Goretex - not water proof

Wear the Decathlon jacket?

There are various versions of GoreTex - the PacLite stuff is only intended for light duty use and doesn’t stay waterproof for long IME. GoreTex Pro if you want to stay dry. 

You need to join the fun on that other gore-tex thread!

My experience is that goretex will fail with age. The membrane starts to leak. Re proofing doesn’t help once the membrane has gone. It’s easy to test the membrane with a colander, paper towel and water. Are you in the guarantee period?

I am well passed the guarantee period - bought 4 years ago.  Mainly cos I thought Goretex was the answer to all of life's issues.  From the other thread, I know it is not!

Turn in side out, wear in shower. Leaking areas will be obvious when you take it off and turn the right way round again

Then you can assess if the leak is membrane failure or point leaks that are easily repaired within reason

If it's failure then you have a windproof

Start a youtube channel?

I bought some Gore  Packlite shorts after a PSA here.  They are so light that I expected them to fail after a few trips.  They are doing ok so far and they really comfortable and keep my legs drier than anything else I have tried. I was going to keep them for bike packing trips… but I have ended up commuting in them as I like them too much. I will be interested to see how long they last and to be fair I wouldn’t expect them to be that durable given how light they are.

You need to join the fun on that other gore-tex thread!

Whatever you do don't watch the video. You don't need to be armed with any information before you start ranting.

If it’s failure then you have a windproof

A really sweaty windproof.

and it is not condensation

How do you know, out of interest?

Seems that washing and reproofing in a washing machine could be a problem as there is always residual washing detergent in there which strips the DWR. I started washing (with Tech Wash) in a bucket and reproofing with spray - results are better.

I have a Berghaus goretex jacket – I recently washed it and reproofed it using the suggested methods.  I have just been out in heavy rain – and it is not at all waterproof. It is very wet on the inside (and it is not condensation)

Did you reproof it inside out?

How do you know, out of interest?

Seems that washing and reproofing in a washing machine could be a problem as there is always residual washing detergent in there which strips the DWR. I started washing (with Tech Wash) in a bucket and reproofing with spray – results are better

Because the lining was very wet to touch - and my t-shirt / top weren't

I washed it jacket in tech wash - as per instructions , and then the reproofing stuff.  However - I did not put into a tumble dryer for 20 mins on low - as I now see it says on the Goretex site.  Is that the issue?

I didn't use a spray - I used the wash in re-proofer - but will try the spray now.

But if the spray is now what I am dependant on , it would seem like the Goretex is actually doing nothing!

Because the lining was very wet to touch – and my t-shirt / top weren’t

That's what I would expect to see if there were condensation.

When you're out in the rain, your body is warm and the outside is cooler. So the moisture leaves your skin, aided by wicking clothes if necessary, and with GoreTex it condenses on the inside of the outer layer which is your jacket. It then has to soak into the inside of the jacket and get sucked through by chemistry magic.

Of course, if any part of your jacket is wetted out, then the water from the inside can't get sucked through, so it stays on the inside of the jacket where it is pretty much indistinguishable from water that may have seeped through from outside. The only difference would be if the membrane is actually damaged which, in my experience, creates an obvious leak and you feel cold water dribbling in.

Now, the problem with wash-in DWR is that it proofs both the inside and the outside of the jacket. If the inside is DWRed then the water can't soak in to the inside, so it just condenses there and it gets wet. It takes some time for the DWR to wear off the inside but it does eventually. This is why spray-on DWR is much better.

Also, when you wash it, use a bucket not a washing machine.

But if the spray is now what I am dependant on , it would seem like the Goretex is actually doing nothing!

DWR'd fabric isn't waterproof at all. It comes through really easily. The coating is to stop the fabric soaking up water and stopping breathability, the GoreTex membrane is what's keeping the water out. You need both for your jacket to funciton.

^ it wasn't exactly balmy walking along Shoreham sea front - I was actually cold - so I would be surprised if it was sweat!

You're always sweating to some extent, I think. Not liquid sweat, but water vapour just leaving your skin. It's also possible that water was getting in at some specific point, then your body heat was evaporating it and it was then condensing on the inside.

Another thing to point out - tumble drying does help the DWR because the heat helps activate it better, but not all jackets can be tumble dried. If the care label doesn't allow tumble drying it then just iron it. You'll feel silly but it does help.

I'd suggest that if your t-shirt wasn't wet, then it didn't really leak...??

I’d suggest that if your t-shirt wasn’t wet, then it didn’t really leak…??

Hmm - the lining was very wet to touch - which I think would have meant I would have had to exert myself to release that much moisture, I wasn't.

My t-shirt was bone dry - sleeves on my top were damp at the point where it touched the lining.

Still sounds like it could easily be condensation. That's not to say it isn't leaking, just it's hard to tell either way. Water vapour will generally condense on the inside of the jacket, while your underclothes remain dry (until wetted by the condensation).

Leaks are usually around seams, damaged areas, pressure points (under rucksack straps). Not just generally spread over large areas.

Still sounds like it could easily be condensation. That’s not to say it isn’t leaking, just it’s hard to tell either way. Water vapour will generally condense on the inside of the jacket, while your underclothes remain dry (until wetted by the condensation).

In that case , it is an ineffective piece of s***

I would accept all of these suggestions if not two day before I had worn my Decathlon jacket in similar rain , and that was bone dry inside 

In that case , it is an ineffective piece of s***

It was discussed on the other thread - you can't expect a GoreText jacket to work miracles. Most waterproof/breathable membranes work the same way, which is heavily dependent on conditions. Cheaper jackets do not work as well as more expensive ones, in the lab and often in the real world - but what happens in the real world varies a lot.

It's like doing a motorway journey in a Fiesta one day in 2hrs, and the next day taking out your Ferrari but there's an huge traffic jam and it takes 3hrs. Your Ferrari is still a faster car, but it doesn't mean you will always get to your destination faster.

A lot of people do not think that an expensive jacket is not worth the extra money for this reason. But it's not fair to call your expensive jacket 'a piece of shit'. If you had taken your Decathlon jacket out in the exact same conditions with the same humidity and temperature inside and outside the jacket, and with the same DWR applied in the same places, you'd have got the same result. But f you have DWR applied correctly (not simply as per the instructions!), and you had two identical people wearing each jacket in the same weather doing the same activity, you would find the more expensive jacket working somewhat better.

Does any waterproof material really survive washing machines?

Normal washing detergent strips the DWR. Your machine probably has detergent reside in. Hence the bucket idea. I was struggling to reproof mine effectively and I re washed it in a bucket and used spray on Nikwax. It really helped.

Its not the actual machine itself causing problems, and it doesn't damage the garment other than the DWR.