Yeah, the coating on GoreTex just stops the face fabric from getting saturated - at which point the membrane won't really help you.
Other membrane fabrics exist, not just GoreTex (and there are plenty of different GoreTex fabrics, too). eVENT and NeoShell to name probably the two biggest ones. NeoShell is the best, in my experience with climbing jackets. Then there's weird stuff like Gore WindStopper, which is a 'softshell' but also contains a membrane very close to full-on GoreTex - in use it's basically waterproof except they never seal the seams.
The simple fact is that past a certain level of effort, you're going to boil in ANY 'waterproof, breathable' fabric. The main factor here is the design, not the fabric. Good fabric goes a long way but there's little between the top competitors, but if the design is good you will at least have venting options, etc. Most of the moisture you find inside a jacket after wearing it will be from you or will have come in through holes (head hole, cuffs, etc).
For what it's worth my Rapha Rain Jacket is pretty new but it's not given up yet and I've worn it in some ferocious rain and not been gentle with it, stuffing it in jersey pockets and rucksacks and stuff. I'm pretty sure the fabric itself is both inherently waterproof (membrane) and also pretty breathable - it doesn't seem to get too stuffy. Again the design helps, though - the Rain Jacket has breathable 'mesh'-type panels on the underarms, etc which seem to help a ton.
Yeah, the coating on GoreTex just stops the face fabric from getting saturated - at which point the membrane won't really help you.
Other membrane fabrics exist, not just GoreTex (and there are plenty of different GoreTex fabrics, too). eVENT and NeoShell to name probably the two biggest ones. NeoShell is the best, in my experience with climbing jackets. Then there's weird stuff like Gore WindStopper, which is a 'softshell' but also contains a membrane very close to full-on GoreTex - in use it's basically waterproof except they never seal the seams.
The simple fact is that past a certain level of effort, you're going to boil in ANY 'waterproof, breathable' fabric. The main factor here is the design, not the fabric. Good fabric goes a long way but there's little between the top competitors, but if the design is good you will at least have venting options, etc. Most of the moisture you find inside a jacket after wearing it will be from you or will have come in through holes (head hole, cuffs, etc).
For what it's worth my Rapha Rain Jacket is pretty new but it's not given up yet and I've worn it in some ferocious rain and not been gentle with it, stuffing it in jersey pockets and rucksacks and stuff. I'm pretty sure the fabric itself is both inherently waterproof (membrane) and also pretty breathable - it doesn't seem to get too stuffy. Again the design helps, though - the Rain Jacket has breathable 'mesh'-type panels on the underarms, etc which seem to help a ton.