Ventile or Gore Tex

[TobyH]

I use merino currently and it's incredible stuff.

I think I'll give me GTX jacket a thorough going over and see how it stands up. If its condensation that's getting me wet then I'll have to look around for something else, trouble is I'm out in all kinds of weather so can't really afford to carry 2 jackets!!

 

[bushblade]

My girlfriend has an eVent 10000 jacket, and its great, but mine stops beading and starts absorbing after a few minutes of heavy rain. I'm going up Snowdon this weekend, so I may be rather damp when I get to the top.

Who makes the event jackets you have? As far as I know event isn't followed by numbers to indicate which particular fabric it is. Are you sure its not Isotex 8000/Isotex 10000?

 

[dtalbot]

Anyone got an example of a Paramo Jacket (I've never heard of Paramo!)

http://www.paramo.co.uk/en-gb/index.php

 

[addyb]

Look at it this way. Ventile, while not totally waterproof in any sense of the word is only about a million times more versatile than a WPB garment. That said, nearly any properly proofed natural fabric garment will serve you well in the bush or on the slopes in a far greater variety of weather conditions than a WPB ever will. Does that mean that Ventile and the like is better or superior to Gore-Tex? Not at all. When I was a kid, my Dad used to drum this quote into my head repeatedly: "Different tools for different jobs." Personally, I only bring out the Gore-Tex when the rain is REALLY coming down and I can do without the breathability. But as most of us know, if you layer yourself accordingly in Ventile you'll stay reasonably dry and above all, very very comfortable.

Cheers,

Adam

 

[The Joker]

ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile,ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile,ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile,ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile,ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventilventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile,eventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile,,ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile, ventile,ventile,

Well thats just my opinion

 

[Dougster]

Who makes the event jackets you have? As far as I know event isn't followed by numbers to indicate which particular fabric it is. Are you sure its not Isotex 8000/Isotex 10000?

Rab and Montane would be two great (British too) places to start.

 

[jamesraykenney]

You may be expecting a bit too much Toby, breathability relies on there being a vapour gradient. If the jacket is wetted-out on the outside or conditions are very humid breathability will be limited whatever you are wearing.

You could try paramo which works differently, but a lot of people find it too warm.

I have no personal experience of ventile, but some swear by it and others think it's like wearing damp cardboard.

Basically it's a case of finding what works best for you, there is no "ultimate" as such.

Scoops

Damp cardboard is what I always imagined it would fill like once it was SOAKED.
Hmmm... Damp cardboard feel... I think I will trademark that...
But I think the idea is that you do not wear it right up against your skin. You always wear a layer of SOMETHING underneath it, just to keep the 'Damp Cardboard feel'™ away.

One other thing to consider... Ventile will probably outlast the owner, while Gortex will not...The 0uter fabric may last a long time, but the Gortex itself seems to start 'shredding' after about 12 or so years of VERY LIGHT use. Maybe mine was just a fluke, but the inside of my North Face Gortex Parka looks like a cat got inside of the net liner and used the gortex as a scratching post... I was out in Hurricane Rita(the one that everybody forgets about because it was only about a month after Hurricane Katrina, but actually caused MORE damage to the Gulf Coast than Katrina did) and kept wandering why I was getting so wet, but thought that it must just be me sweating and water blowing in through the hood. But when I looked at the inside, the Gortex was shredded... I had not noticed it before, because the outside Nylon was water resistant enough to keep me mostly dry even without the Gortex.

 

[tetra_neon]

I'm def. going ventile when I can afford one from SASS. for the really massive downpours, i like to use a poncho rather than a jacket anyway. i've got army surplus, but you can get some really decent silnylon ones aimed at ultralight hikers.

waterproof jackets are just horribly sweaty in my experience.

http://www.froggtoggs.com/ these (US company) are supposed to be very breathable, and very cheap

 

[Lithril]

I managed to get an excellent deal on a ME Ogre jacket (Goretex XCR) fantastic jacket, spent all day in virtually horizontal rain and still stayed dry. Would I wear it bushcrafting?? No way, not designed for that and i'd be gutted if it got damaged, ventile would be much better IMO here. So it depends on what you're using it for.

 

[JulianWormwood]

Who makes the event jackets you have? As far as I know event isn't followed by numbers to indicate which particular fabric it is. Are you sure its not Isotex 8000/Isotex 10000?

