OT Waxcotton or Goretex?

[socke]

I just spent the better part of the evening waxing my coat :-)

 

So what raingear do you prefer? One made of the new high tech

materials like Goretex or Sympatec or traditional Waxcotton?

[Gup]

Volker, I've never even seen a coat that requires waxing! Patching, yes, but waxing, no. Around here the only thing that gets waxed are skis and motorcycles (and maybe legs, I'm not sure).

 

I wear a waterproof hat by Tilley and a rain suit by Wetskins with many pockets to lose little things in.

 

Keep Smiling!

 

Gup.

[james_.1]

Well, the Leica M answer is more traditional material, but the more practical answer is

gore-tex. Check out Arcteryx and Northface. I think in this case- get both and wear the

waxcotton while carrying your Leica ; ).

[andrew robertson]

You must be getting old. Gore Tex has been around in coats and stuff for almost 30 years

now.

 

All kidding aside, I like real Gore Tex better than anything out there. I have tried other

synthetic waterproof / breathable fabrics, and none are even close to Gore Tex for

breathability or durability. I have a waxcotton shooting jacket, and the only reason I use it

is for the recoil pad and the game pocket on the back.

[paul_rybolt]

Barbour coats are the only way to go. They are the Leica of Manly Threads.

[james_.1]

filson.com

[ben z]

"So what raingear do you prefer?"

I like a good old fashioned fireman's yellow slicker, preferably with metal flip hooks on it. The zenith of rainwear...or maybe that should be Zenit : )

[david_doyle]

Big Hefty 33 gallon bag, cheap and easily configurable. Comes in easy eye black.

[terry_rory]

Berghaus Cornice jacket and Brasher boots.

[jerry_lehrer]

Rain? What is rain? I live in a coastal desert. Except for last year, we only get about 100 mm of rain per year.

 

Anywhere else, Goretex, and let the masochists use the Barbour waxed

cotton garments. Hard to beat the North Face brand.

 

Jerry

[terry_rory]

Barbour waxed cotton weighs a ton and smells. It is OK if you have a convenient Range Rover to throw it in the back of after you have finished slaughtering pheasants for the day and you can have one of your staff wax it for you.

[paul_rybolt]

Now Trevor, usually I agree with what you say. However, your unprovoked attack on such a fine institution as barbour cannot go with response.

Actually, they are rather calmmy to wear and leave a very unpleasant feel to the touch. And they stain the hooey out of your seat covers but they ARE AN INSTITUTION and as such ya gotta love them. I think I have 4 of their pieces and the only one I really like is moleskin and not waxed cotton.

[terry_rory]

The first person I associate with Barbour waxed cotton jackets is Princess Anne. An image of her setting her bull terriers on local children in Windsor great park is an image that automatically springs to mind.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2497531.stm

[paul_rybolt]

I may donate mine to the homeless shelter after Trevor's post. Not the moleskin, though...

[terry_rory]

Also the f#####n 'Rupert' ex-army officer type (Sandhurst inbred with buck teeth, Barbour and attitude to match) who hassled me about using a tripod on National Trust property in Dorset until I threatened to explore the practicality of using a Manfrotto as a rectal probe on him!

[Jochen_S]

I love my waxcotton. It's no Barbour, only Hein Gericke, classic black motorbike jacket, purchased used at a fleamarket. I wish these Australian shepherd's coats would fit better than a braking parchute.

 

I've got some Goretex or whatever Kevlarstretch suit too, but the lining is inconvenient and puting it on the next day I somehow feel like using a wet surfsuit when the upper material is still entirely soaked with yesterdays rain.

 

I couldn't convince myself to wear wax cotton trousers, I still use some made for fishermen from once yellow plastic.

 

Surely waxcotton is rather wrong for activitys of any kind in hot climate but at least you can see if it should be still watertight and I'd prefer another used lens over a Rukka jacket.

 

To walk in the rain I have a decent field gray uniform plastic raincoat. I wouldn't buy Barbours pedestrian product line and can't stop wondering why all these great bikers coats from the 50s and 60s dissapeared.

[david_doyle]

Jerry,

 

Have you forgotten this past winter's rain totals? And did it not rain last week (late night,

but...)

 

-in La Mesa

[david_doyle]

Jerry,

 

Have you forgotten this past winter's rain totals? And did it not rain last week (late night,

but...)

 

-in La Mesa

[jtk]

An active person wears Goretex or similar because an active person sweats.

[fjords]

waxed not. Wool 'n' brandy and a horse to carry it and you.

[stuart d]

Gore-Tex is not the be-all and end-all in breathable waterproof gear. Yes Gore-Tex is very waterproof, but sometimes you need more breathability than it offers. I've been soaked from the inside when wearing a Gore Tex jacket while backpacking in the Rockies. And I stopped using a Gore-Tex ski jacket after a miserable season. By lunchtime the inside of the jacket would be dripping wet. And this is in Colorado, where the relative humidity rarely registers on any scale. My current ski jacket probably wouldn't stand up to a squall, but it keeps me dry - outside and inside - on the slopes. I forget what North Face calls the technology, but it works. And for a lot less than the Gore-Tex equivalent.

 

For walking the dogs on a damp cool day, my quilt-lined waxed cotton jacket is very comfortable indeed. If it's peeing down hard enough to need a Gore-tex, the dogs and I stay inside.

[furcafe]

I like the Barbour waxed cotton (ventile would is better as it doesn't require re-proofing & doesn't smell/stain, but is much harder to find). No association w/in-bred royalty here in the "colonies."

[socke]

Ok, that leaves wax cotton as a good excuse for dirty fingernails, only :-)

[h._p.]

C&A green polycotton jacket for Spring and Autumn (30 quid) and a Hilfiger Urban Survival jacket for the winter (80 quid in the House of Frazer sale)

 

I do own a 'Royal Scot' heavy wax coat which is to a Barbour as a Leica is to a Yashica but now I don't live near the moors it seldom gets used.

[les_lammers]

Volker,

 

www.sierratradingpost.com has great deals on outdoor wear. Wax and Gore.