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Waterproof Recommendations

Jon Frisby said:
Top tip with any goretex, don't wash it in detergent.
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This is precisely why you should avoid previously issued military Goretex, even if it does look clean and tidy. Most servicemen don't give a damn and merrily wash their issued Goretex in detergent, ruining the DWR coating and the Goretex membrane in the process.

P.S. The Shooterking jacket turned up today while I was out beating, and sweating buckets in the unseasonable temperatures. It certainly looks and feels the part.
 
I bought an Airflo jacket from the tackle shop at Rutland Water which I have been impressed with. Remember these guys fish afloat all day with no umbrella to duck under.
 
John Newman said:
I bought an Airflo jacket from the tackle shop at Rutland Water which I have been impressed with. Remember these guys fish afloat all day with no umbrella to duck under.
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My wading jacket is an Airflo. If I'm honest, I primarily bought it because it has net anchor points on both hips as well as the back. It's a hell of a lot better than I expected and has kept me perfectly dry through several downpours. The latest of them was on Christmas Eve.
 
Chris Jones said:
A friend of mine is a gamekeeper. He bought a Fortis Forester Jacket at the back end of November. It seems very well made with good quality rip stop fabric. He did have to wait about a month for them to make the matching trousers that weren't available off the peg.

I was in the market for such a jacket as I'm sick of beating in waxed cotton. I was tempted by the Fortis but the price was a bit much for me for a beating jacket. I've ended up taking a blind punt on a discounted Shooterking jacket. It's a brand that I wasn't familiar with before and no one I know has done more than heard of the brand name. I was swayed by their use of Cordura fabrics and much lower prices. As the jacket is yet to arrive, it might yet be a big mistake.

Even if you don't fancy Shooterking, you may find something worthwhile at bushwear.co.uk, they also happen to have 30% off all clothing at the moment.

The following silliness did help convince me that the Shooterking stuff will be up to the wet, muddy and thorney abuse I'm likely to subject it to.
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Cheers Chris I'll take a look at the links mate. It's very annoying that due to whatever excuse manufacturers are giving, that the trade don't do the once freely available lines they once did. 👍
 
Like the Vass stuff, however the bib & brace legs are extremely long (and my inside leg is 34"). That's not a deal breaker, however. Also, I'd recommend the Seetex clothing as it's waterproof and durable, and cheaper than Helikon.
Much depends on whether you prefer over-trousers? Either way, Military 1st has a good range.
 
Goretex all the way for me. Regarding an earlier post about still being wet whilst wearing such membranes is that in times of high humidity the breathability is always going to be significantly reduced as there's nowhere for the vapour to go. That being said, it's wonderful stuff for those, who like me, sweat a lot on a long walk to a swim.
 
The problem is Anthony, they say this.

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Which it doesn't, unfortunately.
 
Paul Richardson said:
Ridge line shooting gear is excellent quality for the money and normally some good deals on
New forest clothing are normally good
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Another shout out to the Ridge Line stuff. I got the trousers last year and they’re top notch. Warm, waterproof and breathable and great for general fishing wear too (not just the wet days), just slightly too warm for hot summer days. The old man has had the trousers for 5+ years and they’re as good as the day he bought them.

I’ll be getting the jacket to match soon.

Real quality gear for the money, which isn’t cheap, but you can definitely pay more.
 
Living 20 minutes from where this image was taken in the Lakes, the gear I've had and have is tested. I can't say I've tried all brands or membranes but I really do believe that there's not a lot that will come close to Goretex Pro and I don't mind heading out when the wind is blowing hard enough to make the rain feel like needles hitting your head!
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A few years ago I was at Rutland for a trout match. It was September, the weather was very moody with dark grey skies above as we all stood around drinking coffee and having a bacon roll before firing up the boats. The head ghillie, sorry I cannot remember his name, had more than one person ask him what he thought the best waterproofs were as we pondered the options for staying dry during the impending downpour. He said “I don’t care how much you have spent on waterproofs today, or what you are wearing. You will get wet.”…..he was correct and all 4 of us in my team got absolutely drenched through despite wearing ”waterproof clothing”. I had a Goretex bib n brace and jacket on from a top end manufacturer that was paid for by the company sponsor.
Nowadays I keep it simple and buy a pair of waterproof rubber lined over trousers that kind of ’stay‘ with my wellies. Just a run of the mill brand like Regatta for £20 odd. The last pair had been used for about 10 years and I fish every week. By wearing a pair of joggers underneath I have never got cold legs, or wet legs. Top half is again something like Regatta, or Peter Storm in lightweight taped seams. My latest version was under £25 in a sale and should I rip it to shreds on barbed wire, or in a fight with a prowling tiger it won’t bust me to buy another. No way is it necessary to spend hundreds of pounds, or be blinded by ’tackle tax’ fishing merchandise.
 
