Sassicaia

The point of the debate was that someone said goretext doesnt even come close to some of the other new techs which is false. There are plenty of other good brands such as the ones you mentioned which compete with goretext at the high end. No one is fare superior with at best splitting hairs differences between them i.e. goretex has better breathability then eVent .

The fact is top top end techs are all great, and beyond 20k/20k. I doubt anyone (myself included) would be able to determine much a performance difference between the top brands when snowboarding.

miles1717

Aside from the some of the silliness in this thread, it's actually been really informative. Thanks everybody.

One question though. On Burton's site, they list the AK 3L Hover Jacket as using two different GoreTex fabrics depending on the color. The "Acid and True Black" colorways are listed as using GoreTex Pro, and the "Schwag and Bluebird" colorways are listed as using GoreTex Soft Shell. Now, none of these 3L Hover jackets have liners or anything, so is there really going to be a noticeable difference between, say, the Hover Jacket in black or the Hover Jacket in blue?

Here's the link to Burton's Hover jacket page.

Lamps

The fabrics are slightly different but same performance in terms of breathability. The backing on the pro shell is flat, almost same as the exterior, whereas the soft shell backing is a very very thin, fleecelike layer and the material is slightly more supple. It's worth having both in front of you to see the difference. Most years they do four colours, two in each material, same as this year.

I don't think that the soft shell is supposed to be warmer, just a little softer and more comfortable.

Personally I prefer the pro-shell, it feels tougher, and it's not like you wear it without a base layer. I could see the soft shell for pants if you weren't wearing a base layer. Oh, and I think that the women's ak 3L are always done in 3L soft shell but not certain.

miles1717

Thanks, Lamps. I tried on the Schwag color in store (which is the GoreTex Soft Shell) and it seemed like a solid, tough, durable jacket that will last a long time. They unfortunately didn't have any other colors in stock, but if there's no difference in breathability or waterproofing, I can't see it being a big deal. Both options are 3L serious-ass shells. I like that blue color that they make.

gstboy

My experience with Goretex hasn't been with Burton but with Arcteryx. None of the Burton stuff fits well on me and I can never find the color I want. I would go with other goretex equivalents if the styles were better. I can't find anything that fits and looks better than Arcteryx so I will pay their price to wear their stuff.

I don't really care about the brands, I have a relative that works for columbia and I can get stuff from her for a deep discount but I choose Arcteryx because I can't find anything from Columbia that I like and fits me as well. For all I know everything like omni-heat or dryq event could be all better than goretex but the style I like is only offered in goretex so that's why I go with it. It's not like we are all going to go cross-country skiing mount Everest anytime soon.

hktrdr

No, it is true. The first link that I provided (as well as numerous other studies and reports) is pretty conclusive on this.

It does not.

Lamps

I just compared my wife's soft shell with my pro shell, it's a subtle difference, hardly matters.

saloman

Any canucks have experience snowboarding in Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) gore-tex shells?

I use a Synergy Jacket for hiking but have never taken it out on the slopes. Any good reason not to?

seriouscat

No reason not to. Goretex fabric layering itself is pretty universal if same material is used. They will only allow certain fabrics to combo with certain membranes. That jacket is a 3 layer so it has to meet the range of specification per Gore. A pure ski jacket could potential be using a harder more durable material per manufacturer specs, but I doubt it's going to a drastic difference. In general no one wants to use a proshell unless it's extreme wet weather/snow/ice since the proshell has worse breath-ability. Especially compared to some of the newer technologies out there.

As taken from Gore-tex forums:

Gore-Tex Pro Shell is a "3-Layer" product. The 3 layers are: 1-Outer "Shell" layer, generally a nylon of sorts. 2-Inner "Gore-Tex Pro Shell" waterproof/breathable membrane, and 3-Inner "liner" fabric, for Pro-Shell it's usually a product called Gore Micro Grid Backer or something similar meant to wick moisture away from your body and start the transfer process. All 3 of these layers are laminated into essentially 1 layer. So, even though it says it's a 3 layer, it feels like 1.

Gore-Tex Performance Shell is usually a "2-Layer" product. The 2 layers are: 1-Outer shell layer, and 2-Gore-Tex membrane laminated to the outer shell, Then there's a thin inner liner that not laminated to the outer/membrane layers.

Gore-Tex Paclite Shell is sometimes referred to as a 2.5 layer. It's got an outer shell layer that has a special Gore-Tex membrane laminated to it. The membrane in this case has been designed to be worn directly against your skin/clothes so an additional inner layer isn't needed.

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saloman

Thanks, that was the explanation I was looking for!