goretex or facsimile?

[quadrakid]

i,m thinking of buying new camo this year and was wondering what you guys think . i,m looking at brownings hydrofleece with real goretex and their other coats made with there own type of goretex. the goretex is about a hundred bucks more, do you think it,s worth it for the real deal liner? i,d be curious to hear if there are other products you guys like. i hunt the island some but will be in the rockies every year as well.i,m sure there must be threads like this already, thanks in advance for input.

[Deerwhacker]

Gortex all the way, I baught myself a gortex jacket and ive had it out in all conditions including blizzard,rain, wind you name it and ive kept dry. I have to say I am very impressed with this material.

[Krico]

I've tried several of the wannabes, and gore-tex outshines them all. It's generally lighter, is more waterproof, and breathes better- which has just as much to do with keeping dry as the waterproofness. It is also more durable-My first gore-tex coat was bought over 10 years ago, has been beaten and abused all it's life, and still does a great job of keeping me dry. My current go-to rain coat is made with the new Gore-Tex XCR, with about 4x the breathability with no compromise in waterproofness.

[Sitkaspruce]

In my experience, browning outerwear sucks. I have gone through two pair of pants in two seasons guiding and hunting. The first pair just could not stand up to the wear and tear of hunting in brush, swamps and timber. They replaced them and the second pair started to leak and the crotch blew out. Tossed them to a friend and he got a third pair. Not sure where they are now. Also not the quietest when it gets cold, but then no gore-tex really is.
For my money, Riverwest has been the best. Warm, dry, quiet and the strongest out there, and most importatly, not made with over priced gore-tex. Yes Riverwest does not breath as well and may be a little warm for early season, but for durability and your best bang for your buck, I have found nothing better. Now if they woiuld just make it in better camo patterns, or neutral grey, then they would be outstanding.

[daycort]

I wuold not hesitate to buy the mt 050 rainwear by cabelas. I have literly beat mine to dealth. IT is gortex and it does come in scent lok as well. I would not buy anything else.

have an average day.

[tuchodi]

I have 2 outfits I use and both have been outstanding. One is the Browning with an outer shell of sadle cloth and they use gortex, have used it hard for 10 years now and has never leaked and the outer shell is quiet and tough. My other set is Cabela's with Dry Plus had it for aprox 15 years and it has also been totally waterproof, breathable and quiet. I would not hesitate to buy either one of these again.

[Franko Manini]

I've got 2 sets of camo that I use regularly. One set is Gore-Tex, the other is the Cabela's proprietary product, Dry-Plus.

Both keep me dry, but the Gore-Tex breathes about 50% better. The Dry-Plus is fine if you're sitting still or slowly still hunting, but if you're moving a lot, it can get damp inside. The GT shows no signs of that.

I like the Dry Plus stuff because it's cheap and light and that is great.

I have had an experience with Gore-Tex where the jacket I had started to delaminate. I sent it back to GT and they said it was covered under warranty. They got me a new jacket from the vendor and shipped it to me on their dime. Now here's the point... that jacket was 9 years old. The Gore-Tex has a warranty of 10 years, regardless of the garment it is in.

[Ubertuber]

Another plug for Gore-Tex. Don't waste your money on knock-offs.

[BANG!]

see last post. +1

[Wildman]

gortex is way over rated, you get wet in anything after 5 hours in the rain anyway.

[Ubertuber]

gortex is way over rated, you get wet in anything after 5 hours in the rain anyway. Have you ever tried a set? I have a set of 12 year old Gore-Tex that still keep me dry all day, no matter if I'm sitting or hiking. You have to remember to wash and iron them once in a while to keep them waterproof and breathable (most important aspect IMO).
I'm not a guy that jumps on trends and must have the latest and greatest, but this stuff is well worth the investment.

[Wildman]

Have you ever tried a set? I have a set of 12 year old Gore-Tex that still keep me dry all day, no matter if I'm sitting or hiking. You have to remember to wash and iron them once in a while to keep them waterproof and breathable (most important aspect IMO).
I'm not a guy that jumps on trends and must have the latest and greatest, but this stuff is well worth the investment.

I work usually outside all day long, all year long....ive tried everything.......nothing works especially gortex. The best that I can come up with is either polypro or one of those thin white wool stannies, then fleece then a reg stanny then h/h raingear...the rubbery stretchy stuff..and fleece pants.

