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  • I've been going down a rain-jacket rabbit hole the last few days and feel like I'm now going around in circles.

    The jackets I've been checking out all seem to be made of Paclite, Infinium, Pertex Shield Air, Neoshell, or unspecified 3 or 2.5 layer fabrics.

    My temptation is towards the breathable end - e.g. Neoshell or Infinium rather than Paclite.

    I guess where I'm kind of blocked at this point is on the whole breathability vs waterproofyness spectrum. How much of it is a bunch of bollocks - is even the best jacket out there just a tiny bit better than the worst.

    Are they all ultimately just like riding in a bin bag?

    The context would be general off and on-road riding, every winter I end up wondering why I don't have a proper rain jacket for MTBing but what's recently spurred me on is some notional autumn cycle touring in the mountains that could end up sodden.

  • I think it all depends on how hard you ride whilst wearing it. At moderate intensity, most breathable waterproof jackets will work, but if you up the intensity, then it doesn't matter how breathable the jacket is, you're going to get soaked in your own sweat. I've tried at least three on your list above, and, to be honest, they all did a good job in keeping my core dry, but if I was riding hard, they all failed.

    I've been impressed with my Infinium jacket, but mainly with how warm it is given how flimsy it feels, rather than for the waterproof aspects of it.

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