Most
media tests of breathable fabrics are pretty random - testers use a
jacket on and off for a while in different conditions, form an
opinion of how it performs against other fabrics, then publish
it.
Alternatively, you can take a look at the results from laboratory
tests - and we're going to list some of those below - but it's hard
to relate how, say heating water on a hot plate then seeing how long
it takes to transfer through a fabric, relates to real life use.
So, we thought we'd try and create a real life test that would
give a better idea of how the three allegedly most breathable fabrics
on the market performed in the real world, under the same conditions,
on the same day.
The Test
We took Gore's New Paclite, Lowe Alpine's pre-production eVENT and
Paramo's latest directional fabric and wore them over a high
performance wicking base layer. We then walked at a fast pace, using
a heart rate monitor to make sure the level of effort was the same in
each case, up a steepish slope onto Bleaklow in the Peak District -
see map.
We didn't test XCR partly because we know that the New Paclite is
more breathable and partly because walking up the same hill four
times is quite dull.
The climb took approximately 30 minutes and, on the way up, we
stopped at ten-minute intervals to check for internal condensation,
for the dampness of the baselayer and assess how we actually felt in
terms of comfort - clammy, hot etc.
At the top, we stopped for two minutes, chatted to the local
sheep, made some notes. Because the test was actually quite harsh -
the idea was to generate some sweat - we could then reverse the route
checking every five minutes to see how things were drying out,
assessing comfort etc.
Although under normal conditions we would have vented the garments
for comfort, to make things fair, we wore them all fully zipped up
and closed at wrists and neck. We also wore a pack to see if there
was any difference in comfort under it. In the event, our back always
got damp and took longer to dry out than any other area. No surprise
there then.
Heart rate was between 135 and 145 bpm on the ascent and around
100 bpm on the descent. Tester's resting pulse approximately 41 bpm,
maximum 184 bpm.Air temperature around 7 C, breezy.
eVENT
What is it? eVENT is a new fabric that Lowe Alpine is
introducing for Winter 2003. Like Gore-Tex it uses a PTFE membrane,
but Lowe claim that it's appreciably more breathable than existing
Gore fabrics like XCR and Paclite. Visually it looks just like any
other 3-ply fabric.
The reason for this is the construction. With Gore fabrics, the
PTFE membrane is protected by a PU layer that prevents contamination
from body oils, sun cream and the like. Without this layer - it was
tried in the form of Activent - the membrane was extremely breathable
but contamination caused 'reverse osmosis' so, basically, it passed
moisture the wrong way and leaked.
eVENT claims to get round this by incorporating the protective
layer within the structure of the membrane. So no PU layer to get in
the way and slow moisture transmission but no contamination
either.
The figures Lowe has released some test data which suggests
that 3-layer eVENT has a lower RET - 4.5 - than 3-layer Gore XCR -
5.1 - which means in lab tests it was more breathable. It also has a
higher Moisture Vapour Transmission Rate at 15,000 to 19,000 compared
to XCR's 12,000 to 14,000. Just to throw a cat amongst the pigeons
though, Gore has figures suggesting that New Paclite has an RET of
just 4.0, which would mean in that test it was more breathable than
eVENT.
To complicate things a bit more, Lowe says that the RET tests are
unfair to eVENT. We could go on explaining this for ages, but the
bottom line is that eVENT is clearly a contender. See this
article for more info. And if you'd like to try eVENT for
yourself, click on the advert on the right of this screen or follow
this
link.
The Lowdown
We wore a Lowe Alpine three-ply eVENT jacket over one of Lowe's
Dryflo baselayers.
10 minutes After ten minutes uphill effort the baselayer
was still dry and there was no condensation on the inside of the
jacket though the area under the pack harness and back was becoming
moist and there was a slight feeling of clamminess.
20 minutes After 20 minutes the tester was beginning to
feel slightly sweaty. The inside of the jacket was still dry though
it was damp under the elasticated cuffs (non breathable) and under
the pack.
