 By ignoring any care labels/instructions. Easier to spend £300 on a new jacket than expose things to soap and water. Not to mention all the total and utter crap fabrics there are out there.
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Me too Rob - like I said I never had to do any 'maintenance' on the old Trango and it kept me dry for six years. I currently have two Rab shells, one North Face, one Berghaus, one Harkila, and not one of them is waterproof any more - the membranes are letting water through. It's definitely not the seams, and it's definitey not sweat because it's consistent if I'm working hard or standing still. They've all lost their water repellance for sure, and as soon as the face fabric becomes soaked, so do I. At first i thought it must be because the soaked face fabric must be inhibiting the breathability and the water on the inside was just condensation, but as I said i get soaked even when standing still. The material is simply not waterproof any more. In fact, despite my huge collection of brightly coloured, super-technical, extreme-weather climbing/walking jackets, the only jacket I have at the moment which keeps me dry is an ancient Barbour coat. It totally turns into something like wood when it gets wet, but I stay dry inside. Useless for the hills of course!
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 Hi Al,
Giggled at your Paramo response. They do get a bit tarty when you diss that pile of fabric that we are not allowed to comment unfavourably on.
Anyway, to answer your question...
There are, in my opinion, two jackets I believe will meet your needs. The Mountain Equipment Kongur made from Goretex or my personal favourite the Montane Superfly-XT which is eVent.
Mur
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no good if you have to wash them though mur. the manufacturers don't share the op's opinoin that they leak though. unless they haven't been returned of course. unless you share the belief that it is the design of a jacket and not it's materials nor maintenance that make it waterproof.
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Many years ago I had a Berghaus Trango Extrem which i used daily, in the hills and on the walk to work. It survived daily bashing for about 6 years, was completely filthy and stunk like old fish (never washed once)
Since then I've had countless breathable/waterproof jackets (I'm a sucker for those half-price, last year's colours sales tents at Outside in Hathersage), but they've all been... well... shite. I've had 2 and 3 layer Goretex and eVent, lightweight, heavyweight, every colour you can think of, and they've invariably started letting water through the material after less than a year.
I'd be grateful for any recommendations for a totally bombproof 3-layer eVent or Goretex jacket for everyday use. Doesn't have to be technical - will only be used for walking.
I'm not keen on Paramo, because I'd feel like a lemon for the first hour in the office, telling people that I'm actually *supposed* to be soaking wet, so that my base layer can wick up the moisture. They just wouldn't understand...
Thanks in advance,
Al
Everything you've said above about not washing your jacket, wanting something breathable but also highly durable and waterproof... "polartec neoshell" is flashing in my brain. I think that's what would meet all these requirements. Next best for durability would probably be a GoreTex ProShell but they wont be as breathable.
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Thanks very much for the suggestions so far.I'll have a look at Goretex Proshell again - I did look at a Mera Peak a couple of weeks ago and it felt sturdy enough, but (as with the Latok) a lot of bad reviews on here have put me off a bit.
The Bergen is one of the Rab jackets that I own and is no longer waterproof - i bought it after being impressed by the Bergen pants which I've had for a couple of years now and which fit and have performed really well, but sadly the jacket has let me down. Fits well, just doesn't work.
My local shop said that they'll be getting Crux jackets into stock at the end of January - if I have the willpower I'll postpone my purchase until I can have a look at one...
Thanks again.
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 You won't find storm flaps or a long cut with Crux. Tough outer fabric very much so! To be clear though, if you're managing to abuse something like a Bergen to trash it that quickly, there isn't all that much any membrane waterproof can do. Just what are you doing to them?
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Nothing unusual! Daily use on the walk or cycle to work, sometimes stuffed into a rucksack or pannier, and occasional weekends in the hills. The Bergen was bought for a cycle tour in the Himalayas where it performed really well in all respects other than being a bit too lightweight - i prefer a shell to feel totally solid and 'warm'. I know that warmth is supposed to be provided by the inner/mid layer, but my old Trango definitely felt warmer and more confidence-inspiring than the Bergen. For a while I was thinking that, to get the sort of protection i had with the Trango, I'd have to buy one of the full-on sailing jackets from Musto...
