Rainwear Comparison Chart
What is GORE-TEX? What about DryQ? Or eVent? Which one is better?
These are questions that get asked every day in the outdoor world, and although it can be hard to pin down the exact answers, we do the best we in our GearX.com Guide to Waterproof Fabrics. That's a long read though, so this chart is designed to give you the short version of the story.
Note that this chart is based on our own research, experiences, and impressions. Hard numbers that quantify characteristics like breathability and durability are hard to come by (and generally not very reliable if found) so these ratings will be subjective to some extent.
You'll also notice that almost all jackets score the maximum five points for waterproofness. That's because with proper care and maintenance almost any type of waterproof garment should resist wetting out or soaking through and therefore keep you dry.
|
Brand |
Construction Type | Waterproofness | Breathability | Durability | Price |
| GORE-TEX Pro Shell | 3-layer; stretch and non-stretch variants | •••••+ | •••• | ••••• | $$$$ |
| eVent | 3-layer; various weights | ••••• | ••••• | •••• | $$$ |
| Mountain Hardwear DryQ Elite | 3-layer; hard and “soft” shell variants | ••••• | ••••• | •••• | $$$ |
| Polartec Neoshell | 3-layer; stretch hard shell and softshell | ••••• | •••••+ | •••• | $$$ |
| GORE-TEX PacLite | 2.5-layer | ••••• | ••• | •••+ | $$ |
| Marmot MemBrain & MemBrain Strata | 2-layer (regular) and 2.5-layer (Strata) | ••••• | •••+ | ••• (Strata) •••• (Regular) | $$ |
| Pertex Shield+ | 2.5-layer | ••••• | •••+ | ••• | $$ |
| Mammut DryTech Premium | 2.5-layer | ••••• | •••+ | ••• | $$ |
| Mountain Hardwear DryQ Core | 2.5-layer | ••••• | ••• | ••• | $-$$ |
| Marmot PreCip | 2.5-layer, 2-layer | ••••• | ••• | ••• | $ |