By the Numbers: The New Breathability Gap in WPB Jackets and What the Breathability Tests Get Wrong

That’s a lot to digest, and it seems like the future is a windy, rocky road. (Thank you for doing all of that testing BTW.)

If you had to purchase a WPB jacket, and wanted something with high-performing breathability, what would you buy? Or what materials would you look for? What would your shopping “criteria” be?

Would more mechanical ventilation (pit zips, etc.) loosen-up your “criteria” for the membrane/materials and MVTR specs?

HI JA:  Thanks for reading. Look at Table 2.  I own the Papsura, the Outdoor Vitals and the Finetrack jackets. I want microporous membranes.  Fortunately, I can test jackets and determine how the breathability measures up.  None of these are perfect jackets, but each has its uses.  At the moment, the Papsura jacket is my go to.  I purchased the Outdoor Vitals for biking in the rain. It lacks mechanical closure on the hood and cuffs.  I spend a lot of time above treeline and need to seal things up in high winds.  A note on the Outdoor Vitals.  This is the sleeve interiors after biking for an hour.

The discolored areas appeared after a one-hour ride when the sleeve interior rubbed against my bare skin, and I had applied sunscreen several hours before putting the jacket on.  Outdoor Vitals agrees it was likely caused by the oils in the sunscreen.  They are aware of the issue and say this discoloration doesn’t affect the jacket’s performance.  They suggest I wash the jacket, which might mitigate the discoloration. Time will tell.  However, it does make an excellent bike rain jacket: it packs small, has low weight, it is very breathable and has pit zips.  Regarding pit zips:  I want the broadest comfort range in my WPB so I always want pit zips and high MVTR.  I had them added to the Papsura jacket.

I don’t consider them to be a cure for low MVTR fabrics.  I just don’t see a use case for low-MVTR fabrics if I can find high-MVTR jackets that meet my needs.  Of course, most jackets on the market don’t offer high MVTR performance, as Table 3 shows.  As far as I know, only two gear manufacturers in the US offer Toray Torain. The other one makes ski jackets.  Too heavy and bulky for our objectives. I think only one, The North Face, continues to offer electrospun microporous membranes.  There is a new Polartec electrospun that is PFAS free.  It is used in a bike jacket. I have the jacket, but don’t recommend it.  So choices for market-leading breathability are limited.  You will get a good idea of how the market stacks up against the highest breathability performance that I have found.

Hi Stephen,

Again such a great article to read! Thanks!

Is this the ski shell you’re thinking of https://akovagear.com/products/mens-legacy-hardshell-jacket ? I’ve never heard of this company but I don’t like the price ahah!

I’ve seen this one on sale https://www.kuiu.com/products/kutana-storm-shell-jacket-gunmetal?variant=40479622594718 but they don’t state a weight :( is it the same membrane? It’s a shame manufacturers are giving so few details about what we buy!

I forgot about Kuiu.  Yes, they are the third US company.  They have a couple jackets and I did not test them.  Perhaps I should, but I looked at them and thought they might be overkill for BPL.  I tested the legacy because I was curious and wanted to purchase a new ski shell. The pricing is OK for all the features it provides. Certainly, not out of line with other full featured ski shells.  It did very well in the MVTR test, especially for such a heavy face fabric. In the end, I decided I did not want a 2 pound shell jacket.  It did have some innovative features.