# Gore-Tex, how well does yours hold up?



## Nivek (Jan 24, 2008)

The reason you're getting damp under but it doesn't seem like you're soaking through is cause GoreTex breathability is dependent on opposing climates. The climate inside the jacket needs to be more humid than the one outside. So if it's pissing rain, it's not gonna breath. It is pretty dang waterproof though. The other thing to consider is that Gore is a layer on the inside of the fabric. Soaking into the fabric is the DWR on the outside, which is basically sprayed on. Gore is also less effective when dirty, and if your DWR is worn off then your first line of defense is gone. As for zippers, depends on the zippers. Coatings and gussets where out, I prefer double flaps.

In Colorado we don't get gnarly wet snow or really gnarly rain very often. So I just don't bother with Gore.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

The weave of the shell/fabric, dwr, zips/seams, the mid/base layers ur wearing, breathability and the venting design will also have a significant impact on how wet your are/feel...so its not just about Gortex. And here we get the gnarly wet snow and rain.


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

Yep, gotta keep that DWR fresh. Anything that's breathable isn't truly waterproof. They'll all leak eventually under the right circumstances.


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## Fiddsy (Jul 12, 2015)

The water was still beading and mostly running off my gear (both jacket and pants) so id assume the DWR is still intact..

Ive come out bone dry after a solid 9hr session of charging hard in near blizzard conditions with the exact setup i was wearing on the rainy day..
Yet after 3 hrs of solid consistent rain, i was somewhere between damp and wet..
My back (where my camelbak is) was dry, my arms also dry, legs were damp and chest/sides a tad more than damp..
Usually boarding in Marino wool underlayer with a fleece hoodie and my goretex shell..

Might pick up a tech fleece hoodie with dryhide next time its pissing down or you guys think maybe its worth respraying?


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

How about just don't ride in the pouring rain? Jesus, that's gotta suck ass anyway. You mention your chest and sides, you sure the rain wasn't just coming down your face and neck?


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## TLN (Sep 7, 2010)

linvillegorge said:


> How about just don't ride in the pouring rain? Jesus, that's gotta suck ass anyway. You mention your chest and sides, you sure the rain wasn't just coming down your face and neck?


I was snowboarding when it was raining. Literally, heavy rain. Climate at midwest sucks. 
And goretex jacket and pante were just perfect. I had concerns, but after several rides no more. It's not getting wet, thanks dwr. After I enter cafe it dries really quick. I've washed my pants and jacket I think once before. Work same as before.

Here's video from that day:


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

You midwesterners and lower latitude east coasters are some dedicated sons of bitches. Y'all ride the worst terrain in the shittiest conditions imaginable and that's the norm. God bless y'all.


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## TLN (Sep 7, 2010)

linvillegorge said:


> You midwesterners and lower latitude east coasters are some dedicated sons of bitches. Y'all ride the worst terrain in the shittiest conditions imaginable and that's the norm. God bless y'all.


Actually I'm from siberia, and the only time I was riding in such weather before it's end of may-june. Otherwise I was doing 30-60 days of puffy pow. 
I don't know how I got here in Chicago, but the only thing I hate about it is local mountains (lack of).

I felt really sorry for all the people who're riding there. They're trying to learn how to ski in that conditions.


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## Fiddsy (Jul 12, 2015)

linvillegorge said:


> How about just don't ride in the pouring rain? Jesus, that's gotta suck ass anyway. You mention your chest and sides, you sure the rain wasn't just coming down your face and neck?



Hah well yea its not exactly ideal, drove 4 hour's there and 4 hours back for a day trip so i wasnt just going to sit there drinking at the pub!
Had 50cm of freshies in 36hrs and had forecast another 20cm that day, unfortunately the mercury didn't drop to predicted and we copped rain 10times worse than those other pictures/movie posted..
Was that bad i had to ride goggles off because i couldnt see a bloody thing!

Suppose my gear held up rather well considering..


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## Elektropow (Mar 6, 2014)

Blizzard indicates colder temps, where gore-tex breaths just great. I will also go with the relative humidity theory since DWR seems to be intact. Gore tex doesn't let through water as it is through, only in humidified form. Basically if the fabric's damp from the outside (DWR-failure or it's just super wet outside) the membrane cannot breath and let out moisture. So as a whole, the DWR coating is just as important in retaining breathability as the gore-tex membrane in keeping the water out. Full tech 3L shells don't absorb moisture much if at all, so are even better at this.


