A long time ago a good friend of mine who was a buyer (now retired) at MEC told me that to a certain extent, waterproof breathable fabrics were overkill. They all rely heavily on a DWR coating. If the fabric has a solid DWR, it sheds rain well enough that water doesn’t get in. If a fabric wets out, the most breathable membrane can’t breath. I have two Neoshell jackets. An Acre jacket with a poor DWR and a Sugoi with a fantastic DWR. The Sugoi is still fantastic. Thing is, I’ve rarely seen a DWR coating that is perfect so my friend’s theory is flawed. You still need something to keep out water when the DWR fails or is overwhelmed.
People often judge waterproof breathable jackets incorrectly. They’ll have the jacket in a pack in case. They are dressed comfortably in a breathable jersey with an undershirt. Starts to rain. Put on the jacket but don’t remove an under layer so now they are sweating profusely and blame the jacket. Be bold, start cold with the jacket on. No waterproof breathable garment breaths like a wool jersey.
Dec. 10, 2020, 9:01 a.m. - Andy Eunson
A long time ago a good friend of mine who was a buyer (now retired) at MEC told me that to a certain extent, waterproof breathable fabrics were overkill. They all rely heavily on a DWR coating. If the fabric has a solid DWR, it sheds rain well enough that water doesn’t get in. If a fabric wets out, the most breathable membrane can’t breath. I have two Neoshell jackets. An Acre jacket with a poor DWR and a Sugoi with a fantastic DWR. The Sugoi is still fantastic. Thing is, I’ve rarely seen a DWR coating that is perfect so my friend’s theory is flawed. You still need something to keep out water when the DWR fails or is overwhelmed. People often judge waterproof breathable jackets incorrectly. They’ll have the jacket in a pack in case. They are dressed comfortably in a breathable jersey with an undershirt. Starts to rain. Put on the jacket but don’t remove an under layer so now they are sweating profusely and blame the jacket. Be bold, start cold with the jacket on. No waterproof breathable garment breaths like a wool jersey.