[tuchodi]

I agree with Ubertuber about keeping the Gortex clean. I have a set of Browning which I have had for aprox 10 years and have hunted all day in the rain many times and never gotten wet at all. I did notice after about 3 years that I got a little wet on my shoulders one day after 10 hours of hunting and someone told me to make sure I washed it. You must also use a special soap or cleaner designed for waterproff membranes that doesnt clog up the pores of the gortex and after I washed it, no more wet shoulders. Now I wash the set every once in a while and have never had a wet problem since.

[The Hermit]

Gortex. I've tried other stuff... gortex is best. I have gortex boots too... dry dry dry!

[Wildman]

ok, im not trying to be a !@#$ head here, but........i guess gortex would work for you if your hunting cutblocks or walking logging roads, but if you have to go in the bush, crawling under logs or creeping through salmonberry and salal then gortex or for that matter anything else wont keep you dry........this is from my personal experience, keep in mind i live in one of the wettest places in bc. i find that it is most important to stay warm, not necessarily dry because I cant stay dry, that is why having the right layering is important. Ive got gortex boots too.......in my opinoin again, a big waste of money. I use well oiled leathers.......that beats gortex any day.

[twoSevenO]

ok, im not trying to be a !@#$ head here, but........i guess gortex would work for you if your hunting cutblocks or walking logging roads, but if you have to go in the bush, crawling under logs or creeping through salmonberry and salal then gortex or for that matter anything else wont keep you dry........this is from my personal experience, keep in mind i live in one of the wettest places in bc. i find that it is most important to stay warm, not necessarily dry because I cant stay dry, that is why having the right layering is important. Ive got gortex boots too.......in my opinoin again, a big waste of money. I use well oiled leathers.......that beats gortex any day.

yes it will keep you dry!

What you're experiencing with your gore-tex can be due to a few reasons:

1. by crawling under the these logs you made some pinholes in your gear
2. you sweat a lot
3. you don't wear proper clothes underneath.

You mentinoed you "layer" but do you do so when wearing gore-tex as well? If you wear stuff that absorbs your sweat then the gore-tex becomes useless.

Boots ... again, what kind of socks do u wear underneath?

It's not at all uncommon to build up sweat faster than your gore-tex can allow it through. People often misinterpert the breathability of gore-tex. It'll keep you dry under normal walking conditions, if you start jogging it or something you'll develop moisture underneath.

In conclusion .... gore-tex works, and works well if you know how to treat it properly, and your problems are most likely caused by you doing something wrong.

Also, a jacket made with gore-tex is not to be confused with "dry suit" .... so if your hardcore hiking through the bush results in you getting wet from the water coming down off of tree leaves .... well then you'd be right .... nothing can keep you dry there.

[Wildman]

so if your hardcore hiking through the bush results in you getting wet from the water coming down off of tree leaves .... well then you'd be right .... nothing can keep you dry there.

That is what I do, ok sorry guys......just a bad day, i shouldnt be taking it out by arguing with you guys on this matter....I guess whatever works for you doesnt work for me under the conditons that I work and hunt in. My mother in-law asked me the other day why i dont just ride a quad up the mountain to work.......well it might work alright if the forests i work in were all like stanley park, but here i wouldnt make it past the ditchline. So I guess what im saying is that sure gortex and quads can work for some people, in certian conditions while hunting, just not for me.

[Onesock]

I second what Vadim says. Once you sweat a couple of thimes in gortex boots the goretex fills with fine salt crystals from the sweat and is useless. Leather boots and boot grease is the only way to go.

[twoSevenO]

I second what Vadim says. Once you sweat a couple of thimes in gortex boots the goretex fills with fine salt crystals from the sweat and is useless. Leather boots and boot grease is the only way to go.

how is that possible? If salt water evaporates it doesn't bring the salt with it, otherwise we'd have salty rain :lol: .... same with your feet. If they sweat the vapour will try and escape through the leather and or goretex. The salt will stay on your foot.

[Franko Manini]

ok, im not trying to be a !@#$ head here, but........i guess gortex would work for you if your hunting cutblocks or walking logging roads, but if you have to go in the bush, crawling under logs or creeping through salmonberry and salal then gortex or for that matter anything else wont keep you dry........this is from my personal experience, keep in mind i live in one of the wettest places in bc. i find that it is most important to stay warm, not necessarily dry because I cant stay dry, that is why having the right layering is important. Ive got gortex boots too.......in my opinoin again, a big waste of money. I use well oiled leathers.......that beats gortex any day.

Vadim is absolutely correct.
I have full Gore-Tex gear, top to bottom. This one day, I was hunting hard and fell into a lake. That Gore-Tex crap didn't help a bit.