Gore-Tex Vote

“Ok, I wanna know. Bottom line; is Gore-Tex 100% water proof or will it wet out? Please say weather yours is 2 layer or three.”

“Who knows how many layers but it's never wet through. Ever.”

“if i had to choose between Gore or the Tex, i'd vote Tex.





















my moonstone 2 layer has never wet out.”

“Wait till you wash it and have to re-waterproof it. In the spring, I wash and reapply water repellant to my coats, however, my (2-layer) coats wet out in places now that the original water repellant has worn off somewhat.”

“get a marmot pre-cip, then.”

“Is your Pre-Cip ~4 years old and has been washed a few times yet?”

“Gore-Tex will never wet out. A Gore-Tex jacket might, but it's because of the design of the jacket and not the gore-tex.
Buddur, you shouldn't have to re-waterproof it to stop wet out. All that the water proofing on the outside does is keep the goretex free to breathe. Gore-tex as a material will not allow water through it, but it cannot breathe if there is water on it's surface. I have a Mountain Light shell and have had it through some very hard rains with no wet out. IMHO it is the origional and still the best.”

“My OR standard bivy is without question waterproof; I've slept thru 2 downpours. It is still new.

I don't own a G-tex jacket and don't plan to. Coated works fine for what I do.”

“i don't have a pre-cip.

read again, mr buddur.”

“GoreTex WILL TOO wet out!!! The "coating" is to make water bead up and flow off the material rather than spread out and stick to it...like RainX for car windshields. And yes, by making the water bead and roll off easier the GoreTex will continue to breathe.

If I remember correctly, GoreTex is a laminant...2-layer GoreTex has an outer laminant which holds the repellant while the inner layer is the true Gore. That outer laminant WILL loose its water repellancy with time and WILL wet out. (I too have a Mountain Light)”

“Mmmmm...the outer laminant is also meant to take the abrasion coat endures.”

“I've got a 3 layer GoreTex jacket that has never wet out even after wearing it in the rain for 3 days. I thought it had wet out but it was just very cold and felt wet. Underneath I was very dry.”

“And another thing...

They don't make Revivex or NikWax re-waterproofing products for nothing!”

“2 layer here.

I don't know about wetting out but the stuff doesn't breath as well as Gore would like you to believe. As a result, you get just as wet on the inside when your really working out anyways.

I'll second the Precip or similar shell suggestion. At least they're light and have good venting.”

“My 2 cents....

Don't use a liquid soap when you wash your gear...it will wash out the DWR coating and allow the garment to wet out...use powder soap...also don't use fabric softeners.

Most DWR treatments can be restored by drying on the highest heat setting your garment will allow, also ironing will help ...this will vary from one garment to the next, read the washing instructions!

Gore-Tex does breath, kinda sorta.. You can produce more vapor that the fabric will "pass", hence vents. I use the basic rule of skiing , start cold, I usually start with only my Tex and long underwear, if after a few minutes I haven't warmed up, I add a layer.
I experimented with my "non breathable" rain gear and my Tex...I skied a measured course with both (no, not at the same time) jackets and the difference was very noticeable. It all depends on conditions, how cold it is, humidity, what layers your wearing...lots of stuff....Climbers in Canada laugh at Gore-Tex..it doesn't seem to work in their conditions (very dry and cold).

A new product that is coming out that works different then Gore-Tex, it's called eVent (or was when I tested it) My friends could actually see steam rising out of my jacket while I skied. Under cold, relatively low humidity conditions there was a very noticeable difference between it and my Gore_Tex...the eVent fabric being much dryer inside.

As someone else mentioned at one time...
The only thing that is waterproof and breathable is your skin...........

Ski and hike naked!”

“My 3 layer jacket never wet through but the outer fabric did wet out when the DWR got older. I bought the Nikwax stuff to recoat it but tried putting it in the dryer for a while first and that reactivated the DWR just fine.

I've read that wood smoke is rough on DWR.”

“so are sparks!”

“My friend got a well known company to replace his fleece pants after a spark landed on him and burned a 2 inch hole.

Now that's customer service!”

“Nigal- Yes Gore-Tex will wet-out after the DWR wears off. That does not mean that water will get in. Water will not get out because there is a layer of water on top not allowing the Gore-Tex to breathe. NikWax has a product that will restore the DWR nicely.

Do not wash in liquid detergent, use a powder. Do not use fabric softner. I have an L.L. Bean 3 layer Gore-Tex jacket as well as the TNF Mountain Light Gore-Tex jacket.”

“Nikwax also makes a wash product called Tech-wash. Use that or a very mild, non detergent soap, intended for baby clothes, or something

TX Direct, for spraying mesh lined jackets. Otherwise, you can use the wash in repellancy stuff”

“My Gore-Tex stuff is 100% water Proof. I still don't believe the Breatheability thing though. I've been in some rain storms in my Gore-Tex bivy and stayed dry.
I'd buy a pack made out of it if they made one just to avoid the need of a pack cover.
I use a complete Gore-Tex shell with no problems.
As far as if it's 2 or 3 layer, I don't know.”

“I want to know where you can buy the Gore tex DWR restorer. Anybody know?”

“Thanks guys for all the great feedback. I personally don't thing the breathability will do a bit of good for me as I pump out more moisture than any jacket can keep up with. Having said that I think I might as well go with the 3 layer. My wife bought a $400 Gore-Tex coat from an unmentionable company (hint: it was red and black) and I wasn't really impressed with it. It was so loaded down with stuff I don't need and it has about 500 seams in it. I am really drawn to the Patagonia coats for their subdued colors and simplicity or a Bean for the same reasons.

Thanks again guys. As long as I know they are waterproof and I know how to properly care for it I'll be OK.”

“I just like the Shell Gore-Tex. I don't much care for the Fleece lined stuff. I prefer to layer as needed.”

“You want breatheability, eh?...

-Unzip pit zips,
-Open sleeve cuffs all the way,
-Adjust all drawstrings as loose as they can get,
-Snap the coat closed (don't use zipper) in front, or don't close it at all.

8)”

“My Parka is so old that it doesn't have pit zips. I think that was a state of the Art thing soon after.”

“I've noticed on my 3 layer that the sleeves will wet out if they rub against the side of the jacket while walking. Everywhere else it doesn't. My 2 layer always wetted out since back then they never put DWR on them. This was back in the 80's. I still have the jacket and pants too, I use them for riding my motorcycle when it's cold out. The gore tex has long ago delaminated in spots and the seam tape fell off in a few places, but it still a decent windsuit. I rarely use the Gore tex for backpacking and mostly use Microfiber or Activent. I use the Gore tex for day hikes in heavy rain. Just bought a Precip, but don't have too much experience with it yet.”

“We ski quite a bit and do not like the wet butt syndrome. We have bought high quality non gore-tex, but have never been happy til we got Gore-tex pants. Let me tell you, that is where, as Pennsy said, Gore-tex rules. I am sold on it, but don't like paying for it....”

“All I can say, my gore-tex pans rule too. I love them, they are my very favorite. Never got a wet but if I feel. My gore-tex boots, same thing, they are just the best.
Can't say much yet about my gore-tex gaitors but I don't expect anything less.”

“I'm a fan of gortex”

“I like Goretex too and it breathes better than the lightweight fabrics. One area where it really has them beat is it's durability. The unprotected coatings on the other jackets are too prone to damage and just don't hold up as well for the long haul. For this reason I think Goretex is a better value since it works better and last longer. Prices on some Goretex jackets are only a little more than other jackets like the Precip and the Red Ledge. I saw one Gore Tex jacket on sale at Land's End for $90.”