out’ my rain jackets in these conditions–too cold! Even climbing up to a pass I’m not sweating. And they’ve saved my butt any number of times. They also haven’t wet out from the outside.
I religiously apply DWR refresher at the start of the season–that may explain my success with keeping rain out. I wonder if some don’t feel a certain clamminess and assume it’s their jackets ‘failing’.
Hypothetically I like the idea of a non breathable poncho that allows a lot of air circulation while remaining waterproof. In practice I find the damn things flop around in the wind, are noisy and awkward and catch on limbs and shrubs.
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