Waterproof Jacket

Hrududu

As this rain doesnt look like its going to stop anytime soon I need a new jacket. At the moment its too hot to wear a heavy jacket and my current light jacket is not waterproof. So I spent Saturday soaking as the rain seeped through the seams. I'm after something light, possibly with a hood. Any of the ones I've seen in places like The Great Outdoors are too expensive.

Does anyone have any tips?

bbbbb

If you're looking for proper waterproof, then you're looking at the goretex jackets that come in at E150-200+. Worth it though, they keep the rain out and are breathable so comfortable to wear. I've my one 7 years now!
Check some of the outdoors shops on Mary st./Capel st. (e.g. Millets), for slightly cheaper prices & brands.

RosieRo

Yeah gore-tex is great, we all know that. But if it's just for knockin' around in and keeping the rain off your back while doing your shopping then don't waste your money.

There are plenty of light waterproof jackets with a cheaper breathable membrane than gore-tex.

Try millets in the square or blanch, the sales assistants are usually pretty well informed.

padi89

RosieRo wrote:

Yeah gore-tex is great, we all know that. But if it's just for knockin' around in and keeping the rain off your back while doing your shopping then don't waste your money.

I wouldnt consider it a waste of money at all especially when you live in Ireland,your gonna need it on a regular basis.Most Gore-Tex jackets are well made and last years and can be used in summer as well
as winter with a zip in fleece,if you ask me i think they are well worth it.

katiemac

Ouch!!

I dislike goretex jackets.
1) You don't need them for our temperate climate.
2) people who wear them look like they are heading to kilamanjaro
3) they are too cumbersome and awkward looking. Wearers appear like robots
4) they smell after a while and lose their shape
5) who wants to be wearing the same rainjacket for 7 years

I would suggest buying a light oilskin or plastic mac. Muji in chatam street have lovely light, rubber backed plastic rainmacs in white and black.
You can also buy a light plastic mack in guineys, north earl st.

They are cheap and cheerful and you can dispose of them when the winter weather hits us.

Stark

I got a light Regatta waterproof for around €35 in a shop on a street off Capel Street. It's really good, I've worn it in some really bad downpours for several hours without getting wet.

BeardyGit

katiemac wrote:

Ouch!!

I dislike goretex jackets.
1) You don't need them for our temperate climate.
2) people who wear them look like they are heading to kilamanjaro
3) they are too cumbersome and awkward looking. Wearers appear like robots
4) they smell after a while and lose their shape
5) who wants to be wearing the same rainjacket for 7 years

I would suggest buying a light oilskin or plastic mac. Muji in chatam street have lovely light, rubber backed plastic rainmacs in white and black.
You can also buy a light plastic mack in guineys, north earl st.

They are cheap and cheerful and you can dispose of them when the winter weather hits us.

1. Breathable rainwear is great. Try sitting on the bus/luas/dart for 30 minute stint wearing your damp plastic raingear, then do the same in a Goretex/Hy-Vent/Sympatex/Isotex/Aquafoil membraned jacket and decide if our 'temperate climate' calls for it....

2. Nonsense. Have a look at any of the ranges in the Great Outdoors, 53 Degrees North, Millets, Outdoor Adventure Store etc., and you'll find plenty of plainly coloured jackets. Matt Greens, Black, Blues etc - Colours that aren't gaudy and won't age. Not everything with Goretex has to be orange pet.

3. Too cumbersome and Awkward looking? Have a look at the North Face 'Flight' or 'Summit' series outershells in Goretex Paclite fabric. Plain colours, superlightweight and can pack into the left pocket. You're way off the mark if you think everything needs to be a triple layered, zip in fleece lined, 3/4 length rustling overcoat....Just because it's Goretex. :rolleyes:

4. What? Utter rubbish. No, really - Utter Rubbish. At the moment I have 4 different weights and styles of breathable raincoat. I use each and every one of them frequently enough as I spend a lot of time in the hills in rather nasty conditions at times. None of my raingear smells. Ever. The secret? I wash it. Would you pack away your favourite pashmina, damp, in a plastic bag? No way! Then why the hell would you do it to your raingear and expect it to smell of roses? Look after your raingear and it won't smell. Dry it when you get the chance. Wash it once in a while with some Nikwax detergent. Simple as that.

As for losing its shape? You aren't writing from experience, are you? That's very apparent.

5. Rainwear serves a purpose but a raincoat is not a raincoat alone. If you sink a wad of cash into something faddish, then you won't wear it for 7 years. Likewise, if you buy something solely due to its functionality, you may not want to be seen dead wearing it. You need the happy medium - Something well made, using good materials and technology, that won't look knackered and worn out in a few years.

In terms of practicalities - €100 will buy you a great lightweight raincoat including a hood, breathable and highly compressable so you can pack it in the bottom of your bag, the corner of the boot etc. Dry it when it gets wet and re-proof it with Nikwax once or twice a year and it'll last you many years.....You'll be comfortable and dry, instead of sweating inside your nasty little plastic mac..... Even if you can stretch 5 years from it, that's just €20 a year to avoid sweating like an onion during those warmer days when the rain pours down....Money well spent.

RosieRo

Does it rain in the luas/bus/dart? Try taking off the jacket, usually does the job for me!

If you're not using it for hill/mountain walking or various out door pursuits then what's the point in investing so much money into it. There are plenty of cheap and cheerful waterproofs that will do the job you want.

I also have a little regatta number, it cost €5 on sale, it's waterproof, it's breathable and I didn't need to take out a personal loan to buy it.

dhooper

I'm with the RosieRo, stark and katiemac on this one! gil_dub, goretex is just naaaasty. I suspect you're into mountaineering and other such activities given how strongly you feel on the subject!!

