Most breathable mvtr wind shirt with a low cfm

Take a look at the OR Helium Wind Hoody.  MVTR: 3360, HH 405 (pretty good for a windshirt, but not waterproof, of course) Air permeability 1.6.

Thx Stephen. And what about the Black Diamond Alpine Start 2021?

Don’t know about 2021.  I did a series of different years a few years back.  Don’t know where the data is but it is somewhere on  BPL.  The performance for all the years  that I looked at was consistent. They have changed the DWR but I don’t expect that will change things.   The one I have in my data is 3510 MVTR.  Very good. Air perm is 13.2.  Could be cold in elevated winds, depending on ambient temps and level of activity.  HH 266.  That is pretty typical for a wind shirt.

How did the laser holes in the arm pits impact any of this?

Laser holes in the arm pits? Done with a Light Saber maybe? Arm pit to arm pit?

Cheers

Those are marketing holes in the arm pit. “Look, our jacket has holes!”. Functionally the total surface area of the holes does slightly better than no holes. My guess is the user would rarely notice a difference. Jackets with mesh arm pits (for running) would at least move some air.

Stephen,

I have a Cotopaxi wind shirt I bought in Pinedale, WY this August, after I realized that I had left my Arcteryx Squamish at home in Michigan by accident. If you’re looking to compile numbers, I could send it to you so long as I get it back.  My Squamish is my main wind shirt.  The numbers I have on the Squamish are 100mm HH and 43cfm, but I don’t recall where I pulled those, and if you have updated numbers on the Squamish, that would be cool tool.

Well, for a windshirt, I think having holes is better than not having holes.

I’ve read the data on this site & sifted through the tech best I can. Still, it would be great if we could get a top 5 of wind shirts with low CFM & high MVTR.  Anyone have this?  Thanks!
Side note: on my last trip in Roan Highlands I lived in my Alpha Direct & fauxdini.  Wow.  The combination of these two garments has incredible range & functionality!  Now I want the best wind shirt.

Interestingly, I went to REI to see the OR Helium. I looked at the labeling and it is mark as a rain jacket, not a wind jacket. Not sure I’d wear this if my goal was to use it as a wind jacket. Would a high MVTR make up for this?

OR makes similarly named Helium products as a Wind Hoody and a Rain Jacket. Maybe you were looking at the rain jacket?

I just checked and you are right. The link in a previous comment links to the rain jacket, not the wind hoodie. Thanks for the info.