Can someone explain waterproofing?

[cecaldjong]

On the hunt for a new shell to replace a 15 YO Patagonia that has served me well, but has become 50% duct tape due to seam glue dying.

Having not shopped in over a decade, I’m unsure of how to interpret some of the specs. For instance on one Mammut shell- it’s advertised as having “extreme” waterproofing at “27k mm” vs another model that’s more touring aligned at 15k mm for waterproofness and breathability.

Given I’ll use shell for everything such as ski days to hiking to just grilling in the rain, etc is the 15k mm model sufficient in your opinion? Or are these numbers not even relevant? My she’ll experience has been that once I’m actively moving, zippers gotta be open no matter the breathability of the fabric.

[whyturn]

Pretty straightforward. One number is waterproof against a stream of water. The second is breathablity and relates to how fast it can get sweat out. You want bother numbers to be above 20k and 25k is great. I moved to event fabric a while ago and never looked back. Some prefer gore or proprietary fabrics like entrant or any other. You will get a million answers on preference and likely some WTH jong. For me it’s strafe and westcomb. Trying a BD dry kit this year
Bottom line is if one number is higher than other then you are favoring waterproofing over breathable or the other way around. If hiking a lot and not skiing in PNW then breathability is likely more important.


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[whyturn]

Pretty straightforward. One number is waterproof against a stream of water. The second is breathablity and relates to how fast it can get sweat out. You want bother numbers to be above 20k and 25k is great. I moved to event fabric a while ago and never looked back. Some prefer gore or proprietary fabrics like entrant or any other. You will get a million answers on preference and likely some WTH jong. For me it’s strafe and westcomb. Trying a BD dry kit this year
Bottom line is if one number is higher than other then you are favoring waterproofing over breathable or the other way around. If hiking a lot and not skiing in PNW then breathability is likely more important.


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[cecaldjong]

Thank you very much h for the reference point and explanation.

[3PinGrin]

Lots of detailed info here:

https://www.evo.com/guides/outerwear...-breathability

[gregL]

Lots of detailed info here:

https://www.evo.com/guides/outerwear...-breathability

The evo article is pretty comprehensive and worth a read. Basically the first number is usually a "Water Column" value - if you put a 1"x1" tube over the fabric, how high a column can you get when you fill it before it leaks (in millimeters). How much is enough? Depends on where you live and how stubborn you are - die hards in the Pacific Northwest better have something over 20k, 15k is usually fine in the Rockies.

[gregL]

PS As for skinning or hiking in the rain, I can do it with the jacket zipped if it's GORE-TEX Pro or eVent, otherwise the zippers need to be open. Futurelight is also very breathable, but it's marginal in terms of waterproofing for the PNW. (The second number in a fabric spec is usually the breathability - how many grams of water can evaporate through the fabric in a 24 hour period, though the tests are not always standardized)

[cecaldjong]

Awesome information. I appreciate the references and reading!

[MagnificentUnicorn]

Can someone explain waterproofing?

https://youtu.be/GGEzJJYiROk?si=dWa74wR-29_TvZxF

In practical terms waterproof/breathable is anything but. People have known this for years.

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[Hood26]

I like Gore Pro.

Going to give Future light pants a try this year.

[enginerd]

For resort skiing, I’ve found gore pro and eVent to be the only thing to keep me dry in really nasty wet storms. Gore pro might be slightly more durable in most applications.

For the uphill, either pretty much have to come off or be very vented and quite cold.

Depending on where you land and what size you are, I have a blue Patagonia super alpine jacket (gore pro) and a red crux event jacket both in size L coming up for sale shortly. The super alpine is in perfect shape, the crux is showing a small amount of wear.


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[3PinGrin]

More ski gear with Gelanots would be nice.

[apex dave]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGEzJJYiROk

Good You Tube with some real science behind it.