Most breathable windbreaker/shirt?

I like my old version of Marmot’s Ion, which was made from Pertex Quantum material. Richard N. can tell us which material is most breathable.

The most breathable would be the Patagonia Airshed.  Past that you couldn’t really call it a windbreaker.  A hooded option is the Black Diamond Alpine Start but it’s a little heavy and I don’t think you’d want a hood for running.

Gary-Thanks, I like the arm pit vents. I will look at this.

Paul-Thanks for the suggestion.

the dead bird Incendo Hoody has open mesh in the arm pit area, and between that feature and the full zip, it is both very breathable and versatile. I pretty much run in it every morning whenever the temp is under 50d.

Regarding CFM values, here’s an old list of fabrics tested by Richard Nisley & compiled by a fellow BPL’er, but I don’t think it’s been recently updated. Also, it’s crucial to remember that these are measurements of the fabrics. Any jacket that fully unzips or has other ventilation (like vented pits) will be much more breathable as a system, so that should be taken into consideration.

Brad, I was on the lookout for an ultralight breathable windshirt for a long time and eventually found the Nike impossibly light jacket. My size large is 3.2 oz and I’d say their is similar breathability to pertex equilebrium, maybe a hair less breathabiloty than the airshed, but lighter and with a full zip and hood.

I use it for everything from bc skiing to backpacking, but I use it on a daily basis in the colder half of the year for trail running. Easily oneof my favorite pieces of gear and it can usually be found for less than $50 on eBay. Shoulder/chest area is a little on the right side. My size L fits more like a M/L.

There is a ‘shield’ version of this jacket that’s more waterproof, and thats not the one you want.

Serge-thanks. I will check that out.

High output I like the Rab Boreas (discontinued) and Borealis, and also the BR Alpine Start.

I don’t own one, but if looking for lighter, the Enlightened Equipment Copperfield can be ordered custom in 7D, for which they advertise 35 CFM. I don’t know if you can order it hoodless, but ordering custom, it may be possible.

Gday Brad are you looking for something like the fauxdini ( put fauxdini in the search box )-started by Valerie ages ago?  I have some comments at the end. I can verify the Ochenta one at Amazon is basically the same. Not sure if this is what you are after tho. Cheers.

Graham-I did look at the fauxdini’s but I am concerned about the sizing. Seems to be such wild swing from one maker to the next and at 6’2 200lbs I am not sure even the XXXL of some of these would fit.

Brad I am 1.8 metres tall, 86 kgs, and 103cms around the chest. I have four of these now. The Ochenta one from Amazon and three from the ebay seller (max size when I bought was 2XL, as I said I took a chance). I like Valerie bought a few just in case they stopped making them! First thing I put in when walking. Everything I wrote in that thread remains true. I would add that no tears rips etc and I have dragged it on tree branches more than a few times. Might get a wee ladder but doesn’t seem to affect the use of the jacket at all.

The sizing is consistent. I bought the 2XL from the ebay seller linked there. They fit “athletically’ not skin tight on me at all. Have that magic one cm all around to trap warm air. If this was more highly WR it would be the magic jacket. It is  close to a traditional M for Australians. To give you and idea that they are not that snug, I bought two more, same size 2XL , after the first! All fit exactly the same.

Ran Nikwax thru two of them for extra water repellency.

I then last year bought the 3XL Ochenta so called “womens” model from Amazon-it is a L by my standards (same size as my L Squamish) – plenty of room and weighs about 80 grams from memory. You can walk all day with a rucksack in light rain and not get wet. Can’t go wrong really for the price-just basically ugly colours. I now have two white Caspar the friendly ghosts and a flouro blue and green.

Take a punt on a 3XL and I reckon you will not be disappointed. I can only speak to the Ochenta one and the ebay ones. Same material and rollaway hood. The hood seems made to go over a helmet so it is large. Wear it over a baseball cap and it would be perfect. I have walked in temps of around 2 degrees celcius with this over a Cap Thermal weight hoody and LW Cap Tshirt , and shorts in light rain. Perfect go suit active stuff. Dry inside. Have slept in it also. Seems like a very light VB. Any questions just sing out. Cheers.

Camp Saver has these RAB Wind Jackets for $40 or less. Basic single layer stuff.
I have the RAB Wind Lite Jacket in the lovely “Metallic Martini Olive Green” (as my son calls it) and use it as a running jacket. Can’t beat the price .
Outdoor Gear Lab  has info on name brands and a nice Search function for future reference.

Steofan M.

I got a Cotopaxi Paray jacket and I’m uhhh blown away by the breathability. The XL weighs the same as my 2012 XL Houdini (4.4oz). The “Darth Vader” test is all I have to go by, but it is very breathable. I would go up a size too.

https://www.cotopaxi.com/products/copy-of-paray-lightweight-jacket-mens-sale?variant=8591545303101

Westcomb Crest Hoody is pretty breathable.  Use mine for trail running a lot.  Breathes better than the Squamish and Incendo from Arc’teryx, which can be both a pro and a con depending on conditions.

Ah, another Marmot Ion user. I got mine when I bought the first generation Osprey Aether (long sold). Packs kept changing, but the Ion kept on working in the Andes, Pressie Range, Rockies and the Appalachians. Nice to have close fitting adjustable hood which has a snap strap for stowing away. Great for blocking wind, not very breathable (7 coffee filters range). DWR varies with washing and treatment. Back in 2005 when I got the Ion it was one of the lightest around at 3.5 oz on my scale. For hiking windy exposed ridges with temps to upper 50s the Ion was excellent and fully up to the game.

Is there a post somewhere that explains how to perform the Vader/coffee filter test?

Its rather subjective, but gives some quick idea of how breathable a fabric is. Stretch it over your curled hand and see if you can breath through it. It does look odd doing it in a store. Doing the same through a coffee filter or stack of them compared to the fabric in question gives a frame of reference in lieu of instrumentation. If you try several items from your gear locker you’ll see the differences pretty quick.

Richard Nisley has given us a lot of data on fabrics on these forums over the years and does real lab based fabric testing. He has a spreadsheet with CFM ratings for a number of garments at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1WTUeFU39h_bXL4vqB9-cKlk3QHZf-TUE3UyGybtpDEY/edit#gid=0

More good stuff here: https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/87696/page/2/

Incendo Hoody is the most breathable IMHO.