Question for all you outdoors types

[Jay GTI]

The Wife would like to get me a decent mountain biking jacket as my current one is not actually breathable material as far as I can tell, despite claims to be.

The jackets I'm looking at are around the £120-£140 mark but it appears I have the choice of three types of breathable material, Gore-Tex Paclite, Gore-Tex XCR or eVent. Anyone have any experience with jackets made of any of these, any recommendations etc? Not that fussed about packing it down into a small bundle, as my Camelbak is pretty good for storage, main concern is not being completey drenched in my own sweat after even a short ride.

Thanks in advance!

[pdV6]

Presumably, you want the one with the highest breathing rate and a minimum wicking layer (to reduce bulk) but not NO wicking layer as you'll always sweat faster than the fabric can breathe when exerting yourself.

[combover]

I recently purchased a soft-shell Haglofs Lizard and I have to say, it is excellent and very breathable. Try and get one up close and have a quick look (that's all it will take, trust me!). An excellent quality item and not that bad considering it does most things extremely well.

[url]www.haglofs.se/produkter/klader.asp?lang=en&CatNr=295&Q=no#[/url]

Combover

[pdV6]

After a bit of Googling:

Paclite appears to be mainly for trekking whilst XCR looks like its more breathable.

[Jay GTI]

pdV6 said:

Presumably, you want the one with the highest breathing rate and a minimum wicking layer (to reduce bulk) but not NO wicking layer as you'll always sweat faster than the fabric can breathe when exerting yourself.

Yes, that sort of thing is what I need. I realise no jacket will stop me getting sweat-soaked with something as high-exertion as mountain-biking, but after a few of minutes riding in my current jacket, I can open the cuff straps and sweat will pour out.

[pdV6]

Jay GTI said:

Yes, that sort of thing is what I need. I realise no jacket will stop me getting sweat-soaked with something as high-exertion as mountain-biking, but after a few of minutes riding in my current jacket, I can open the cuff straps and sweat will pour out.

Could just be that your current jacket has no lining at all, so nowhere for the moisture to collect whilst waiting to breathe its way out through the shell.

[Jay GTI]

combover said:

I recently purchased a soft-shell Haglofs Lizard and I have to say, it is excellent and very breathable. Try and get one up close and have a quick look (that's all it will take, trust me!). An excellent quality item and not that bad considering it does most things extremely well. [url]www.haglofs.se/produkter/klader.asp?lang=en&CatNr=295&Q=no#[/url] Combover

That is an intereting option, not one I'd have considered, so thanks for that.

PDV6, cheers for the links but the trouble is there are so many conflicting reviews I have no idea which to believe (generally Paclite is supposed to be more breathable than XCR what I've read so far).

As for my current jacket, it has no lining but I wear a wicking base-layer underneath it, so it may be I'm not layering properly, but it was only a £50 jacket and so I don't think the breathable material is that great.

[pdV6]

Jay GTI said:

PDV6, cheers for the links but the trouble is there are so many conflicting reviews I have no idea which to believe (generally Paclite is supposed to be more breathable than XCR what I've read so far).

Its all a bit confusing - you'd have thought that they'd have a page somewhere listing all the fabrics and their properties, wouldn't you?

I'm guessing that pretty much any bike-specific jacket in the price range you're talking about will be pretty good (better than your current one, anyway) so the best bet would be to try a few for fit & function (and fashion, if that bothers you) and pick one that works for you.

I have a bright yellow Gore bike jacket I bought ages ago for ~£100 and it does the business. That said, I only wear it if its p155ing down or very windy and in thise conditions I'm more likely to be sat at home than out on my bike!

[alfaman]

I have used various waterproof / breathable jackets for cycling and climbing over a few years.

Gore Tex is good , as is Triple Point (Lowe Alpine )..... however some of my mates who are real "gear freaks" advise me that the new eVent fabric is more breathable than Gore Tex or T.P and seem to like it a lot .

so based on what they say .... eVent may be the best bet. Breathability is also heavily influenced by jacket design in terms of zips , vents etc. .... just as important as the fabric itself.

[Jay GTI]

alfaman said:

I have used various waterproof / breathable jackets for cycling and climbing over a few years. Gore Tex is good , as is Triple Point (Lowe Alpine )..... however some of my mates who are real "gear freaks" advise me that the new eVent fabric is more breathable than Gore Tex or T.P and seem to like it a lot . so based on what they say .... eVent may be the best bet. Breathability is also heavily influenced by jacket design in terms of zips , vents etc. .... just as important as the fabric itself.

Yeah I think I'll go for eVent, it does have good reviews (seems to be comparable to Paclite) although as PDV6 says, all jackets will be good at that level.

Interestingly, from what I've read Lowe Alpine used eVent material for their tops jackets for a year, then signed a deal with Gore-Tex to use Paclite instead, even though most tests show they are as god as each other (with XCR trailing).

Cheers for the help!