Jacket material- more breathability

[mutineer]

I've a hilltrek double ventile jacket, the one "without" the slash mid pockets (thats an invitation for a slash pocket full of water). Which is great, doesn't melt when stood next to a fire and it's not too warm if you layer you under garments and remove accordingly. I feel protected in this jacket which I don't in my gortex jacket. That said up the hill in winter it's the gortex jacket I use.

What I really want is a ventile version of my gortex jacket, thats a really well thought out piece of kit in the long (read old) style, when I get a bit of cash together thats what I'm going to have hilltrek make me.

So a vote for ventile on ventile here..

Thanks for the reply.

So do you feel that the double ventile is a comparable rainproof material to the goretex?
I have a good quality berghaus goretex, mid thigh with collar and hood. Do you find your ventile coat does not give as good coverage as this?

 

[mutineer]

Cheers for all the replies.
For now I have 2 options really.
1) Decide on a good hardshell jacket that is robust for bushcraft. Swazi Tahr (£££££), Double ventile (£££££) etc...
2) Cheap throwover smock for getting dirty. Swedish snow smock (£15 in Olive green).

Sound about right?

 

[sandbender]

Have you looked at Buffalo tops or other brands that offer similar garments, they won't keep you dry but they will keep you warm as long as you are moving, they dry quickly and if you are worried about sparks around the fire change into something else when camped for the night.

 

[mholland]

I'm a very hot walker, ie i sweat lot, and am a big fan of the keela dual system protection system. It keeps me drier than any other jacket i've tried in heavy rain and the inner wicking liner keeps my sweat at bay. Its a really rugged jacket and the hood is fantastic (alot of hoods frustrate me). Best of all, compared to alot of top end jackets, its a bargain.

 

[mutineer]

Have you looked at Buffalo tops or other brands that offer similar garments, they won't keep you dry but they will keep you warm as long as you are moving, they dry quickly and if you are worried about sparks around the fire change into something else when camped for the night.

I used to have a buffalo. Brilliant bits of kit but I found them too hot.

 

[mutineer]

I'm a very hot walker, ie i sweat lot, and am a big fan of the keela dual system protection system. It keeps me drier than any other jacket i've tried in heavy rain and the inner wicking liner keeps my sweat at bay. Its a really rugged jacket and the hood is fantastic (alot of hoods frustrate me). Best of all, compared to alot of top end jackets, its a bargain.

Thanks for the heads up. I will have a google

 

[rg598]

Why not just get a very light soft shell jacket/windshirt and add it to your kit? I'm assuming that you are wearing your Gore-Tex jacket when it is not raining as protection from the wind. If so, then the solft shell/wind shirt will do the job perfectly. Wear the Gore-Tex when it is raining, the rest of the time wear the soft shell. The combination will weigh much less and pack down much better than any cotton jacket you can get.

 

[mutineer]

Why not just get a very light soft shell jacket/windshirt and add it to your kit? I'm assuming that you are wearing your Gore-Tex jacket when it is not raining as protection from the wind. If so, then the solft shell/wind shirt will do the job perfectly. Wear the Gore-Tex when it is raining, the rest of the time wear the soft shell. The combination will weigh much less and pack down much better than any cotton jacket you can get.

Fair point which someone made earlier. I have a pertex windshirt and will do just that. I guess the real question is how to best make the jackets robust enough for the woods. I am thinking of a cheap cotton smock to go over the goretex or spending more money for a lined cotton jacket (robust outer, waterproof inner).
Both options give less breathability than pure goretex but that is the price you pay for bramble bashing and sitting by fires!

I am from a military background and much is done **** about face. I was issued a cotton jacket and a goretex. The goretex was old fabric and heavy and many soldiers bought lightweight goretex or similar to go underneath the cotton jacket when things got really wet. We still carried shirts if the weather was too hot. I guess the next step is to take the outer jacket and line it with lightweight goretex. This is what many people seem to be making now for hunting and bushcraft and I was wondering how breathable they really are.

Taking separate goretex and oversmock gives more flexibility because the oversmock is the softshell also. However, when the weather is getting crappy, who wants to take of a jacket, put another on and then put the first jacket back on in the rain? Also, there is too much material on a full cut jacket to fill the place of the softshell. AND, a separate garment has another load of zips, pockets and fastenings that are surplus to requirement.

I went off thread there but thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

 

[rg598]

I've worn my Arcteryx Beta SV Gore-Tex jacket for quite a while now as my only shell, and it has been more than durable enough. Even though it is a lightweight jacket at around 8 oz, I haven't had a single issue with it. I bushwhack a lot, but still no damage.

 

[baggins]

I've been through a fair few jackets over the years. i have a top end goretex north face that has seen action in mountain ranges all over the world. it has kept me dry and has been hard wearing for over 15 years. but now, unless it is really hot i use a double ventile from country innovation. i prefer the extra breathability and find this far outweighs the extra waterproofness from the goretex. i also find it is perfect for sub zero activities.
as plenty of folk here have said, there probably is no one jacket or material for you. i guess you just have to weigh up use you are mainly going to be doing.

 

[Bowlander]

Go Paramo. Got the Halcon and its great.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Xparent Green Tapatalk 2

 

[bigbear]

Agree that Paramo is excellent, I have a heavy set of trousers and a smock for winter and a lighter smock for summer, the latter would be ideal as a woods jacket, not sweaty in close wet weather and I am a sweaty so and so !
As said above also, there isn't really one jacket that does it all, for ice climbing and really nasty hill weather I still use Goretex , but look at it this way, you CANNOT have too many jackets, it's just sensible to have a range of options. That's what I tell my wife anyhow.

 

[ZEbbEDY]

ive got a cioch glamaig which is paramo fabric and lightweight but has been too warm to wear it over the 'summer' just getting back into the weathr for it now