I bought a gore tex French army trouser and jacket suit over 20 years ago from an army surplus store and it is still going strong today (see my profile pic). It was £120 back then but given the amount of years I've had out of it, it has been worth it. I love it. I wouldn't stand in the rain in it, or any suit, for hours but it certainly holds up well in showers. The advantage of this suit is that it is very light and breathable but keeps you warm in winter (with layers on underneath) but is cool in the summer. I have a winter Sundridge salopette/coat suit which is extremely warm, almost too hot., but only shower proof and you cant walk round in it or you will cook, so when I use it, I have to carry it inside my chair which adds weight. Therefore I nearly always use my gore tex army suit.
 
Never had any problems with my gortex gear always kept me dry.
 
I'm not arguing the GTX isn't good clothing. I have many GTX items from my hillwalking days.

My point is their "Guaranteed to keep you dry" statement is a little misleading. Yes, you may not get wet from the outside (If you've looked after the garment properly) But in my experience, if the wearer is exerting themselves somewhat, GTX doesn't wick the moisture generated from the body well, thus wetting the wearer from the inside.

The end result is you're wet.
 
Simon Archer said:
My point is their "Guaranteed to keep you dry" statement is a little misleading. Yes, you may not get wet from the outside (If you've looked after the garment properly) But in my experience, if the wearer is exerting themselves somewhat, GTX doesn't wick the moisture generated from the body well, thus wetting the wearer from the inside.

The end result is you're wet.
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The point is valid, even if it may be a little unreasonable. Plenty of garments that are 100% breathable, and not at all waterproof, will get wet from the inside during periods of exertion. I've never encountered any kind of waterproof that will be any different. The only variable is the degree of breathability. Unfortunately, during periods of real exertion, you may not notice any effective difference between a PVC garment and a Goretex one (or any other breathable waterproof fabric). It's harsh to blame Goretex for not wicking when it was never intended to. That's got to be down to the linings manufacturers add to a Goretex shell or the garments an individual chooses to wear beneath a Goretex shell.

The only real bugbear I've ever had with Goretex is that it rarely seems to be used with exterior fabric layers that are particularly tough and hardwearing. That was not an issue when it's free and you can exchange damaged stuff whenever necessary. It's no big deal if it's fairly inexpensive (Army surplus stuff). However, when it's a premium price and I'm wanting to use it to wade through brambles, heather, gorse and hawthorn, it's a problem. Most companies that make waterproofs for field sports have largely abandoned Goretex in favour of their own proprietary waterproof membranes. The few that persist with genuine Goretex are invariably very expensive.
 
Chris Jones said:
...Unfortunately, during periods of real exertion, you may not notice any effective difference between a PVC garment and a Goretex one (or any other breathable waterproof fabric)....
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I am not sure that is the case - a PVC garment will be overwhelmed quicker than any Goretex garment and will move less vapour during that continued exertion meaning it will get wetter quicker and over the same period of time when compared to a Goretex garment you will just end up retaining more moisture.
In construction, PVC waterproof clothing was all we used to have years ago and you only needed to put it on to start sweating. I still have non-waterproof jackets that move less vapour than the new Goretex stuff we have!

There is I think a reason why some brands prefer a proprietary membrane and that is just because they do no need to pay as much for the one they use, earning them more money.