My boyf got me a mac in a sac from the great outdoors and it's brilliant! not that fashionable I have to admit but when we were at castle palooza the other week it kept me bone dry!

padi89

dhooper wrote:

My boyf got me a mac in a sac from the great outdoors and it's brilliant! not that fashionable I have to admit but when we were at castle palooza the other week it kept me bone dry!

The sole reason i purchased a goretex jacket was because i thought id get way with a mac in a sac/kag in a bag type rubbish.Brought one to a concert, pissed rain and i got soaked through to the bone.Had one of those North Face Hyvents too , sucked compared with goretex.I have to agree with Gil_Dub on this, i think most of you have not actually viewed most of the gore-tex jackets available nowadays,there are loads of brands,loads of colors and loads of weights.

Creachadóir

I'm not sure if you're male or female. But I got a lovely fitted waterproof jacket in Zara last year. I don't know what they have at the moment. It's worth a try though if you want something feminine...which is hard with raingear and rain!

BeardyGit

Cripes....There's just no point in trying to reason with those of you who will probably happily spend 100 notes on a pair of heeled boots that make your feet sore (but look good of course), but won't spend 100 to stay dry and comfortable....

Makes no sense at all. I'll take my sensible approach and feck off back to where I came from!

katiemac

Yes Gil that's a very good idea.
Majority of contributors don't agree with your passionate plea for 'goretex'.
I don't climb mountains, walk in the hills so I don't want to look like a mountaineer.
Simple raingear at simple prices is all we want and we don't want to spend hundreds of euro.
We don't need a boring lecture from you either on the merits or otherwise of Goretex, membranes etc.
My raingear keeps me perfectly dry.
I know goretex jackes loose their shape and smell.

Hrududu

Wow, didnt expect this to get so heated. I have no preference either way really. Some of the Gore-tex stuff I saw was very nice, wasnt big and bulky at all. It was the price that made me back away. What I'm looking for is something that is actually waterproof and doesnt make me look like i'm wearing a bin liner. I'll look into some of the Regatta stuff and take a walk round some of the shops. But i'm not discounting Gore-tex yet. I'll have to see how I get on. Thanks for all the tips.

BeardyGit

katiemac wrote:

Yes Gil that's a very good idea.
Majority of contributors don't agree with your passionate plea for 'goretex'.
I don't climb mountains, walk in the hills so I don't want to look like a mountaineer.
Simple raingear at simple prices is all we want and we don't want to spend hundreds of euro.
We don't need a boring lecture from you either on the merits or otherwise of Goretex, membranes etc.
My raingear keeps me perfectly dry.
I know goretex jackes loose their shape and smell.

Ah yes, I see the error of my ways. I'm a fool for attempting to correct you there Katiemac - Forgive me for my erroneous ways. No, please, I must apologise unreservedly for wasting your time imparting the benefit of my actual experience. How dare I question your enlightened mumblings about a product range you obviously know in passing.... It's obvious to all and sundry that you are indeed right and I'm so terribly, terribly wrong......Booo hooo hooo. :rolleyes:

Get a grip there Katiemac, will you? You've as much as admitted you'd never spend the shillings on a Goretex jacket, so what can you possibly contribute to any discussion on the pro's or con's of Goretex lined fabric? You don't actually know how it works, do you? Do you realise you can have the equivalent of a 'Goretex' membraned jacket for less than €50? You do know that, don't you? You know that even a pair of shoes can be lined with Goretex, don't you? Dare I say, they don't even have to be beardy-mountain-man shoes either! WOW! But you know all that, don't you? Of course you do....Anyone who uses the collective 'we' must know everything.....

fits

You are fighting over Goretex ffs! Get a grip both of ye...

Buy goretex if you want it, dont if you dont.... simple as...

RosieRo

I used to work in an outdoor clothing store, this 'discussion' is mild in comparison to what went on there. Ramblers are a feisty lot!

Basically, it's not about how good gore tex is because goretex is the business. It's about matching the product to the person. I have my goretex jacket for walking up mountains, if I wasn't wearing it while walking up Snowdon last month I would have been more than a little wet...and sweaty.

I have my light regatta for running around to the local shops, to friends, into town.

I have my ski jacket for ski-ing, and for winter, does anyone else think Irish winters have got alot colder, brrr!

JIZZLORD

I own several jackets but i always end up gravitating to my trusty goretex jacket. My first tase of goretex was when i was in the scouts (venturers). my steps had went from crappy macs to good non goretex jackets, but when i was able to earn good money in summer and i was at my most active in outdoors stuff i invested in goretex boots. I still wear Goretex boots and shoes and i'm on my second coat (first was robbed).

I don't wear my jacket all the time as i have a few regular jackets, but if the weather is dodgy i'll whip out my goretex jacket. If you clean it with special detergent every couple of months and you look after it you'll have it for years. Looking like a mountaineer is a price to pay for some people but you'll find the quality superior to anything else, primarily due to the fact that most of the goretex jacket you can buy are at the top end of the scale offering several big pockets, Under arm vents, etc.

katiemac

Thought I saw Gil Dub this afternoon battling their way up Grafton Str in their strait, sorry Goretex jacket.
Looked like a big robot, with big jacket and big hood. Reason I was sure it was them is because nobody would be that foolish to wear such a big mountainous coat in town.
Of course I have worn goretex jackets before. That's why I have an aversion to them for everyday use. They do lose their shape, they do smell and that is not just my experience but that of my friends too.
So Gil Dub stay up the mountains in your big jacket. But not for plain, everyday use in the rain.
These goretex coat wearers are know alls. They give me a pain in my butt.

JIZZLORD

eh, every jacket will smell if you don't wash them, rain jackets and dampness go hand in hand, do the math. Most proper out doors jackets are't even that bulky, it's not as if they're big ass bomber jackets.