3 Myths About Rain Jackets

You might have rain jackets all wrong. In this video, Tayson breaks down some common myths about rain jackets and what that means for you as a hiker or backpacker. This runs the gambit from breathability, DWR, and waterproof membranes.

Table of Contents
00:00 Intro
00:25 All Rain Jackets are permanently waterproof
00:57 Only Wet Because it's Punctured
02:15 Rain Jacket Breathability
02:15 The Tushar Rain Jacket
03:29 Outro

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[JmanUK]

In the UK we have a brand called paramo, doesn't use membrane fabrics and acts like animal fur instead pushing water away from you using a nikwax treatment. Most breathable fabric on the market.

[kriswibbenhorstermeister]

I use a frog toggs poncho. I’ve backpacked in the rain with it and never got wet. It was $20

[journeyman]

Good breakdown and definitely exciting news. Going to have to check that out.
Nate

[boopernator]

I couldn’t resist, just ordered my Tushar rain jacket. Now I really want to hike in the rain to test it out.

[LMay]

Excellent! I just ordered mine today.

[donnydread]

The one thing I wish ODV did was more color options. I understand that this complicates production, but I’m very particular about the color of my clothes and gear, and I’m willing to pay more to have everything match together well.

[shadeshiest]

Does the Tushar rain jacket not have front/side pockets? Only has a single chest pocket?

[SugarFreeTargets]

The best rain jacket I ever owned was honestly a cheap $30 military surplus goretex parka I got off ebay. There's really no need to spend hundreds on a rain jacket alone.

[tomnoyb]

Enlightened-Equipment Visp weighs less and is 75k g/m^2/24hrs breathability throughout. OV Tushar uses zero, 20k and 30k breathabilities in various places. Can one "breathe" through breathable fabric? Absolutely. Seal your lips around Visp fabric to get a sense what 75k breathability is. Then try Zpacks 50k? Then try Tushar? You'll find 30k isn't much. You'll also find that while a lot of air flow is possible through 75k, it still isn't enough. It's the best in the world, but still insufficient. You will get wet (mostly sweating) in the 75k Visp, but it will surely be unbearable in the 30k (which is really averages 15k over the whole jacket) Tushar.

And yes, all three will "wet-out." The breathable membrane stops transferring vapor once the weave of the fabric wets-out, because vapor is no longer transferring to open air, rather it hits the layer of liquid water in the wetted-out fabric and can't escape. Once the fabric wets-out (usually within ten-minutes or less), the jacket is worse than a plastic-bag, because the wetted-out water actually transfers back into the jacket as newly vaporized (100% humidity) gas which adds to the moisture already at max-capacity inside the jacket. Only mention the science of it because there's a fairly new technology called, "Shakedry, " which doesn't wet-out.

Shakedry has a lower breathability (not posted anywhere this author could find, but assumed to be GoreTex's normal 25k?), but won't wet-out. Most say Shakedry is state-of-the-art and the driest available, but not a single Shakedry jacket on the planet will fit this author's 6'5" 3XL frame. So no first-hand experience is available vs Shakedry.

This author had to make his own, which is 50k wpb/dcf from Ripstop by the Roll (no longer in stock) poncho hybrid. Poncho being its main attribute for breathability, although the wpb/breathable fabric certainly helps. It still wets out.

[jurgschupbach]

Micro Holes are nice i always appreciate the Stalkers Sabotage Jobs

[zedaprime]

There is a right tool...err jacket for every problem. The summer rain jacket is a thin frog togg like many AT through hikers on the local trail. Ditto, love my frog togg. Very light weight and can keep the chill off in the evening.

In the winter there are many hard shell "rain" jackets out and about but not a single foggy.

Like the info!

[RonKris]

Myth number 4: Waterproof and breathable. You can only have one or the other. I fell into the Gortex trap in the '80s and bought those expensive jackets...no Bueno. When Gore started out his weave was looser and allowed too much water/moister in, so he tightened the weave and continued the myth of 'waterproof and breathable'.
After my second expensive jacket, I ditched the expensive Gortex and bought a lightweight nylon-coated jacket. Much cheaper, but had almost the same results, that being waterproof, but not breathable.
Over the years I have learned the best way to keep somewhat dry is some form of a coated material, but to keep the sweat from soaking you as much as the rain, you need ventilation...period. Additionally, for the most part, a rain jacket for outdoors is for light rains, snows, etc. unless you have good ventilation. In winter it works okay, but then you allow the cold in, in summer or warm weather you allow the rain -or sweat. Any real downpour you will be wet from the rain or sweat, and that's a fact.

[davidjohnson]

Jackets were probably the biggest learning curve I went through over the years when I got into backpacking. My conclusion: don't buy them for or rely on them for their "waterproof" aspect. Ever since the C8 DWR waterproofing was outlawed, they no longer live up to the waterproof claim beyond a couple of hours of real use. Get them for their breathability but understand they cannot be your real solution for staying dry. You need an actual waterproof, non-breathable poncho on hand in case things get serious. Breathability is absolutely necessary. Don't bother with a jacket without pit zips. And get materials with high breathability. You'll benefit from the breathability aspect of your jacket almost 100% of the time and the waterproof aspect is close to worthless.