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Suppose so. Daily use to/from work is of course hard work by the standards of outdoors stuff. I really would consider some sort of non membrane soft shell - or even just a cheap wind shirt - for most of the days because that does very often cover conditions in town entirely fine and is both a lot cheaper and tougher. Paramo's wind shirts say. (Carry a waterproof in a stuff sac in case of rain of course.).
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| Edited: 01/01/12 10:41 |
I don't understand martin. Why is just wearing something hard work for an outdoor jacket? I've worn outdoor jackets to work everyday for years and haven't managed to trash anything yet.
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Well it depends  If you're driving then no, its not. If you're walking a non trivial milage - 3 to 4 miles a day say? - then for most people at least thats a lot more milage than they'll cover outdoors. Quite possibly still with a rucksack, sometimes with shopping etc in it. Think public transport might be the worst though. If you can't take it off (not always trivial) then you'll be rubbing it against the seats etc. Thats a lot rougher than most things you'll do outdoors.
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| Edited: 01/01/12 11:22 |
 One of Rohan's stated goals with their Pinnacle jacket is durability. I've only fondled one briefly but it does have a robust air about it and they quite deliberately chose a chunkier face fabric than most other jackets have at the moment.. Not eVent, but their "Barricade" has similar lab figures and seems to be well regarded in reviews. From other stuff of theirs I have it seems their DWR finish is pretty good, and they claim 20 washes with a 20% degrade or similar which sounds pretty good. The hood is wired, it's somewhere in that space between shorter and longer... The main zip and pockets are not storm flapped but they dio use Riri Aquazips and these are waterproof as in waterproof, not as in water resistant like the zips on e.g. the Rabs (maybe not proof up to diving suit standards, but to rain they really should be good enough). So worth a gander, at least. Pete.
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Thanks Pete - there's a Rohan shop in town so I'll pop in for a look.
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I used to be a farmer - so was outdoors 365 days a year in all conditions. The easiest way to trash any gear is not to maintain it - like give it a clean every now and then. For sure I wrecked plenty of gear between machinery oil/grease contamination(which wouldnt clean up) and rips and tears. First thing I would suggest is treat your gear as you would like to be treated yourself - give it some TLC and respect and you will gain time and time again.
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The point is though, I bashed and abused my old Trango and never washed it, and it was great for 6yrs; current kit seems much more delicate, and i was wondering if anyone knew of an exception to that 'rule'.
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Martin. Commuting on the tube and the filth of london air. Never managed to trash anything. And i usually have a rucksack.
Al, pete's suggestion of a rohan pinnacle is a good one. That and some will to wash things.
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I think you were just lucky. There is nothing I would recommend to you based on your apparent lack of respect for your gear - because whatever I suggested when it failed (and it will) it would be my fault/the gears fault/someone elses fault but not yours! Case in point - I have a Trango. It is 15 years old (I think - probably more) - I inherited from my Dad. He used it daily dogwalking and going for the paper (he retired at age 70, died at age 92). I know he used to maintain it (cos he got me to get the soap and TX10) -it was used by my daughter on DoE this year and went to Equador with her - she seemed happy with it. Its like not checking the oil in a car between services...chances are you'll get away with it, but if you dont the effect is catastrophic.
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Can I put in another word for Rohan? I have a four year old Mountain Pass jacket (in 2 layer Barricade) which works superbly despite having been washed (and reproofed) only once - I'm not good when it comes to maintainance. Five months ago I succumbed to temptation and bought a Pinnacle in a sale (NEVER pay full price for anything Rohan) which has proved to be even better and which I expect to last a long time as it is reserved for serious hill use with the Mountain Pass relegated to travelling to work and general knocking about. Barricade keeps out the weather and breathes better than any Goretex I've ever had ( and I've had plenty). Mrs Rab has just acquired a new Rohan waterproof, and her verdict so far is that her Paramo is destined for the local charity shop.
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