30 minutes The top. The tester worked harder for the final
five minutes to try and produce some condensation. The inside of the
fabric was still dry however, though the mesh linings of the pockets
were damp and the base layer moist - 4 on a scale of 1-10. A
noteboook in the tester's pocket had some condensation and the area
under the pack was damp and clammy. Tester said he was still
comfortable, but beginning to feel clammy after the hard effort.
5 minutes down Less effort and the tester had stopped
sweating. The base layer was judged to be down to '3' in moistness.
The only only internal condensation was under the pack and behind the
Velcro storm flap fasteners which emphasised how well the rest of the
garment was working. The mesh liner of the pocket was still damp.
Tester comfortable.
10 minutes down eVENT fabric dry, no condensation. The mesh
pocket was still damp however, the baselayer was down to '2' and
almost dry. Only the condensation under the pack gave a slightly
clammy feel.
15 minutes down Still damp under pack but elsewhere almost
completely dry, baselayer down to '1' and tester was comfortable.
20 minutes down Dry except for the area under the pack
which was still a little damp, even the mesh had dried now. The
tester was very comfortable and the baselayer was dry.
Conclusion
We had to work pretty hard to get the eVENT to feel clammy and
even then there was no significant condensation inside the material
beyond the mesh and Velcro patches and under the elastic of the
cuffs. It also dried quickly on the way down, with just the pack
defeating it. The mesh lining of the pockets needs looking at, but as
it's a pre-production jacket, that's not a problem.
New Paclite
What is it? New generation Paclite fabric appearing in the
shops about now. We've been using this for more than six months now
and we're very impressed. The polymer dots on the old Paclite have
been replaced with a charcoal grey liner that protects the membrane
from contamination.
At the launch, Gore suggested that the lining also has a buffering
effect - absorbing moisture before it's transmitted through the
membrane, so reducing condensation and upping comfort. Gore's RET
figure is lower than the one Lowe quote to eVENT, but we don't have
an MVT figure for the New Paclite fabric. More here
or see this
section of the Gore site.
The Lowdown
We used a 270-gramme Berghaus Paclite Smock for this test over the
latest Berghaus Powerdry baselayer.
10 minutes Tester felt moist and clammy particularly around
the arms and under the rucksac, some of this may have been due to the
slightly thinner baselayer 'holding' less perspiration. The baselayer
was 3 out of 10 for moistness, but the inside of the Paclite material
was dry apart from over taped seams which showed some
condensation.
20 minutes Tester still feeling hot and clammy, baselayer
now quite moist at around 4 out of 10, condensation still on seam
taping and under sac at back, but no condensation on the rest of the
fabric.
30 minutes At the top, the baselayer was now quite damp at
around 5 out of 10, there was more condensation on the taped areas,
but the rest of the fabric was still just about dry. Tester felt warm
and clammy particularly under the pack, which was very damp.
5 minutes down Baselayer moistness had dropped from 5 to 3,
inside of fabric was dry and the tapes seams were better. Tester felt
comfortable again. Only the area under the pack was damp.
10 minutes down Incredibly the baselayer was dry again and
except for the back area, there was no condensation on the inside of
the garment at all. Tester comfortable.
20 minutes When the garment was removed, there was only a
slight trace of dampness under the pack, the rest of the top was bone
dry as was the baselayer top. Pretty impressive.
Conclusion
This was a pretty harsh test and on the way up, the tester felt
he was slightly less comfortable than when using the eVENT, though
there was very little in it. Sweating will always feel clammy, no
matter how breathable the garment. The real revelation though, was
just how fast the New Paclite jacket allowed the damp baselayer to
dry out on the way down. The slightly thinner baselayer may have had
less moisture capacity, making it feel damper, but it cleared rapidly
and, with time, completely, even under the pack.
