Rapha, nice but a bit pricey?

^^ That was my understanding - that while other fabrics rely on just the coating, the GoreTex fabric is itself waterproof. I imagine Ndeipi probably knows far more about it than I do though...

Its fragile though. So you need at least one outer laminated layer. On proper hard shells theres at least 4 layers in action. If the outer layer holds water, it wont breath. This is what the hydrophobic treatment is for.