The difference I have found with my Haglofs Roc Spirit Jacket (Goretex Pro) and any other waterproof jackets on the same walks in the same conditions is so marked as to leave me in no doubt as to it's superiority. I contact other brands who have such great cuts and features but continue to use a proprietary membrane, the answer to why they use these membranes is that they believe what they use is better than Goretex. In my experience such an answer is easily refutable but it's such a shame as a brand such as Jottnar (set up by two Royal Marines) produce the best cut jackets I have ever had, better than Acteryx and Haglofs, but despite initially using Goretex materials, switched to their own membranes a while back.

In any case, I would be very sceptical about any manufacturer that cannot or will not give you a rating as to how waterproof or breathable their products are and I still notice some brands are doing that! 10,000mm hydrostatic head is the minimum measurement for waterproof-ness, anything less is just water resistant and it should have taped seams. The new Goretex Pro has a HH of 28,000mm I believe.

I think I am right in saying that a Goretex jacket will not wick moisture as condensation will occur if it is worn next to the skin. Yet just a simple long sleeved base layer will over come this issue.

I guess we each have our own likes and dislikes, you pays your money and takes your choice.
 
Damian Kimmins said:
I am not sure that is the case - a PVC garment will be overwhelmed quicker than any Goretex garment and will move less vapour during that continued exertion meaning it will get wetter quicker and over the same period of time when compared to a Goretex garment you will just end up retaining more moisture.
In construction, PVC waterproof clothing was all we used to have years ago and you only needed to put it on to start sweating. I still have non-waterproof jackets that move less vapour than the new Goretex stuff we have!

There is I think a reason why some brands prefer a proprietary membrane and that is just because they do no need to pay as much for the one they use, earning them more money.

The difference I have found with my Haglofs Roc Spirit Jacket (Goretex Pro) and any other waterproof jackets on the same walks in the same conditions is so marked as to leave me in no doubt as to it's superiority. I contact other brands who have such great cuts and features but continue to use a proprietary membrane, the answer to why they use these membranes is that they believe what they use is better than Goretex. In my experience such an answer is easily refutable but it's such a shame as a brand such as Jottnar (set up by two Royal Marines) produce the best cut jackets I have ever had, better than Acteryx and Haglofs, but despite initially using Goretex materials, switched to their own membranes a while back.

In any case, I would be very sceptical about any manufacturer that cannot or will not give you a rating as to how waterproof or breathable their products are and I still notice some brands are doing that! 10,000mm hydrostatic head is the minimum measurement for waterproof-ness, anything less is just water resistant and it should have taped seams. The new Goretex Pro has a HH of 28,000mm I believe.

I think I am right in saying that a Goretex jacket will not wick moisture as condensation will occur if it is worn next to the skin. Yet just a simple long sleeved base layer will over come this issue.

I guess we each have our own likes and dislikes, you pays your money and takes your choice.
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I'm sorry, unless my post was more badly written than I'd ever hope, I'm not sure you could misinterpret it more wildly.

I never said that PVC was in any way better than Goretex. I was defending Goretex by suggesting that once you sweat buckets under any type of waterproof you are going to feel a bit soggy. Nothing is breathable enough to prevent that. If you wear nothing at all and exert enough, you are going to sweat and feel damp and horrible. No matter how breathable or good at wicking sweat a fabric is will alter that. However, I still have no issue admitting that Goretex is as good or better than any alternative breathable membrane. When you consider the price, so it should be.

I never really said anything about the reasons why many manufacturers choose to avoid using Goretex. It's invariably about cost, to them and the end consumer. My only issue with Goretex garments, other than the extra costs, is that they are rarely hardwearing enough for my liking. Give me a Goretex jacket, made from a thick exterior material, at £200 or less, and I'd be all over it. Unfortunate reality means that this is rather unlikely. It's also the reason that waxed cotton remains remarkably popular for some of the applications I have for a waterproof.

I actually suggested that wicking wasn't the aim of any waterproof shell (Goretex or otherwise). That's down to the liner of the garment (if there is one) and/or any clothing underneath. You've taken me to task yet agreed with the point I made!
 
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