What is the difference between Gore-Tex and newer rain jacket technologies?

Question

What are the now distinguishing elements of advanced rain jackets folded up like the Gore-Tex which has gone out of its patent term?

Answer 1

Following the expiration of the Gore-Tex patent in 1997, businesses such as Columbia have invented their own paths for developing breathable membranes without requiring a DWR coating. More advanced jackets do not have the outer layer of fabric, hence exposing the waterproof membrane that does not absorb any water and in a technical sense can never ‘wet out.’ The goal of this design is also to provide breathability while allowing for the use of a DWR finish which fades after some time.

Comments

As a textile designer of 30 years, I really loved the content.

The other part of the story here, other than the membrane and fluorocarbon, is the base fabric design and membrane adhesive formulation and garment construction.
In the case of the garments or brands you mention, these are all flat filament CF fibers, likely polyester or nylon 6.
Air textured yarns, spun yarns or fiber blends will have an impact.
The weave design will have an impact. For example, a plain weave vs a basket weave, or the thread count ... 45 threads per inch vs say 55 of the same yarn count in warp or fill.
Microporous films may have a lot of polymer melt adhesive for durability, which may negatively affect breathability, or a little bit of adhesive which give a better feel.
There are also breathable coatings, in the microporous option or hydrophilic option.
And of course, apart from these factors, there is garment design.

A well known brand and high price tag, doesn't necessarily mean the best product.

It should also be noted that C8 fluorochemistry is being phased out in favor of C6 for environmental reasons.

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I'm old enough to remember the pre GoreTex days - at least pre GoreTex where I lived. What I had before where cotton and polyester-cotton blends (like the G1000 used by Fjellraven) treated for waterproofness. These kind of worked - actually really well in misty conditions or with snow well below freezing - but just didn't work well in heavy prolonged rain. I remember biking to school a couple of times in a cotton "waterproof" outdoorsy and almost new jacket and it worked for the ride, but after being out in steady rain it just wet thru. So going hiking with these types of clothes I'd bring a lightweight really waterproof jacket in addition. The other option was to leave the cotton jacket at home and bring only a more heavy-duty rain jacket that certainly would keep the rain out but was unnecessary uncomfortable if the rain let up. Then GoreTex came along, and I bought one of the first jackets available where I lived. And it worked! Not like some miracle fabric that solved every problem, but it was lighter than my cotton jacket and much lighter than an outdoorsy jacket plus a rain jacket. It also kept me at least as dry in rain but was less comfortable than poly-cotton and cotton in warm weather when it didn't rain (no test equipment, but lots of experience and curiosity). I even did a test cross country skiing in around -15C. Same loop of 5 miles three times with polyester-cotton blend, cotton and GoreTex and to my surprise there where clearly less condensation on the inside of the GoreTex jacket. I don't disagree with your findings at all - it's fairly basic knowledge that with close to 100% humidity outside a fabric wont "breathe" much (good illustration with the parking lot BTW, hadn't seen that before). The question is however, what did GoreTex replace and what are the options now? Other waterproof-breathable materials struggle with exactly the same limitations when it comes to high humidity outside the jacket. I've tried Entrant, Triple Point, many versions of GoreTex, eVent, Dermizax and a couple of other with unspecified waterproof breathable technologies and in heavy rain they always struggle and I'll get condensation. But they also replace two other jackets that weigh more and I have to switch between when it's not steady all da rain. I live in an area with fairly unstable weather but even here it's much more common with a mix of showers, light rain/mist, sunny, windy etc. than all day heavy rain and waterproof-breathable tech keep me fairly comfortable in all the conditions. I haven't found anything that works better, maybe except for an umbrella but umbrellas have some serious problems with wind and overgrown trails.

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these jackets are far better suited for higher altitude environments where the air is dry and you are more likely to deal with snow than rain than for a backpacking rain coat. I carry a simple north face rain jacket with pit zips and it works just fine

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Gore-Tex in a jacket works great here in Colorado. It's very dry and when it rains, it doesn't do it for long so it keeps the water out very well. Sometimes you'll get caught in a nasty storm and your jacket will get soaked through but the storm will be over quickly and then your jacket will be dry shortly after.

Boots on the other hand is a no go for Gore-Tex. The membrane just can't keep up with the amount of sweat you produce which results in soggy wet feet. Boots with good ventilation and no membrane will stay much dryer, even with the many stream crossings we have to deal with in the High Country.

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So what you’re saying is I need to replace the DWR coating on my Gore-Tex jacket. Thanks for the reminder. A bit like someone spending $100k on a Porsche but never getting it serviced, and then one day wondering why it has stopped working.

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As a Hiker, I really liked your content. It had good high quality info in it. I've tried several things when hiking, from cheap to expensive and I usually have to say that the more expensive it is, the worse it is. I think it's just crafty marketing.  You confirmed my beliefs but also It was entertaining too!

I had a cheap army jacket and it was way better than goretex. These days I use a brand called "Pros" from Poland which is PVC/Polyester mix called Plaintex they say. Not really breathable at least not much anyway. It's also the exact same thing as the Swedish "Farmerrain" which costs 3 x as much.

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I learned this back in 1997 when I got my first Gore tex jacket. Never bought another one until 2017. This jacket though was a different set up. To explain, most gtex jackets are "shell" jackets where the gtex is "bonded to the outer and inner fabrics which results in the flaws mentioned in the content. The 2017 jacket was not"bonded" . The gtex was like a "bag" inside the outer layer which was a very finely woven (from very fine fibres) heavy "sack like" material (polyamide) called "Airtech" (made by FOV in Sweden) The outer can be treated to give a degree of water repellantsy but it's not waterproof, however it's hydrophobic meaning the outer layer gets wet but does not hold water to the same degree as the outer layer on a bonded jacket, it runs out the material. Best explanation I can think of is, ever had a lake in your gtex pockets? Doesn't happen with Airtech, yes the pockets are wet but no lake, plus this material dries much much faster. As it's not bonded the breathability is improved. Check out Harkila Pro Hunter. Be prepared though, it's very expensive gear but really is the best gear available. How many jackets come with a 5yr guarantee? I've had mine 7yrs now and swear by my goto Pro Hunter.