Winter jacket -- breathable?

[bartsie]

I've always wondered how something can be both wind-proof and breathable. I have a Castelli Windstopper vest - it has 6 small zippers, so that's one solution. Anyway, the problem at hand: I've just received a Gore jacket (Contest AS) and it's all made of Windstopper, no panels of other materials, no zip openings. The Windstopper fabric seems absolutely non-breathable, in fact it appears downright airtight. So how can the jacket end up being breathable? I'm a bit under the weather so can't just go out for a ride to find out (plus I'm thinking of returning it).

Any experience with winter jackets would be appreciated. So far, I've been wearing the aforementioned vest (all zips opened) under a long-sleeve warmish jersey, but I hoped a dedicated winter jacket would work better.

 

[alfeng]

FWiW. When in doubt about a woven fabric's breathability, you can EITHER put it over your face ([COLOR= #808080]really![/COLOR]) and try to breath directly through the fabric OR place the fabric over a steaming kettle ([COLOR= #808080]a pot of steaming water which is OFF of the stove might be safer![/COLOR]) [COLOR= #000000]and then[/COLOR][COLOR= #ff0000] see how much, if any, water vapor migrates to the other side of the fabric[/COLOR].

 

[bartsie]

Originally Posted by alfeng .

FWiW. When in doubt about a woven fabric's breathability, you can EITHER put it over your face ([COLOR= #808080]really![/COLOR])

That's exactly what I did (except it's not a woven fabric, but I thought there might be micro-perforations there) and it's like a plastic bag - no air gets through.

 

[danfoz]

Both on and off topic, I would avoid the Assos Climajet material, touted as windproof, water resistant and breathable. The first two are accurate descriptions, but the stuff is about as breatheable as plastic. Absolutely beautiful construction, but your jesey will be as soaked as your socks would be after a ride in neoprene booties (even with the side vents). I would have hoped the exorbitant price would have some correlation to the functionality, but I guess there are some problems that cannot be fixed by just throwing money at them.

 

[Dave Cutter]

The garment and fabric technology used with some of these items are great. I've worked in this industry and really appreciate some of the equipment available. Maybe you should contact the manufacture or seller of the item (with your concerns). They may have information we don't.

I recently purchased a new cycling jacket for myself. Not for winter use, but for later this spring. I researched the on-line user reviews of all the jackets I considered. It was interesting as user input seems to vary widely for the same garments. One user would state a jacket seemed to be fitted and sized small... then another user would post the same item was over-sized and baggy. These widely varying opinions are the same results we generally found when testing garments when I worked in the industry.

I purchased a wind-proof breathable jacket myself. And I found in my own testing that it does do both, and beads water [when sprayed] as well. I had considered buying a jacket with the normal back vent and the cool zippers under the arms. But my own experience has been that most such items are over-engineered (for various reasons). The jacket I did buy has a mesh panel integrated into the rear pocket. So unzipping the front zipper causes the air to circulate inside the jacket and vent through the (unzipped) rear pocket.

I use at least two wicking layers under my jacket when cold weather cycling. A tee-shirt made of technical (wicking) fabric, sometimes a (wicking) cycling jersey, and a heavier (wicking) fleece over that. The wind resistance layer should be on the outside so the amount of venting air allowed in can be controlled. I start out a bit cooler than I would prefer if not exercising and vent before I get sweaty. The goal is to wick moisture away from my skin leaving me dry and warm. While venting moisture out of my jacket at a rate that won't rob too much warmth.