What breathable/water proof jacket to buy?

[Rich83]

Interesting to read about the Ventile, I did not know that.

 

[ZEbbEDY]

ive got a cioch glamaig, made from paramo material but they do made to measure and you can customise them

i like paramo gear

 

[Squidders]

Ventile was designed a) for wearing in a dry aircraft cockpit, where the pressure changes required a breathable suit, and then b) immersion in the arctic ocean for an hour while the pilot was rescued. WWII ship-launched fighter pilots. Saved many lives. Apologies if you already knew this.

I'm assuming the life saving ability was that once the ventile is saturated, the fabric expand and makes slightly air tight and that this allowed the pilots to trap air in it to keep above water as a sort of flotation device? I noticed it going pretty stiff when wet so wouldn't make swimming easy if still being worn.

I had no idea it was used as a life saver. If it wasn't used for flotation, how did it work?

 

[Robbi]

i have a seeland hunter jacket up for grabs if anyone is interested.

 

[Nonsuch]

I'm assuming the life saving ability was that once the ventile is saturated, the fabric expand and makes slightly air tight and that this allowed the pilots to trap air in it to keep above water as a sort of flotation device? I noticed it going pretty stiff when wet so wouldn't make swimming easy if still being worn.

I had no idea it was used as a life saver. If it wasn't used for flotation, how did it work?

Breathable dry-suit after a fashion, keeping the pilot dry and relatively warm while in the water. Of course the pilots had a life jacket on as well to keep them afloat. No other fabric at the time could allow air to escape while up in the air, yet stop water getting in while in the sea. Clever stuff.

 

[mholland]

Yeah the guy didn't mention whether it was an SDP one. I don't know if there are older variants and this may be just that however it is a good start point for me to assess if the jacket suits my needs before splurging big money.

All munros are SDP.
My brother has one around 10 years old and its still his main jacket, i've recently got one and really happy with i! Heavy but i didn't buy it as a light weight shell

 

[Ronnie]

I bought a new unissued British Army Goretex jacket in olive green - it's the one with the pockets.

Criticisms: It has epaulettes. No mesh liner. No inside pockets. Pockets don't have a diagonal slot to slip your hands into - it's old skool top-loader. The hook for hanging it up is in a weird place, right at the top of the collar.

Pluses: Good thick Goretex material. Very high build quality. Over-engineered seam taping. Doesn't make you look like a squaddie - much. Full hood with draw string folds away neatly into the collar. Collar closes up to cover most of your face if you want it to. Draw strings around the waist and bottom hem.

Conclusion: Great jacket. I paid less than £45 delivered and I reckon you'd be hard pushed to match the quality on a civvie version for a lot more than that.

It partners perfectly with a big green Nike ACG hooded fleece I have. I've never got damp in it and I live in the Highlands