Interestingly, Berghaus has measured the internal humidity of a
New Paclite garment relative to a standard Gore top and found that
humidity did rise faster initially than with the standard fabric, but
it also cleared faster once the terrain flattened out, which is
broadly the same as we found.
Paramo Directional System
We decided to include the Paramo because users rave about its
breathability and we wanted to see if the latest membranes had closed
the gap. The latest Paramo has a 25 per-cent lighter 'pump liner' to
reduce weight and insulation value, which some users resent.
The system uses a windproof outer fabric over a liner which is
claimed to work like animal fur and direct moisture and water away
from the body. It's not strictly waterproof and we have no lab
figures for its breathability. The Paramo blurb claims that
'conventional waterproof breathable fabrics can only cope with 20
per-cent of the sweat you produce when working hard. For real comfort
you need Paramo's Directional Fabrics to pump away the other 80
per-cent'.
The Test
We used Paramo's new Aspira Jacket with 25 per-cent lighter pump
liner. We hoped that the lighter fabric would make it less warm than
previous Paramo kit. Worn over the latest Mountain Equipment Comfort
Zone base layer.
10 minutes The Apsira gave instant warmth which was good,
but things were getting hot as a result and the baselayer was already
on 3 out of 10 for moistness. Forehead sweaty too. No internal
condensation.
20 minutes Tester feeling hot and sweaty, clammy on back -
pack - and arms for some reason. Baselayer up to 4 for moistness,
felt humid and warm inside jacket, but still no condensation on
actually Paramo fabric except for under the elasticated wrists.
30 minutes After working hard to the top, the baselayer had
reach 5 out of ten and was feeling quite damp with a hot, sweaty
tester inside. A camera in the pocket of the jacket had condensation
forming on its screen emphasising that quite a lot of vapour was
being pumped out.
5 minutes down In contrast to the membranes which both
cleared moisture from the baselayer fast, the Paramo was still around
to 5 out of 10. In its favour the extra warmth meant that though the
tester felt damp over the skin, he wasn't cold.
10 minutes down Slight drying of baselayer to 4 out of 10,
but still moist and warm inside. Female assistant tester unimpressed
by dampness - 'Yuk'.
15 minutes Baselayer still damp - 3-4 - though again, there
was no condensation on the inside of the Paramo fabric. Felt damp and
humid inside the jacket.
20 minutes Still moist though improving slowly.
Conclusion It may be that the format of this test - no
venting, hard, uphill work - was tough on Paramo, but we were
surprised at how slowly the damp baselayer top dried out once we were
headed downhill with minimal exertion. It wasn't what we expected,
though we did think that the extra warmth of Paramo would make it on
the hot side when heading up. On the plus side, the soft drape of the
material was comfortable and there was no condensation on the inside
of the main fabric. If nothing else, it shows how important venting
is.
Overall Conclusion
This was a pretty tough test and if you move relatively slowly or
run on the cool side, we reckon all three of these fabrics will do
the job for steady walking. That wasn't what we were testing for
though and the results backed up what we expected from using both
eVENT and New Paclite for mountain biking and running.
The bottom line seems to be that eVENT is slightly more
comfortable and less clammy than New Paclite when working hard and
pumping out the calories, but the Gore fabric has a slight edge once
the hard work stops and it's time to dry out. We're not entirely sure
why, but we suspect it's down to the buffering effect of the
Paclite's liner layer.
They're very, very close in performance though and most people
would be happy with either. Of course though, Paclite is a
lightweight fabric while this version of eVENT is aimed squarely at
Gore's XCR. Given that we know New Paclite is more breathable than
three-ply XCR, we reckon eVENT is too, which means that Gore has a
fight on its hands.
Finally, Paramo lived up to its claims to minimise condensation -
there was none - but its warmth made the tester sweat more than the
other fabrics and it took longer than either to dry the damp base
layer on the descent. Of course there's more to Paramo than just
breathability, but on the basis of this test, we were disappointed
and surprised at its performance.
Andrew Whaley
