 Peeps... I dcided to replace my regatta pacamac (yeah! laugh it up!) with a posher waterproof this summer. I was drawn to eVENT originally due to it's breathability and a search for lightweight eVENTS threw the likes of the montane quick-fire and fire-fly at my feet which looked scrummy because of their light weights (although the prices smarted a bit...ranging from 150-200quid..a far cry from a 20quid pacamac!!). The OM reviews seem to like the paclite stuff from Gore but it's a little on the expensive side.... ...Then during a look at some more montane gear i came accross jackets made from 'entrant DT'...it states incredible breathability and waterproofness but come with price tags a lot more pallatable (at about the 80-90quid mark). It stopped me dead and now i can't decide.... does anyone have experience with this fabric? what are the for and againsts? They seem to pack down very small and light with a better price tag but would i just be buying another boil in the bag pacamac that's possibly less waterproof? ...to DT or not to DT that is the question......................!!??
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If you hunt about you can often get good deals on event jackets - like this Montane Superfly for £120.
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 I think in general you get what you pay for. Go with the best you can afford.
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 Well the atomic will as waterproof in fabric terms (ie totally) than a pac mac but should also be rather better designed - better hood, zip arrangment etc. The fabric will also be a lot more breathable than a pac a mac  It is however less breathable than Event. How big an issue breathablity (past a given point) is seems to depend bit on how much you sweat (seems to vary masses between people this). Do a search for Atomic on here and you'll find some comments I think. Might depend how you're planning to use it - if its something you're planning to carry for much of the time then the atomic is cheaper, non trivially lighter and still OK when you need it. An event jacket will be better when you actually wear it. For warm(ish) weather usage I don't think its obvious at all. I certainly got myself an atomic style jacket in preference to anything else for summerish usage. Partially cost but the weight difference is non trivial and I don't seem to sweat all that much.
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 There are plenty of of event jackets going cheap on ebay
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 If you are seriously considering one of the cheaper fabrics then maybe you should take a look at the Marmot Mica, their Strata fabric has some pretty impressive spec.
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 I had an Entrant G2 Jacket from Tog24 and it was absolutely fine. It was certainly breathable and better than Goretex which has never worked for me. The only issue with it was that when it finally failed after a few years the membrane actually disintegrated into a fine powder so there was no doubt that it had reached the end of its life.
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Parky..good link thanks. AYAYAYAYA...it's a toughy! i'm getting a feeling that the atomic is probably more breathable than gore-tex but not QUITE as breathable as eVENT!!!?? It will be used for summer over a very sweaty body!! I just have to decide what to sacrifice, breathability for cheapness and lightness/packability or money and more weight/space penalty for breathability...! I've got a thin north face PP baselayer to wear underneath. has anyone used eVENT and entrant DT? how did they compare.(parky?)
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 I've got the Atomic pants (entrant DT) and a Crux Flak Smock (eVent). There is a big difference in breathability. No other membrane comes close to eVent imo. I've heard good things about Montbells Breeze-Tech though. If you expect to wear it for long periods of time being energetic, then i would go for eVent. My summer backpacking waterproof is a TNF Triumph Anorak. I sacrifice breathability for low weight, as i expect to carry it more than wear it.
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Is it just me or does it just seem to p**s down in this country more in summer than it ever has done!!?? I guess if eVENT dries quicker in between showers AND is more breathable it makes better sense as a summer watterproof! Entrant is a strong contender though. I'll have to mull on it a bit more (and partake in some mulled wine in the interim!) and see if i can get my hands on some of these garments. thanks everybody.
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Thr TNF Triumph i mentioned isn't made from eVent. It is half the weight of the lightest eVent shells though. That is more important to me for summer backpacking.
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 I use a Marmot Essence in summer, well I bought it for summer but I'm still using it. It isn't eVent either, it's a breathable coated fabric, very light at 183g (not as light as Mikes TNF Triumph) and takes up very little space. Unless you need an all year round jacket (in which case I'd go for eVent/Gore-Tex) you may be better served with a coated breathable fabric rather than a laminate.
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 event and dt are both sweaty beasts in my opinion. event just takes a little longer to get there. in summer as you wil lget wet from either rain or sweat i tend to choose rain and wear a paramo fuera jacket which allows you to dry out between showers. event and dt don't. dt is cheaper and does the job of keeping you dry from without, just as event does. a good pertex type jacket and an umbrella work better than any membrane.
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What Parky says. If you haven't got a windshirt it will be the best investment you ever made. Just to confuse things a bit more, the Montane Venture is a basic event jacket. Its often one of the cheaper ones (I got mine for £80). Its more robust, longer and protective that the uber lightweight ones. But then its a lot heavier and more bulky. However, its the sort of thing that you could use year round happily, so in that respect its good value for money.
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