Regatta make them. You may be right as to the Isotex numbers, I don't have the jacket to hand. I have since vowed to never buy from Regatta ever again.

 

[TobyH]

So, Ventile is a more 'robust' material then? That would suit me better for what I do...

 

[dtalbot]

Well put it like this, ventile won't melt if it gets a spark on it and comes secon
'd to my barbour in keeping out thorns!

 

[Fin]

I've got a paramo pajaro which is a great everyday jacket but, as others have alluded to, it can get a bit warm on warm wet days and it definitely wouldn't take a spark from the camp fire!

Similarly my North Face trousers are excellent for hill walking and travelling in general - but sit by the fire and watch those holes appear!

For bushcraft activities, or if I'm out bunny bashing with the air rifle, I generally prefer ventile and an old pair of Army issue lightweights - both will get wet but dry in literally minutes once out of the rain.

Going back to TobyH's original post: How long have you had your goretex jacket? Goretex performance does deteriorate with time/ number of soakings. The good thing about Paramo is that when the beading performance does decrease you just bung it in the washing machine with some Nixwax fluid and it comes out as good as new.

 

[bushblade]

Regatta make them. You may be right as to the Isotex numbers, I don't have the jacket to hand. I have since vowed to never buy from Regatta ever again.

Yeah thought so, Isotex 8000 is the regatta version of standard gore tex and Isotex 10000 is their version of Gore tex XCR. Neither are that good.

event is a world away from these fabrics, I have jackets by Rab and Montane so can highly recomend them. However its not as heavy duty or as long lasting as gore tex, something to bear in mind for the intended use.

 

[Greg]

Go Ventile you know you want too!!!

 

[rik_uk3]

So, Ventile is a more 'robust' material then? That would suit me better for what I do...

It will last longer, and is ideal for a forest environment; however, if you plan on walking in exposed areas like the Brecon Beacons, Snowdonia etc, please, use Gortex, Event ect, you will stay a lot drier. Heavy wind and rain on ventile means you will without doubt, get wet. I've got a black ventile anorak, and nice it is too, its fun to wear round the camp fire, but its not really a wet weather coat, if I'm going to an exposed camp, the ventile stays in the draw, and the Berghaus comes along. At the moment, ventile is 'trendy' again, its having a revival, but even if you buy a ventile jacket it would be worth picking up a cheap Army Gortex jacket as backup for when you get soaked.

I grew up on ventile jackets, there was no Gortex back then, we used to get soaked through; I would like to shake the hand of the developers of Gortex, but wish we had had it 40 years ago

 

[Greg]

however, if you plan on walking in exposed areas like the Brecon Beacons, Snowdonia etc, please, use Gortex, Event ect, you will stay a lot drier. Heavy wind and rain on ventile means you will without doubt, get wet.

I have to agree with this comment!!

 

[addyb]

I have to agree with this comment!!

Me too. Too bad a perfect fabric doesn't exist, simple physics make it impossible.

 

[bushblade]

Me too. Too bad a perfect fabric doesn't exist, simple physics make it impossible.

I'm sure I remember reading quite some time ago about gore technologies and the bonding of a ePTFE membrane to different outer fabrics, one of which was wool. I've been looking at the w l gore website, but can't seam to find it. It was a long time ago, but I don't see any reason why its not possible, just they've never been asked to comercialy produce such a fabric.

 

[ArkAngel]

My 2p's worth,

I have an old Berghaus Gore-tex jacket that is about 10 years old, has seen heavy use and currently lives scrunched at the bottom of the daysack i take to work in case it rains on the way home. It could do with the Nikwax treatment again as the outer fabric is not very waterproof but the gore-tex itself is still 100%. It has served me well and owes me nothing. I think i got it as a "last season design" and it was about £160 if i remember.

I also have the BCUK jacket and it is great. It doesn't stand up to torrential downpours the same way that gore-tex does but, it is quieter, more breathable and as stated far safer round a campfire.

I also have a North Face duvet parka that has their version of gore-tex in it and again it does it's job very well.

You pays your money you takes your choice. For most situations ventile will suffice and would probably be more practical than gore-tex. But when the weather really closes in and you are in the outdoors, i would want gore-tex every time.