[Andrew Bollard]

Hi all,

Thanks to @Shashi Shanbhag for kindly accepting my suggestion of a dedicated forum for gear discussion. I thought I’d kick things off by jumping straight into one of the most controversial topics in outdoor gear – waterproof clothing. What brands/fabrics do you use, what works, and what doesn’t work? Do you have certain waterproofs that work better for trail running and ones that are better for mountaineering? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

For me, my go-to setup in winter is the Páramo Enduro jacket and the Cascada trousers. Folks from outside Ireland and the UK may not have heard of Páramo, and their waterproofing technology is fiercely divisive. Some claim it’s a useless gimmick, others love it. I fall into the second camp, largely because I run very hot, and in the humid conditions of Ireland breathability is just as important as absolute waterproofing. Páramo has excellent breathability, because 1) its kit usually has excellent venting options, and 2) it doesn’t use a waterproof membrane. For more on this. look up “Paramo capillary depression”, which should yield explanations of how Páramo waterproofs work.

In summer, I find my Enduro too warm to wear, and so recently I acquired an old Rab Stretch Neo jacket in pretty good condition. It’s been an interesting experience using it and its Polartec Neoshell fabric so far, because while it doesn’t fell windproof it (somehow) feels waterproof. This odd combination has worked well for warm, windy, and rainy days so far, as the fabric breathes so well that the wind can pass through and cool me down while it keeps out the rain pretty well. If this sounds like sorcery, the topic of air-permeable membranes (of which Neoshell was the first) is well worth exploring. Most recently and (in)famously, the North Face’s Futurelight fabric has essentially copied Neoshell and improved on it to make what they claim to be the most breathable waterproof fabric ever invented.

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