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## kalev (Dec 17, 2013)

Last fall, my wife and I got caught hiking in the alpine in a nasty storm. 

Took us about 3.5 hours to get back to the car in pouring rain, high winds and cold temps. Both of us were wearing Gore-Tex shells and were completely dry when we got back to the car. Had we got wet, we would have gotten hypothermia for sure.


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## morfologus (Mar 22, 2016)

Anyone has experienced any bad effect washing off goretex outerwears?
I would do as they recommended, little liquid detergent, 30°, low temperature ironing with a towel on the material.


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## WasabiCanuck (Apr 29, 2015)

I have a 2L jacket and I love it. I need pants now, I was thinking about 3L pants but that is so expensive and probably overkill. I just hate a wet cold ass. I often have to wait for wife and kids, and I'm either on my knees or ass waiting. It sucked in Fernie in April when it was +15C and the snow was turning to slush. Weather was great but my pants were soaked and legs were cold. I'm sure 2L pants would be really good. Anybody have 3L pants?


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## PlanB (Nov 21, 2014)

WasabiCanuck said:


> I have a 2L jacket and I love it. I need pants now, I was thinking about 3L pants but that is so expensive and probably overkill. I just hate a wet cold ass. I often have to wait for wife and kids, and I'm either on my knees or ass waiting. It sucked in Fernie in April when it was +15C and the snow was turning to slush. Weather was great but my pants were soaked and legs were cold. I'm sure 2L pants would be really good. Anybody have 3L pants?



I've had both 2L and 3L and am presently riding a Burton 3L Bib pant which was hella-$$$! 

You are right, 3L imo is overkill for most conditions, but as you might imagine, when you need 3L there is literally no substitute and as the saying goes - it pays for itself in those rare instances.


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## timmytard (Mar 19, 2009)

linvillegorge said:


> You midwesterners and lower latitude east coasters are some dedicated sons of bitches. Y'all ride the worst terrain in the shittiest conditions imaginable and that's the norm. God bless y'all.


Hahaha, you guys don't know rain, like us pnw'ers know rain.:blahblah:

The difference between a 1000cm snow year and not a fucking drop of snow.
Is about 5 degrees up here.

Don't know how many times it's dumped 2 or more feet only to be ruined by rain, just as the system finished?

Fuck, it's the worst haha, it happens almost EVERY system.

My "ex" local mtn haha cypress, has skychair, it's the highest lift out of the 3 locals.

Up there it's a whole different world, compared to EVERY other run in Vancouver.

They don't open it for maybe a month, sometimes 2 months after the rest of the mtn is open.
Even then, the lower parts of the mtn usual are still shit when skychair opens.

Gore-tex is the same as rain gear. It doesn't breath at all.

So I don't usually use it. I have it, but choose 20k shit instead.

For the price of gore-tex, rain gear crushes it.

Any polyurethane coated fabric, is now 100% waterproof.
Up until you do something to break/crack the coating.

20k is pretty much 100% proof, for the cost, that's what I choose.

If it's pissing rain haha, I just bring an extra set of EVERYTHING.

Head to toe, all new gear at lunch.
Cause if it's raining that bad?

Your gonna get wet, no matter what, it's gonna run down your head & face, down your arms via your hands, you just can't stop it.

Even in rain gear, all that water is just going to run straight into your boots.

The only 100% way to stay dry, is to change into a whole new outfit.
Including boots.

Oh, haha, but it feels sooo good to change into a whole new outfit @ the mid way point of the day.
It's like going two separate days in one.

Even the gore-tex wearing guys are wet. They may say they aren't, but they are.
They may not be soaked to the bone, but they're wet/damp.

Shitty they spent $400-$600 for all that gore-tex & couldn't afford a second complete set of gear from head to toe. Lol.

Gore-tex is awesome in really cold weather, cause there's not much water anymore.


On a side note haha.
I have TONNES of gore-tex for sale.
Buy it from a store, you'll only be able to afford one set.

Buy it from me......
And you'll be able to afford a second set.

Stay dry


TT


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## F1EA (Oct 25, 2013)

Fiddsy said:


> G'day all,
> Just wondering how well all your goretex gear holds up in crappy conditions..
> Had my volcom goretex jacket and pants for maybe 20 sessions (washed once) with the zip tech..
> So far its held up well in wind and snow but my last trip, we got absolutely hammered with rain (spring).
> ...


You got wet from the inside.


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

Nivek said:


> In Colorado we don't get gnarly wet snow or really gnarly rain very often. So I just don't bother with Gore.


what do you suggest/like?


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