I bought a new Velez a few weeks ago, and have worn it for the past 3 Sundays (although it hardly rained, it was particularly cold & windy), and the drizzle fairly bounced off. However, today I wore it in proper rain - not a heavy downpour, but just sustained rain. After 30 mins walk we turned back as the 2 friends weren't happy (not wearing waterproof trousers), and it was when the rain eased for a few minutes that I noticed some cold wet patches on my baselayer - across my chest, down both sides, and the underside of one arm. I kept the smock on for 20 mins in the pub in the hope that body heat would dry it. No such luck - the pump liner still hasn't dried out 4 hours later!
The water didn't get in via the zips - just a couple of inches behind the zips, and in the area above the horizontal chest zip (and my fags in the "dry" inside pocket were all soggy).
So what's wrong? Was it my fault for wearing it in the rain, or is Analogy like the Emperors new clothes - no-one wants to be the first to say it doesn't work.

This is gonna be a good one!

All i can say is, how strange.

I know if they're washed wrongly then the pumpliner might not work properly (work in reverse?). But you didnt mention washing it.

I know mine worked this week in 3 days of rain and i was very comfortable. And it dried off quickly. The main problem was it was still too warm to wear it! I had to swap to my fuera instead, which kept me dry too.

Let's hope that the man from Nikwax is about (David?) with some answers. Failing that, i'd email Paramo direct, you might have a dud (not proofed properly mabye?).

Yuk!

It must be faulty, Sean. They don't leak.

Take it back to the place you bought it from, and please report back in due course :)

They don't leak and the pump liner should, if washed correctly, always pump out any sweat/moisture ASAP.
Thsi sounds either incorrectly washed or faulty.

I seem to recall on an older thread that someone had bought a Paramo which hadn't actually been chemically treated during manufacture. The symptoms (from memory) sound fairly similair.

Basically, they don't leak so I'd get in touch with Paramo. Customer service is superb so I'd imagine you'll get it done very quickly and that they'll cover the postage.

There was a thread recently where someone said their Fuera wasn't waterproof and it was pointed out that it's only a windproof, so they don't waterproof the Fueras before they send them out. (Phew - what an inelegant sentence! Anyway...)

The Velez is meant to be waterproof, though. Take it back, Sean :)

As pointed out above you may have a rare one that has slipped through the net without being properly treated.

If you contact Paramo customer services they will be happy to take a look at it for you and all postage costs will be paid for.

Shower test it. Put it on over a t-shirt and get in the shower (on cool & slow) for 10 mins, then see if there's been water ingress.

Out of curiousity, are the full-on waterproofs manufactured in South America and then proofed in the UK?

Thanks everyone. Why didn't I think of contacting Customer Services? Duh!

Re: Philby

No. They are shipped from Columbia as is. They are extensively quality checked in the UK before release, but obviously it would not be practical to check every garment.

Very few problems occur.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I was wearing Fuera trousers (when I left the house it looked like being a fine afternoon, and as they are shower resistant....), and the front wetted out in 5 mins - returning with the wind behind, the back wetted out immediately. I wasn't bothered about that, but it was a strange coincidence. I bought the Fuera trousers (and a smock)from the same retailer, a few weeks after the Velez. I think i'll try washing the fuera gear in Tech Wash, and proof 'em with TX direct. I'll see what Customer services say - I didn't buy Fuera as waterproofs

Re: Dave,

cheers for that. Just wondered.

Re: Sean,

wouldn't expect the Fuera's to be waterproof but wait till the Valez is sorted. Best kit going from Autumn to Spring.

Sean, i was using the Fuera trousers as 'waterproofs' this week, and i've recently washed them in Soap flakes and proofed them with Tx-Direct. They did the job great, but started to wet out a bit, i think they were getting dirty.

That said, they dried out surprisingly quick, and with a fresh clean and proof, let no water in on the friday when i was literally walking along streams (aka paths). I found the fuera smock windproof to be good as well, and kept me dry when it started raining at the end of one of my walking days and the velez was too hot.

Your Fueras should be very water-resistant if you use the Tech Wash, Sean. I proofed mine and they're brilliant :)

Sean, were you carrying a rucksac? My wife's Cascada leaked after four hours in very heavy rain but only in the area of shoulder and waist straps. Returned it to Paramo and they reproofed it FOC. We now reproof our Paramo gear every six months and include spray on TX.Direct in our kit on all our trips, just in case. I should add that the jacket was only six months old and had never had a heavy wetting previously but it was a reduced price item. I wonder if the Nikwax treatment deteriorates whilst hanging around in shops!

WM : I was carrying a very light hydration sack - a wet patch near the bottom of the back of the smock corresponded to the padding at the bottom of the sack, but no water got through near the shoulder straps or the waist strap(which was loose), or around the high chest strap. The odd thing was that the wet patches didn't spread outwards, and the pump liner was wet to touch for some hours after. I'd noticed early on that the sleeves were beading very well, but I didn't pay attention after that.
Anyway, I've E-Mailed Paramo customer support with a full explanation - I'll wait and see what they advise.
Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll let you know what happens.

Hope you get the problem sorted.
I recently bought the Fuera smock & wind trousers and was a bit confused as to whether they were Nikwaxed as supplied so I treated them but could not get them to 'wet' at all - they've both performed well including driving rain on the back of a bike.
My Cascada coat also beads up nicely but is too warm for regular use at this time of year.

Sean,

Never leave your fags in the chest pocket - even in a fully proofed smock. the water passing from the inside to the outside via the liner - ie. sweat from your chest area, has to go through the pocket & therefore likes to soak everything in it.

Experience is a wonderful thing ;-)