Here's the thing though: who's going to carry 2 jackets on a given excursion? I'm sure as heck not. In the conditions in which GoreTex will leave you soaked, a nonbreathable garment will leave you just as soaked. But in other conditions the GoreTex works great while the nonbreathable item... still leaves you soaked. I say the GoreTex (or whatever WP/B) is vastly more versatile for the weight and volume it costs me.



You have to take into account that this essay was written in the early to mid 1980's. I know, because it was in the Yosemite guidebook I had in 1988. WP/B technology has advanced by leaps and bounds since then; see Doug's notable info on GoreTex survival suits. However, it is true that YOSAR might still fine you if you get rescued in a storm using down sleeping bags.

Here are a couple of personal data points that are not statistically significant:

- I have been using a Lowe Alpine WP/B anorak (13 oz in size XL) for about 8 years in conditions ranging from 3-day nonstop downpours to subfreezing windstorms. Through it all it has never leaked. Even when the outer nylon fabric soaked through, I did not get the "trash bag effect" and was only mildly steamy inside. In those conditions it dries in minutes when worn near the fire.

- Over the same time period I've been using a pair of Marmot PreCip pants (8 oz in size XL) in the same conditions as the Lowe anorak with similar results.

Miracle garments or blind luck on my part? I dunno, they just work.

I carry both. Poncho and Gore-Tex Jacket/trousers.
Goretex for most conditions and the poncho to put over the top of it for torrential rain coditions.

One bit of kit that is not to be sneered at is the very cheap and basic emergency plastic poncho.

When TSHTF happens, they keep you drasticly dryer. They are also good for shelter building and water collection.

I almost hesitate to bring this up, but a garbage bag, with slits for head and arms, has served me very well on several occasions to ward off pouring rain.

I agree with hikermor,They make Great Poncho's in a Pinch!

Bingo! Light weight plastic poncho supplements the Gore-Tex well. Better yet, the poncho allows airflow to help you from building up perspiration. And, as noted, the garbage bag over can pinch hit for the poncho, although not as well.

Also, a cut open garbage bag makes a decent improvised pack
cover.

But don't forget the poly-pro base layers and the fire. Did I mention, don't forget the fire?

-john